Research for your Ancestors Military Genealogy by Branch of Service
Military files can be helpful in discovering genealogy information for your ancestors that can be added to your family tree. The majority of us have had several of our family members enlist due to drafts for WWI or WWII. Both drafts have provided invaluable data such as: where and when they were born; current residence; where they worked; their spouses and children names; physical attributes; and more.Ancestors that served in the military have left files of genealogy related data with the branch of service that they served in. These records can be obtained by filing out the proper application with the necessary information. Most files for veterans’ of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Cost guard, Marine Corps, and Navy are available through the National Archives, with the earliest records dating from the Revolutionary War.
Some military service records have been destroyed by the 1973 fire that may hinder your genealogy research. If you can’t obtain the files you are looking for through the national archives, there are other research methods that you can use to find genealogy information about your ancestors.
Finding genealogy archives should be conducted in a organized research process. This will help you to find what you are looking for.
Military Genealogy Information for The Navy
| FACILITY | ADDRESS | WEBSITE & COMMENTS |
| Archives II |
Archives II Ref. Branch Textual Ref. Division NWDT 806 Adelphi Rd. College Park, MD 20740-6001 |
(301) 713-7250 Vessel movement cards, armed guard reports, WWII convoy reports (U.S. to England) |
| Nimitz Library |
U. S. Naval Academy 121 Blake Rd. Annapolis, MD. 21402-5000 |
|
| Naval Historical Center |
Washington Navy Yard 805 Kidder Breese Street SE Washington, DC 20374-5060 |
(202) 433-4132 (Main) -3224 (Ops. Info.) -3643 (Ship History I logs) |
| Navy Dept. Library |
Dudley Knox Center for Naval history Washington Navy Yard, Bldg. 44 Washington, DC 20374-5060 |
open to the public 200,000 volumes some volumes available through interlibrary loan; special collections, annual navy officer registers, navy directories, cruise books, Lloyd's registers |
| Pentagon Library |
Pentagon Library 1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301 |
General reference, ask for Branch of Service (703) 697-4301 |
| Library of Congress |
101 Independence Ave. SE Washington, DC 20540 |
(202) 707-5000 |
| U. S. Naval Institute |
U. S. Naval Academy Annapolis, MD. 21402 |
(301) 261-2700 Biographies of Annapolis graduates Not compiled for absolutely every graduate, but most. |
| Lloyd's Register |
NYC Public Library,
14th St. Branch New York, NY |
Register of all military naval vessels, not to be confused with their commercial vessels register |
| NY Maritime Register |
Available at Mystic Seaport,
Mystic, CT |
this is a newspaper about the maritime industry available on microfilm; published up until the end of WWII |
| DANFS | Dictionary of American Fighting Ships | you will need to know either the hull number of the ship or her name and type of ship to locate the ship's history. This wi ll give you the SHIP'S history, but not the personnel's history. |
| Military Personnel Records Center |
1 Archives Drive St. Louis, MO 63132-5100 moving to Hazelwood, MO fall of 2012 |
(314) 801-0800
Navy records from 1885; Coast Guard from 1898; Marine Corps from 1905; Army from 1917; and Air Force from 1947 |
