Category: Artifacts

Posted in Artifacts, eVetRecs, Military, National Archives, National Personnel Records Center, Research tips, World War 1

“Burned” WWI Personnel File for Allen Lee Millard Gooch

Posted on by Dayna Jacobs - "On Granny's Trail"

Using the online eVetRecs at the National Archives website http://www.archives.gov/veterans/ I ordered a World War I service record for my grandfather, Allen Lee Millard Gooch.  I knew my chances of getting a file were slim because in 1973 a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, destroyed 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), including 80% of personnel discharged 1 Nov 1912-1 Jan 1960.

Indeed, I received a reply to my request that said my requested records were part of the 1973 fire.  I was sad.  Then, amazingly, I received a thick packet with much, or possibly all, of my grandfather’s file with copies of the “burned” records!  Here is a page:

This record–an “Application for Certificate in Lieu of Lost or Destroyed Discharge Certificate”–proves that you never know just where you will find some of the best information.  This record provides us with:

  1. Full name
  2. Place/date of enlistment and discharge
  3. Military unit
  4. Physical description
  5. City and State of birth
  6. Approximate birth year
  7. Probable residence after discharge
  8. Occupation
  9. Signature

This is only one of many pages in this record, and the others are equally interesting.  I may post some more soon.

This record also proves you should never give up just because you are told a repository burned.  Yes, the records burned, but hey—not entirely!!  Let’s hear it for the 42 fire districts that responded to the alarm and battled the blaze for 2 days.

BONUS

I received an unexpected bonus one day when a box containing replacement medals for my grandfather’s WWI service arrived in the mail:  A Purple Heart, a WWI Victory Medal, and a medal for his participation in the battles of Meuse-Argonne and St. Mihiel.  What a treasure!  I will post photos soon.

To learn more about the Military service records and Official Military Personnel Files go to http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/about-service-records.html

Pre-WWI military records can be ordered here:

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/pre-ww-1-records.html

Posted in Artifacts, eVetRecs, Military, National Archives, National Personnel Records Center, Research tips, World War 1

“Burned” WWI Personnel File for Allen Lee Millard Gooch

Posted on by Dayna Jacobs - "On Granny's Trail"

Using the online eVetRecs at the National Archives website http://www.archives.gov/veterans/ I ordered a World War I service record for my grandfather, Allen Lee Millard Gooch.  I knew my chances of getting a file were slim because in 1973 a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, destroyed 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), including 80% of personnel discharged 1 Nov 1912-1 Jan 1960.

Indeed, I received a reply to my request that said my requested records were part of the 1973 fire.  I was sad.  Then, amazingly, I received a thick packet with much, or possibly all, of my grandfather’s file with copies of the “burned” records!  Here is a page:

This record–an “Application for Certificate in Lieu of Lost or Destroyed Discharge Certificate”–proves that you never know just where you will find some of the best information.  This record provides us with:

  1. Full name
  2. Place/date of enlistment and discharge
  3. Military unit
  4. Physical description
  5. City and State of birth
  6. Approximate birth year
  7. Probable residence after discharge
  8. Occupation
  9. Signature

This is only one of many pages in this record, and the others are equally interesting.  I may post some more soon.

This record also proves you should never give up just because you are told a repository burned.  Yes, the records burned, but hey—not entirely!!  Let’s hear it for the 42 fire districts that responded to the alarm and battled the blaze for 2 days.

BONUS

I received an unexpected bonus one day when a box containing replacement medals for my grandfather’s WWI service arrived in the mail:  A Purple Heart, a WWI Victory Medal, and a medal for his participation in the battles of Meuse-Argonne and St. Mihiel.  What a treasure!  I will post photos soon.

To learn more about the Military service records and Official Military Personnel Files go to http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/about-service-records.html

Pre-WWI military records can be ordered here:

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/pre-ww-1-records.html

Posted in Archives and Libraries, Artifacts, Biographical, Friday Finds, Photos, Utah pioneers, Websites

Friday Finds: Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum

Posted on by Dayna Jacobs - "On Granny's Trail"

You may have heard of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers (DUP), but did you know they have a museum that also serves as a research facility? http://www.dupinternational.org/index.php

Located in Salt Lake City close to the Capitol building on 300 N Main St., it houses a tremendous collection of memorabilia dating from the time Mormon pioneers entered the Valley of the Great Salt Lake to the date when Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads were joined at Promontory Point in Utah (24 Jul 1847 to 10 May 1869.) Remember hearing about the Golden Spike?  With the joining of these two railroads, transcontinental travel became possible by rail, and the “pioneer” era officially ended in Utah.  (That just means migration by covered wagon no longer was necessary.)

To join the DUP, you need to prove direct descendancy from someone who passed through, settled in, or was born in the area which encompassed Utah Territory between the above-mentioned dates.  That includes Mormon pioneers, but also trappers, freighters, wagon trains bound for the west coast, members of Johnston’s army, railroad workers, or anyone else passing through. And remember, Utah Territory encompassed all of Nevada and part of Colorado at one time.

The DUP has a History Department containing over 100,000 biographies, with an online index http://www.dupinternational.org/pioneer_index.php . They will make copies for $.25 per page.

Here’s what a search for ” Pomeroy” yielded:

  Last Name   Given Name   Maiden Name   Birth Date   Death Date
  Fairchild   Tryphena   Pomeroy   28 Jun 1815   24 Nov 1901
  Kimball   Mary Urusalia (Zula)   Pomeroy   27 Jul 1860   10 Jan 1892
  Pomeroy   C.E.   26 Feb 1843
  Pomeroy   Cassandra   Johnson   7 Mar 1868   2 Oct 1957
  Pomeroy   Christiana   Monroe Stuart   4 Jun 1851   16 Nov 1923
  Pomeroy   Elijah   26 Jun 1850   8 Nov 1919
  Pomeroy   Emma Adelia   16 Jun 1858
  Pomeroy   Francis Martin   20 Feb 1820   20 Oct 1882
  Pomeroy   Heber Chase Kimball   6 Jun 1868   20 Feb 1948
  Pomeroy   Irene Ursula   Haskell   1 Nov 1825
  Pomeroy   Jessamine Elizabetg   Routledge   29 Jan 1837   19 May 1900
  Pomeroy   Mary Ann   Rich   15 May 1850   3 Nov 1835
  Pomeroy   Mary Annetta   Coleman   20 Nov 1862   13 Mar 1946
  Pomeroy   Sarah Matilda   Colborn   4 Nov 1839
  Rich   Ella A.   Pomeroy   1858

Files for 3 of my direct Pomeroy ancestors and several collateral lines.  Not bad! And notice the birth and death dates in the index.  Nice!

They also have an online index for their photo collection at http://www.dupinternational.org/photoIndex.php

I typed “Matheson” in the index and found they have photos of Lydia Evans Matheson, my great-great grandmother, and my great-great-great grandmother Catherine Treasurer Matheson.

  Last Name   Given Name   Maiden Name   Birth Date   Death Date
  Matheson   Catherine   Treasurer   24 Sep 1804   4 Jan 1896
  Matheson   Elec
  Matheson   Lydia   Evans   14 Feb 1844   30 May 1912
  Matheson   Scott   8 Jan 1929   7 Oct 1990

There are no digital images online, but they can be ordered.  I am excited to visit the museum to see the photos.

Other helpful features of the website are advice on preserving heirlooms and digitizing photos, and a FAQ section to handle those oft-asked questions like, “What is the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers theme song?”

As I remember, the museum has an index of their artifact collection onsite, so you can identify items your ancestor used to own. This museum is certainly worth a trip, but the website makes it possible to do actual research from afar.

Happy Trails!

Click here and link to more quilt photos…

More quilt photos…

Here is a link to a Shutterfly webpage where I posted more pictures of the Dora Morris Pomeroy quilt described in a previous post.  When you get to the webpage just click on “Pictures and Videos” and then “View Album.”  

Before putting the quilt into an archival box for safe-keeping I photographed individual blocks, and then groups of blocks.  I used a tripod and no flash, but was not able to pan out far enough to photograph the entire quilt.  The close-up details are pretty amazing, though.