Legacy Tree

Professional genealogists and family history researchers for hire

Contact Us
x
  • Home
  • Services
  • Highlights
  • About Us
  • Press
  • Blog
  • English
    • Spanish
    • Portuguese (Brazil)
    • Swedish
    • Danish
    • Norwegian Bokmål
    • Russian
Contact Us
Contact Us
x
  • Home
  • Services
  • Highlights
  • About Us
  • Press
  • Blog
  • English
    • Spanish
    • Portuguese (Brazil)
    • Swedish
    • Danish
    • Norwegian Bokmål
    • Russian
Contact Us
  • Services
  • Highlights
  • About
  • Press
  • Blog
  • .
  • English
    • Spanish
    • Portuguese (Brazil)
    • Swedish
    • Danish
    • Norwegian Bokmål
    • Russian

This Is Not a Drill: Pennsylvania Military Records Can Be Found Online!

March 8, 2019 by Jim - Legacy Tree Genealogists Editor 2 Comments

Documenting military service is a goal for many genealogical researchers. For those with Pennsylvania ancestry, many military records are just a click away on the ARIAS website run by the state’s official archives.

What Is ARIAS?

ARIAS is an acronym for the Archives Records Information Access System, a website created by the Pennsylvania State Archives to enhance free access to databases showing the service of thousands of the state’s residents in various military outfits, tied to service in conflicts ranging from the 1700s to the early 1900s.

Earlier Wars’ Records More on State Level

Pennsylvania military recordsBefore talking about the records on ARIAS, it’s a good idea to back up for a moment to talk about U.S. military service in general. For the early wars, the federal army was relatively tiny when compared to the militias organized on the state level.

Even as late as the Civil War, many more fought as members of state-organized units rather than directly for the federal level. As a result, the rule of thumb is that you’ll find many more records of military service on the state level compared to the federal level.

For the entire nineteenth century, Pennsylvania was America’s second most populous state and the manpower it provided for various wars was commensurate with that ranking.

Focus on Revolutionary War

For those with colonial Pennsylvania ancestry, the “Revolutionary War Military Abstract Card File” is a quick way to perform a search to determine whether an ancestor served from Pennsylvania in America’s founding conflict.

The database is arranged alphabetically by the surname of the soldier and consists of digitized index cards. It contains transcriptions of data extracted from original records in the custody of the State Archives concerning Revolutionary War service in the Pennsylvania Militia, Pennsylvania Line, and the Navy. Information provided is the name and rank of soldier, whether active or inactive duty, county of residence, battalion in which served, and record from which information was extracted. In Daniel Keim’s card, he’s placed as a member of Capt. Anthony Lerch’s 1st Company of the 4th Battalion of the Northampton County Militia.Pennsylvania military records

Many of the cards refer to sources of information found in the volumes of the published Pennsylvania Archives series of records—for example, on Daniel Keim’s card, the reference on the lower right side is to the published Archives Fifth Series, Volume VIII, pages 352-365. The entire 138-volume run of the published Pennsylvania Archives is a free item on Fold3.com.

Because there are many similar names of soldiers, the Pennsylvania State Archives has a finding aid on its main website called “Revolutionary War Militia Battalions and Companies,” which can help you match the information found in the card file to determine whether the unit was raised in the area of your ancestor.

Also for the Revolutionary War, ARIAS has a database of “Militia Officers Index Cards, 1775-1800,” an index card file of the names of Pennsylvania militia officers who served during the American Revolution, in Indian campaigns in northwestern Pennsylvania, and in quelling the Whiskey Rebellion. The cards are arranged alphabetically by surname of officer.

Focus on Civil War

Pennsylvania, the site of the Civil War’s largest battle (Gettysburg in July 1863) was a crucial source of manpower during the conflict. The ARIAS database “Civil War Veterans’ Card File, 1861-1866” contains index cards initially prepared to serve as an index to Samuel Penniman Bates’s History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865 and then supplemented with data from muster rolls.

In addition to soldiers’ names and military units, many of the cards contain further information including ages at enrollment, descriptions (complexion, height, color of hair and eyes), residences and birthplaces; the dates and places where enrolled; the dates and places where mustered in; and the dates of discharge. This car for George Magee gives a huge bounty of information about his service—everything from the dates he “Enrolled” and “M.I.” (mustered in) to his age, height, hair and eye color!

Pennsylvania military records

Finding Other Documents

Service of Pennsylvanians in four other conflicts are included in ARIAS; these are the “PA National Guard Veterans’ Card File, 1867-1921,” “Spanish American War Veterans’ Card File of United States Volunteers,” “Mexican Border Campaign Veterans’ Card File” (from 1916); and “World War I Service Medal Application Cards.”

One of the great things about the World War I series is it provides the address when they enlisted and the address when they applied for their medals—useful for tracking ancestors forward and backward in time. As an added bonus, sometimes you discover the original name of an ancestor: From the cards below, it’s learned Walter Skad was originally Waclow Szkadlubowicz.Pennsylvania military records

In all cases, the databases on ARIAS are terrific signposts to other documents—muster rolls, pension records, even fine lists (showing participation!)—that can provide you with pride or a smile at the services of your Pennsylvania military ancestor.

At Legacy Tree Genealogists, we know about records such as those on the ARIAS site that are starting points towards more intensive research! Contact us today for a free consultation and to let us know what our experts can do for you.

  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
Jim - Legacy Tree Genealogists Editor

Jim - Legacy Tree Genealogists Editor

Jim has earned a reputation as an author, columnist and lecturer specializing in Germans, Pennsylvania and newspapers - the last in part because he was a first-career newspaper copy editor. His other specialties come from being born (and lived most of his life) in Pennsylvania and having an ancestry filled with almost nothing but Germans. He's happy to return to his editing roots with Legacy Tree Genealogists.
Jim - Legacy Tree Genealogists Editor

Latest posts by Jim - Legacy Tree Genealogists Editor (see all)

  • How to Get More from Today’s Genealogy Events & Meetings - September 10, 2021
  • The Window Tax: A Window into Your Ancestry - June 22, 2021
  • A Step-by-Step Guide to Researching Historical Newspapers - December 6, 2020

Filed Under: Internet Research, Military Service

Previous article: RootsTech 2019 Recap: Everything You Need to Know
Next article: Irish Genealogy Brick Walls: When We Can’t See the Forest for the Irish Trees

Comments

  1. Tricia says

    January 15, 2020 at 10:53 pm

    Jim
    I Am looking for my father’s father (Willis J Reuter) who left Michigan and went back to PA. There was a little contact but then we never heard from him again. I think he left Michigan about 1930 or so. We don’t know when he died. My father was an only child. He has been deceased since 1996.

    Reply
    • Amber - Legacy Tree Genealogists says

      January 16, 2020 at 10:41 am

      Since you say that your grandfather “went back to PA” – it would seem your best shot would be to try that area of PA first, searching all the basic sources such as census, city directories, newspapers, etc., to see if you can pick up his trail. If you find you need additional assistance, our team would be happy to assist. You may request a free quote at https://legacytree.com/contact-us. Good luck with your search efforts!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Popular Posts

Scenic Ireland_Irish Family Hisroey

Irish Family History: Online Resources to Help Find Your Irish Ancestors

January 26, 2023 By Legacy Tree Genealogists Leave a Comment

portuguese geneaology

3 Tips and Tricks to Kickstart your Portuguese Genealogy Project 

October 10, 2022 By Becca- Legacy Tree Genealogists Researcher 4 Comments

British Isles

Uncovering Hidden Jewels in British Isles Genealogy Research

April 26, 2022 By Sharon - Legacy Tree Genealogists Researcher Leave a Comment

Map of Finland

Ask a Genealogist: Interesting Facts about Finnish Genealogy Research

March 29, 2022 By Legacy Tree Genealogists 12 Comments

Brick Walls in British Genealogy Research

British Genealogy Brick Wall Breakthrough: A Case Study

March 8, 2022 By Jamie - Legacy Tree Genealogists Researcher 4 Comments

vacation Coast of Ireland

Legacy Tree Onsite: Preparing for a Heritage Travel Tour in Ireland

January 25, 2022 By Legacy Tree Genealogists Leave a Comment

Prussian Coat of Arms

Polish Genealogy Research in the Kingdom of Prussia

December 20, 2021 By Trina - Legacy Tree Genealogists Researcher 11 Comments

CATEGORIES

SEARCH

SUBSCRIBE

  • Home
  • Services
  • Highlights
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Careers
[wpca_btn_reset_consent txt="Reset your consent" txt_resetting="Resetting now.."] Terms of Use Privacy Policy

© 2004 - 2021 Legacy Tree Genealogists. All rights reserved.

  • Services
  • Highlights
  • About
  • Press
  • Blog
  • .
  • English
    • Spanish
    • Portuguese (Brazil)
    • Swedish
    • Danish
    • Norwegian Bokmål
    • Russian