War of 1812 Records

As if you needed another reason to join the National Genealogical Society? The current (April-June) issue of its NGS Magazine includes a detailed how-to article by Marie Varrelman Melchiori, CG, CGL, on how to find relevant War of 1812 veterans' records in the National Archives. I do mean nitty-gritty: "When using the microfilmed indexes for the 1812 pensions, there are pages that appear to be blank . . . [meaning that] the film needs to be turned," because applicants under the "Old War" pension act have jackets with a stamped form at the very bottom of the envelope. Don't even think about working these people without this article in hand.

Some of these veterans received bounty land warrants for portions of land in what is now more than a dozen counties in western Illinois -- between the Illinois River and the Mississippi, AKA the "Military Tract."

Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal #1

For some reason, my subscription to Ohio's excellent Civil War genealogy journal has arrived in a huge gulp of the first three magazines of 2008 all at once! We'll take 'em one at a time. The journal's home page on the Ohio Genealogy Society web site includes the current table of contents and a PDF of a full sample issue from 2006. OGS also has online Civil War databases, including two big ones available to nonmembers . . . although why anyone interested enough in Ohio to be reading this wouldn't want to join the nation's largest state genealogical society, I can't imagine.

Volume 12, No. 1, 2008:

"Ohio's Bounty System, Bounty Jumpers, & Brokers," by Darrell Helton. Lucid, detailed, and of value to those of us researching non-Ohio soldiers, especially those who enlisted later in the war. Relies heavily on Eugene Murdock's Ohio's Bounty System in the Civil War.

"Irish Catholic Civil War Veterans and the St. Colman of Cloyne Cemetery, Washington Court House, Ohio," by 2006-2007 Senior Research History Class, Washiongton Senior High School, comp. and ed. Anna Bryant. Teacher Paul LaRue. Read these and imagine how your life would have been different if you'd had a high-school history class -- any high-school class -- like this.

"The Willich and Hecker Posts, Grand Army of the Republic, in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine," by Jack Simon. Includes 1898 listo f members including units and 1898 addresses.

"Ask the Experts." OCWGJ has a "Panel of Experts" who answer written questions from subscribers -- in substance and detail. I don't know of any other genealogy journal anywhere that does this.

"Surname Index for OCWGJ, Volume XI, 2007," comp. Beckie Lee Petty and Susan Dunlap Lee

"Ohio Association of Ex-Prisoners of War," submitted by Betty Lloyd.

"Civil War Flags at Ohio Historical Society."

"The Search for James Andrew Monroe Clymer, Company I, 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry," by Brad Quinlin

"1883 Census of Pensioners, Henry County, Ohio," by Michael Elliott -- amplified from the original 1883 Pensioners Report.