War Memorials: WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam War

Five Kansas City Area War Memorials

a3Genealogy challenges each of you to share a list of your favorite local War Memorials. We all can name the national memorials - even the WWI Liberty Memorial in Kansas City - but all across America, in large cities, suburbs, and rural towns, the watchful eye can spot war memorials honoring our veteran ancestors. Some are dedicated to a specific war, or troop, others provide a running list of town veterans or those who lost their lives serving our country. These not-so known memorials most often display veteran’s names, but some are structures of “salute” inviting the community to learn more of local troops. Here are five of our favorites.

1.  Korean-Vietnam War Memorial in Kansas City, KS (Wyandotte County Lake, 91^st and Leavenworth Rd). Visit  http://www.panoramio.com/photo/2090495 for additional memorial photos.  Dedicated 1988.

2.  Korean War Veterans Memorial, located in Overland Park, Ks. on 119^th/Lowell St, honors 412  fallen and missing soldiers of the Korean War. Dedicated 2006.

3.  Rosedale WWI Memorial Arch. Although we no longer think of Rosedale, KS as a small town, in the 1920’s it truly was the home of a small community on the outskirts of Kansas City. This Arc de Triomphe style memorial sits high on a hill over the Rosedale neighborhood to remind us of the veterans of the 42^nd Rainbow Division of WWI. Later names of Vietnam and Korean veterans from Rosedale were added.  It is on memorials like these that we may find our veteran ancestor’s names. Dedicated in 1924.

Rosedale WWI Memorial Arch

4.  The Buffalo Soldier Monument in Ft. Leavenworth celebrates the 9^th and 10^th all black Calvary Regiments best noted for the Indian Wars. Dedicated in 1992.

5.  Spanish-American War Memorial, The Hiker, in Kansas City at Penn Valley Park. As mentioned earlier some of the memorials are monuments/structures that invite the community to remember ancestral involvement in a war. Names of veterans who served in the Spain-American War, the Philippine Insurrection and China Relief expedition of 1898-1902 are not provided on this memorial. (1947).

Happy Memorial Day.

Kathleen Brandt

a3genealogy.com

Accurate, Accessible, Answers (AAA)

WWII Captured German Records

Research Soldiers, Graves, Maps

The effort to uncover, identify and study the Captured German Records is getting a lot of attention lately. Captured German Records include: SS, Wehrmacht, Heeres, NSDAP (Nazi), Personnel Records, Aerial Photographs, Foreign Military Studies, German Technical Manuals and more. Actually the microfilm NARA Finding Aid collection is described in over 100 volumes of finding aids ("German Guides"), and the Library of Congress Finding Aid of Captured German Record Manuscripts is also impressive. The original records were returned to the Federal Republic of Germany at the German Bundesarchiv-Abteilung Militaerarchiv in Frieburg/Breisgau, but the NARA has a microfilm copy of the collection.

Resources for Captured German Records

Although most prefer to hire military and NARA expert researchers who are familiar with the various collections and repositories that hold the various records, some may find the thrill in uncovering records DIY (do-it-yourself) style. So for those who wish to tackle this project, know that the NARA collection of WWII Captured German Records consists of over 70,000 microfilm rolls of original German records. There are over 993 microfilm rolls of  the German Army High Command - Oberkommando des Heeres/OKH  (link to T78), and 1,581 rolls of Oberkommando der Wehrmact/OKW  (link to T77) microfilm. So where should you start?

Finding Aids

NARA. Lucky for us many of the NARA finding aids are online: 

• Captured German and Related Records on Microform in NARA
• Captured German Records Microfilmed at Alexandria,Virginia, USA

Library of Congress (LOC). Although researchers would hope for one comprehensive set of records held in one repository, it is not the case. Even within the LOC, researchers must be quite familiar with the various divisions. Begin with the Finding Aid in the Manuscript Division, but, don’t forget the Map and Cartho Division at the LOC. Detailed WWII aerial photographs or topographical maps of towns, regions and battle areas are often designated on the German maps. The WWII German occupation collection of maps is not available online. 

WWII Aerial Photos and Maps

Be sure to visit the WWII Aerial Photos and Maps website.This online collection has an extensive collection of maps spanning from Pre-War Topographical Maps to German and Russian Situation maps.

German Grave Research

If you are looking for a specific German Grave, you may wish to try the Volksbund website:  This easy to use searchable database is in German.

Know that with access to WWII era German map paired with research in the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht records and Oberkommando des Heeres/OKH records at the NARA, researchers may also pinpoint the area of a grave or burial site.

Kathleen Brandt

a3genealogy.com

Accurate, Accessible Answers (AAA)

How to Research Your Texas Revolution Veteran

Map From: http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/texas-maps.htm

Texas Revolution is NOT Mexican American War

There’s so much to say about both the Texas Revolution and the Mexican - American War but we must first learn that these military conflics are not one in the same. Yes, the Texas Revolution may have been one of the catalysts for the Mexican War, 10 years later, but truly, they are two military efforts, akin to the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

History Review and Timeline

Overview. We are all familiar with The Alamo, Sam Houston, and the Battle of San Jacinto that lasted less than 20 minutes, but what do they have in common? They are all related to the Texas Revolution, also known as The Texas War of Independence, 2 Oct 1835 - 21 Apr 1836. American colonists, joined by Mexican settlers (Tejanos)  forced their independence from Mexico’s conservative government which resulted in the Republic of Texas. With the help of Texas sympathizers from the US approximately 2500 men fought for this effort (against approximately 6000 Mexican troops).

Early settlers, 1820-1830, mostly from the US deep south, who entered the region of Tejas of the Republic of Mexico were required to vow allegiance to Mexico and agreed to being Roman Catholic. And although slavery had been outlawed by 1829 in Mexico, it was allowed for an additional year (1830) in Tejas for the American settlers.

1835 War of Independence. It was this year that conservative Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna, known as Santa Anna, became the President. It was this year that Santa Anna promoted his power by enforcing the newly mandated conservative “Siete Leyes” (7 laws). The Siete Leyes established a national government that abolished state legislature to include that of Tejas, denying them of any independent state control.

1836 Revolution Ended. The Revolution ended at the Battle of San Jacinto which lasted less than twenty minutes on 21 April 1836.

1836 - 1845 The Republic of Texas. The Republic of Texas was independent of Mexico and earned diplomatic status from the US, France and Britain. Sam Houston was elected President. However, Mexico still claimed the Texas territory as part of the Mexico.

Dec 1845 Texas joined the Union

1846 Mexican - American War. Keep in mind that the Texas Revolution ended in 1836. Know that the US declared war against Mexico 1846, abt 10 years later.

After the Texas Revolution, the United States claimed the Rio Grande as its southern border, based on the Treaties of Velasco; whereas Mexico claimed the border as Nueces River, north of the Rio Grande. Efforts to acquire (purchase and negotiate) the Mexico territories of Alta California and Santa Fe (NM), to include the Nueces Strip in Texas, failed. The first skirmish - the Thornton Affair (Thornton Skirmish) was along the disputed Nueces Strip. This skirmish led President Polk to lead Congress to declare war against Mexico 13 May 1846.

Of course it is well known that the Mexican - American war resulted in the USA gaining California, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada and parts of other states. And, it also quieted any questions regarding the southern border of Texas. To fully understand this war and the importance of continental expansion, it is vital that historians and researchers understand the American culture of the 1840’s and the role Manifest Destiny played in the decision for westward expansion.

5 Research Resources

In addition to battle museums across Texas, researchers must know that Texan settlers were not exclusive in serving in the Texas Revolution. There were the Georgian soldiers, Kentucky (Mustangs), Alabama (Red Rovers),  Mississippi (Mauraders) and soldiers from the other southern states. Each state should be researched for relevant repositories. For example there were about 120 militia men of the New Orleans Greys (13 Oct 1835) who joined the efforts of the Texas Revolution. Here are 5 good repositories for research.

• New Orleans Howard-Tilton Library. Tulane University, LA

•  Cushing Library & Archives, Texas A&M

• Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) website  has an extensive article providing Research Help to Republic of Texas Military Records 

• Officers and Men of the Texas Republican Army are posted by Company on Fold. 

• Texas General Land Office. Texans who served in the Texas Revolution were extended land bounty and donation grants for 640 acres. For more information on the the issuance of bounty and donation grants reference TSHA –Land Grants.

For More Information
Be sure to visit:

• Sons of the Republic of Texas
• Daughters of Republic of Texas

Kathleen Brandt
a3Genealogy@gmail.com

How to Research US - Mexican War Records

Library of Congress, US-Mexican War

Can be Challenging

Many researchers totally forget there was a US-Mexican War, 1846-1848. But often we can findl veterans of the Civil War that also served in the Mexican War. Most know that by the end of the US-Mexican War, the United States gained the current southwest states between Texas and California.

Researching Your Mexican War Soldier

To begin this research, be sure to learn More About US-Mexican War.

For a list of battles and more information on the US-Mexican War visit:PBS- US- Mexican War. 

Approximately 100,000 soldiers served in the US – Mexican War. Seventy-five percent (75,000) enlisted in the volunteer army. The soldiers also served in the Army, Marines, and Navy. Like the Civil War, most deaths were due to disease. Only about 2000 soldiers who died while serving in the Mexican War, died of enemy fire, or battle wounds. The remaining 11,000 died of disease and many were hospitalized. For this reason a good place to begin your search is using medical records.

Where to Research for Mexican War and Civil War Medical Records

National Archives (NARA) is the repository of a couple important Medical Documents and Records

• Carded Medical Records of Volunteer Soldiers in the Mexican and Civil Wars, compiled 1846 – 1865. The Mexican War records for each organization follow those of the Civil War. These records are arranged alphabetically by surname. Here is the NARA reference: ARC Identifier 655646 / MLR Number PI-17 534 Series from Record Group 94: Records of the Adjutant General's Office (AGO), 1762 - 1984 
• Indexes to Field Records of Hospitals, compiled 1821 - 1912ARC Identifier 655733 / MLR Number PI-17 544BSeries from Record Group 94: Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1762 - 1984 This series also contains references to the series "Reports and Correspondence, 1861 - 1888" (ARC Identifier 655752), "Surgeons' Reports on Medical Operations in Various Commands, 1861-1865" (ARC Identifier 655739), "Reports on Surgical and Medical Cases, 1860-1879" (ARC Identifier 655743), and "Lists of Casualties in Various Engagements, 1860-1889" (ARC Identifier 655746).

Need More?

As many of the soldiers were volunteers, be sure to check your state repositories. A key to your ancestors’ service is becoming familiar with your states’ activity in the war. Don’t forget to look at county and state biographies and obituaries.  In Tennessee, here is a great website to initiate your search: The Volunteer State Goes to War: A Salute to Tennessee Veterans. This website, like many official state websites, will provide us with the battles, officers, and a bit on the causalities.

The Military Resource: Mexican War, 1846-1848 on the NARA website reminds us to check for letters of officers and the National Cemeteries.

For “regular military service (vs. volunteer) officer records and correspondence may be found in the NARA Adjutant General records. Here is a great finding aid for the NARA Military Service during the Mexican War,1846-1848. This finding aid includes locations of the Compiled Military Service Records, Pension Applications, Volunteer Solider Files, and Remarried Widows based on the Service in War of 1812. 

As this war was fought on Mexico soil, 750 soldiers of this war were interred at the US National Cemetery in Mexico City. However, less than 10 of these burials have been identified. Visit the Burial Listing at the American Battle Monuments Commission website. 

Pension Files and Bounty Land: For a quick search at the United States, Index to Mexican War Pension Files, visit the Family Search free website. Veterans who were discharged from the Mexican War were eligible for 160 acres of federal bounty land. Land records are always a great source for genealogical research. For the Mexican War, the bounty-land warrants are filed with pension files at the National Archives can be located in the Textural Records: T317 Index to Mexican War Pension Files, 1887-1926. (Filed by surname for Mexican War, 1846-1848).

African Americans Also Served
Visit: Invisible Men: Blacks in the US Army in the Mexican War. African Americans also served on Naval Ships. 

Kathleen Brandt
a3Genealogy@gmail.com
Accurate, accessible answers

Steps to Tracking Slave Masters

Did Your Slave Master Ancestor Go to Missouri?

I was recently asked "where did the slave masters come from in order to settle in Missouri?" The answer is many of the Missouri slave owners came from Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee and the Carolinas.

The largest slave holding counties were around Saline County: Boone, Manitou, Howard, Chariton, Cooper,  Clay, Ray, and Lafayette counties. These counties are within 90 miles of one another and nicknamed Little Dixie. Researchers will quickly learn that if you find an ancestor in one, it will behoove you to expand your research to include the other counties.

Why did Plantation Owners Move to Missouri?

The Missouri land was ready for cultivation of familiar crops - hemp and tobacco. Even the transplant planters familiar with cotton growing knew that growing hemp and tobacco was similar and required an easy transition with the work of slaves. Eighteen percent (18%) of Missouri’s hemp crop was cultivated in Saline County (before 1861).

Even if you have a Mississippi ancestor, finding ties to Saline County Missouri may be found in agricultural records. Did you know that Missouri shipments, mostly from Claiborne Fox Jackson’s company in Saline County, shipped commodities -  hemp, corn, oats, salt, pork, beef – to Natchez Mississippi to feed the cotton field slaves?

Finding Slave Master Records

Did you know your slave master ancestor is named in every court record and many vital records of his slaves before the Civil War, and many after emancipation? 

Descendants of slaves know, too well, that researching their ancestors involve thorough slave master research. However, the same applies when researching slave masters.  The sale of a slave of his family is noted in the deeds of the slave masters. Ship manifests transporting slaves often name the slave-master. After the civil-war, ex-slave documents, including ex-slave Civil War pension records, legalization of slave marriages and other freedman bureau records, usually names the ex-slave master and his place of origin. We can often determine slave master whereabouts after the Civil War using these records. Ex-slave masters were directly tied to ex-slaves and their identities for years following the Civil War.

For More Information

Press Release: Slave Marriage Book Project

The Slave Marriages

Saving Saline County Missouri Records  

Kathleen Brandt

Accurate, accessible answers

a3genealogy@gmail.com

Website: a3Genealogy.com

Tips on Researching Institutionalized Ancestors

Where are Asylum Records?

As you've probably already figured out, when it comes to researching institutionalized ancestor's it’s not locating them that is the issue; the problem is how to access the records. Is it even possible? In the post Mental Health Facilities and State Hospital Records, 4 Jan 2010, the case of 3rd Great-Uncle Willis Cox and his daughter Freddie Reba (Cox) Looney from Coffeyville, Kansas and Washington County, Oklahoma, respectively, was shared. As I mentioned there, “not everyone can boast that at any given time one, or more, ancestor was being treated in a State Hospital, but I usually exclaim that my family actually had a wing at the Kansas - Osawatomie State Hospital, also known as the State Insane Asylum." But locating other ancestors scattered across the USA, have been a bit more challenging. (Read Stalking Irish Madness and Me, 11 Jan 2010). 

Where to Start

The first step is to confirm your ancestor’s whereabouts. Using the following records/documents will assist you in determining where your ancestor may have been institutionalized: 

• census records
• cemetery records/tombstones
• death certificates
• probate records
• court records
• obituaries 

Finding Records

Every state has has in place statues specifying the distribution, and release of records of the mentally ill.  Many of the earlier records were discarded, leaving perhaps just an index to past patients holding minimum information. The Kansas Statute 65-5603, specifies the information that can be released for family history research.  "Examples include: dates of birth and death, dates of stay, names and addresses of family members.  Medical information, including the DIAGNOSIS, is not open." To obtain copies from these records, researchers must  submit a request form with payment.

This is the case for the Topeka Kansas State Hospital Records. Although microfilmed records are held at the Kansas Historical Society for patient case files from 1872 until the 1960 "only familial relations of deceased patients and living former patients can request information from these records." 

Other states, like Minnesota have year restrictions for retrieving hospital records. In Minnesota there is a 50 year hold on all records from the date of admittance. Accessing these restricted records from the Minnesota Historical Society requires a signed "Application and Use Agreement." For more information  on privacy and genealogy research read:  Privacy Restrictions Keeping You From Research?

Why So Challenging?

Prior to State Statutes, often state hospitals like Osawatomie, Kansas discarded the patients’ original files. However, often indices of past patients are still on record. But to successfully obtain a copy of the medical file, the researcher must broaden the search.

For many states, like Illinois, state mental hospital records are "closed". Researchers will have to piece information using death certificates, military pension records (sometimes widow pension requests), probate records (sometimes closed if assigned to custodian), cemetery records, and local newspapers to obtain sufficient information. We have also seen copy of medical records submitted and filed with court cases. 

A complete 100+ page medical record of Willis Cox’s including his examination records, and doctor's observations at the State Hospital were held with his Civil War Pension records. In the "Survey for family medical history" a bit of information from the attending physicians also mentioned his daughter, Freddie Reba’s convalescent time at the State Hospital.

In addition to the sources mentioned above, and exhausting your State Archives and Historical repositories be sure to do a keyword search at the familysearch.org website.  Here you will find a variety of state hospital records. For example, the Family Search microfilmed New Orleans (Louisiana). Insane Asylum, Records of the Insane Asylum, 1858-1884 contains records on entries and releases of patients. 

  

Kathleen Brandt

Website: a3genealogy.com

Accurate, accessible answers

a3genealogy@gmail.com

Tips to Saving Old Photos

Photo taken 1911, Anthony, Harper County, Kansas. 

Morris Porter (baby) with grandmother Nola (Morris) Wells Jackson. 

It doesn’t take much for a family historian to scream. We get excited with every find of a new ancestor, with every little hint to locating the needed historical document, and meeting faraway cousins - all screams of joy, usually followed by our “happy dance.” But we scream the loudest, and of horror, when we pull out that favorite old photo of the sod house, or of a pivotal ancestor and we realize it is fading, and what is left are clear marks of years of abuse. Time to search for solutions to save our family history, and preserve the places and faces for future generations.   So what to expect?

I turned to Joseph Witkowski, better known as PhotoFixer Joe, located in the Kansas City area.  Photofixer Joe came highly recommended by Jenna Mills of Desperately Seeking Surnames. Thanks Jenna!

Goals for Restoration:

• Goal 1 was to bring life back into the photo
• Goal 2 was to display my ancestors on the walls of my 1904 home. (Thought they’d feel comfortable there.)
• Goal 3 was to preserve the original photo. I was welcoming the thought of less hand touching and exposure to the elements, while still sharing with cousins who clearly have the propensity to touch every detail of the original photo in between licking their fingers dripping of Kansas City Barbeque sauce.

Meet Photofixer Joe

I had the pleasure of interviewing Joe. I did not include below the question: “What is the basic process?” But the answer included hints on scanning, use of Photoshop, and proper printing. Visit the PhotoFixerjoe.com website for more information. .

Q1. Tell me about your current business. What are you doing exactly?
The mission statement of the business is “helping restore your memories”. I restore and repair damaged and faded photographs that are either historically or emotionally important to someone. 

Q2. When did you start the business?
Photofixerjoe legally started as a business in 2011.  However, my education in the darkroom and printing process began 40 years ago when I built my first in home darkroom.  I am a huge fan of Ansel Adams and read somewhere that he tweaked his photograph “Moonrise over Hernandez” for about 10 years before he was fully satisfied with his print.  I was really curious about what he would have tweaked for 10 years and that began the journey of “manipulating” images.

Q3. What is your target market?
My target markets are individuals and organizations that are serious about restoring their memories and understand the level of effort involved in this process. It requires an in depth knowledge of whatever software you are using and a lot of patience. The photograph of your family living in the home built from mud took about 20 to 25 hours to restore. 

Q4. How did you come up with your business idea?
 I purchased my first digital camera about 12 years ago.  It was 3.2 megapixel and I paid close to $1,000.  I think you can get one of those as a gift with a gas fill up nowadays.  I needed to process my own prints and purchased the Photoshop 5.0 software.  We are now on Photoshop 13 (CS 6).  The software was designed with the darkroom process in mind but with greater flexibility.  I had fun with changing people’s hair color, adding hair to my friends that didn’t have it and adding other elements into the picture that were not present in the original image. It evolved from doing silly things to making minor repairs.

Q5. How do you choose which projects to accept?

 The projects that most interest me are old and damaged family photos from the 19^th and 20^th century.  I really enjoy studying the images and learning a bit about the people in the picture.  I even make up my own stories. I had coin collection when I was young boy and I would think about the people who had the coins and the places the coins may have traveled. I had a fairly active imagination which has helped in the art part of restoration.  I also enjoy working on WWII images as well as color faded pictures from the 50’s. 
Q6. What has been the hardest project and what made it so hard?
My hardest project has been the restoration of a damaged picture of a woman, when she was a young girl, with Elvis Presley. Besides the damage, the colors were faded and it was a small snapshot.  I knew what a great memory this was for the woman and trying to get the image closer to her memory of the moment was a challenge but I made it happen.  I really felt great about her reaction.

Q7. What was your favorite a3Genealogy photo that you restored? Why did you like restoring it?  So far, it’s been the image of the family near the mud home.  I thought this was just a great picture that really needed to be restored.  It looks like a very proud family.  They wanted to show the world they were doing OK by including their two horses and standing outside their home. Everyone but the husband is looking at the camera.  In those days the film was very slow which meant the exposure took a few seconds and you had to be very still. This means he was looking away on purpose.  That is very cool and it makes me wish I could spend some time with him.  The lady having her glasses on adds a level of sophistication because of the use of technology to help improve quality of life.  It also shows they were very connected to the outside world.  She did not need to wear the glasses for the portrait but did.  Just the fact that they had someone take the portrait also shows a level of affluence. I can go on (that darn imagination) but will stop here.

Q8. How do you price a project?
 Pricing depends on the level of effort.  It does not take a lot of time to restore a color faded photo from the fifties (how about that for alliteration).  If that is all that is involved I would charge $25 and included is a small digital file for social media use and a large digital file for printing purposes.  Simple restorations would be anywhere from $50 to $100.  For example, your photo with the woman and infant would be right at $100 or maybe just slightly higher.  Extensively damaged photos would need to be quoted.  All quotes would be provided after I scan the image. Damage that is not visible on smaller prints shows up on the enlarged scan. You can request a custom printed file on high quality paper all the way up to 17 X 22 for an additional charge.  Actually, I can print a wall sized mural that would be made up of 17 X 22 segments.  Prices are posted at www.photfixerjoe.com.

Q9. What do you do for fun?

All aspects of photography are fun for me and I love to travel to get exciting images. My wife and I went to Africa in Sept of 2012 on a photo safari.  We loved the experience so much that we are going back March 2013.  We are both Black Belts in Tae Kwon Do and I am also a Scuba Dive Master.

I will share additional restorations April 2013.

Kathleen Brandt

Website: a3Genealogy.com

a3genealogy@gmail.com