genealogy

Discovering Your Confederate Ancestors

Confederate ancestry can be found on both paternal & maternal sides of your family, so trace as much as possible.

Invest in genealogy tools or services

• Tracing Your Ancestry Logbook by E. Wilbur Helmbold

• Unpuzzling Your Past: The Best-Selling Basic Guide to Genealogy by Emily Croom

• The Unpuzzling Your Past Workbook by Emily Croom

• Family Tree Maker

• Family Search

• Ancestry.com

A simple but very effective form for documentation purposes in regards to joining the SCV is avaialbe here, SCV Lineage Chart. It is completable on your computer and includes directions for it use printed upon it.

Gather your family information

• Family Bibles

• Deeds

• Wills

• Marriage Certificates

• Birth Certificates

• Death Certificates

• Christening Records

• Family Members

• Photos of Headstones

• Post Messages To:

  • GenForum

  • Ancestory.Com

  • RootsWeb

Once you have found a Confederate ancestor(s) and have an idea of the unit/regiment in which they served, you will want copies of muster rolls, pension records, etc. If you have family that seemed to have stayed in one particular area, try the library or archives for that County or State.

• National Resources

  • Sons of Confederate Veterans

  • The United Daughters of the Confederacy

  • National Park Service - Soldiers and Sailors Database

  • FamilySearch: American Civil War Records

  • Past Voices Ancestor Letters

  • Museum of the Confederacy

  • The USGenWeb Project

  • Big List of Genealogy Links

  • OnlineSocialWorkDegree.org Genealogy Research Resources

  • Family, Local, American, and World History Resource Collection

  • Genealogy Resources for Kids

  • Online Genealogy Resources

  • The Ultimate Guide to Genealogy

  • Finding Family from Ship's Passenger Lists

• State Resources

  • Alabama Dept. of Archives & History

  • Arkansas History Commission

  • Florida State Archives

  • Georgia Dept. of Archives & History

  • Illinois Genealogy Trails

  • Kentucky Dept. for Library & Archives

  • Virginia

    • Virginia Public Libraries

    • Virginia State Library

    • Virginia Historical Society

    • "Virginia Regimental Histories Series"

      • Harold E. Howard

      • 96 RR 3

      • Appomattox, VA 24522-9132

      • (434) 352-8871

Share your family tree once you have found your connection to your Confederate ancestor. Take a copy to the area's library and ask that it be filed for other researchers. This preserves your hard work for future generations.