Page News & Courier
Heritage and Heraldry
America's wars have left a long paper trail for genealogists
Article of February 4, 1999
While I haven't received any letters pointing it out yet, I figured I would bring up something that has probably surfaced on the minds of a few of my readers - "Why does he always write about war or war related items?" The answer is that wars have etched themselves, like some sort of indelible ink, on the minds of the participants and the families that either view the events first hand or read about them at home. The events of these times have become important facets of American history. From the French and Indian War to Desert Storm, the United States has averaged approximately 30 years between wars, not to mention all of the other smaller conflicts throughout. In turn, wars have required soldiers, sailors, marines, and in the most recent century, airman. These legions of men and women in the various armed forces have had their services documented in one form or another. While devastating in many ways these wars and the veterans that served within them have left "long paper trails" for contemporary genealogists.
As readers have seen in my columns over the past 16 months, I have mentioned several military related people and events when and how they have related to the history of Page County. I have written about military organizations, individual soldiers, pension records, wartime events and other things that have maintained Page County history in their themes. In fact, rare has it been where I have written about individual families and their histories without bringing up something to do with the military or military related events. The basis for all of these articles has come from various individual microfilmed military service records, pensions of these military members, books that contained information related to their military service, and books related to various events throughout history (books that might have no more than a sentence that mention Page County).
All of these records play an important part in genealogical research. The genealogist usually goes forth with a family story or name and in time, through birth, marriage, death, and cemetery records, form the stepping stone that leads into the creation of their basic "skeletal" family tree (not to be confused with the occasional skeleton in the family tree). Beyond that are the wills and deeds that provide a little light here and there into the lives of these people in the tree. But without turning over the "military stones," one might be missing even more enlightening tales of the family.
In summary, sure, I veer off once and a while (and will continue to do so) into other items that are viewpoints into history and how they relate to us and our family trees. I'll even continue to go off into a tangent here and there. However, with the vast stores of material relating to Page County and its people in war left yet untapped to historical transcription, I leave you with the reminder to hang on tight as I continue to be your tour guide to the past and maybe even give light to the path down your own family tree search. Likewise, I might even turn over a few stones and emerge with stories about characters in this century that have gone virtually unmentioned since Harry Strickler's "A Short History of Page County." But before I leave you on this note, I will make the plea once again for copies (I don't need your originals) of diaries and letters of those same veterans (in particular in the 1800's) over the past.
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