Civil War Genealogy Topics by Amy Johnson Crow

Amy Johnson Crow is a Certified Genealogist with more than 20 years of experience helping people discover their family’s history. Check out these links to her Civil War ancestor topics:

How to Find Your Ancestor’s Civil War Unit

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Amy Johnson Crow

If you’re one of the millions of Americans who descends from a Civil War veteran, you have a wide variety of records to explore about that ancestor. Knowing what unit he served in is key to getting into those records and making sure you have the right person. Here’s how you can find your Civil War ancestor’s unit.  Continue Reading….

10 Sources for Finding Civil War Burials

Posted on May 24, 2017

Finding where a Civil War ancestor is buried is important to many genealogists. Whether he died in the war or years later, there are numerous sources we can use to find where he is buried. Continue Reading…

5 Sources for Civil War Unit Histories

Posted on November 11, 2016

Broadening your researching into your Civil War ancestor beyond the pension records and service records can reveal new insight into the time he served. Unit histories can help you pinpoint where he was, what battles he fought in, what those battles were like, and other information that helps build context. Here are 5 sources for Civil War unit histories.  

Posted on January 5, 2016

If you weren’t lucky enough to have inherited your Civil War ancestor’s photo, there are still ways to find what he looked like — or at least get a physical description. Here are 4 sources you should look for. Continue Reading…

Using the 1890 Civil War Veterans Census

Posted on October 7, 2015

Yes, you read the title correctly. The 1890 census. The one that was almost entirely destroyed. Although the vast majority of the population schedule is gone forever, there is a part that mostly survived: the 1890 Special Schedule of Union Veterans and Their Widows (AKA “the 1890 Civil War Veterans Census.”)  Continue Reading

Clues for Discovering Military Service

Posted on May 27, 2016
Digging into military records can yield an incredible amount of information about our ancestors. (My favorite is my 3rd-great-grandfather’s Civil War pension file. It showed that he married his second wife 12 days after she divorced her previous husband. Yeah, that.) While some records will spell out military service, there are times when we need to tease that fact out. Here are 3 clues to look for to discover your ancestor’s military service.