Genealogy Resources

General | Revolutionary War | War of 1812 | Civil War | Spanish-American War | World War One | Non-Printed Sources

General

Annual report of the Adjutant General of the State of New York.
Annual. 1858- current
Most years listed all of the officers in the NYNG and their unit affiliations; many years have a name index.

National Guard and Naval Militia List and Directory Officers of the National Guard and Naval Militia of New York.
Annual. The library has a run from 1914 to 1939.

New York National Guardsman.
Monthly. 1929-1940.
Good source of photographs and biographical information on higher-ranking officers.

Official National Guard register.
Annual. 1925- 1995. Library has an incomplete run.
Gives a brief sketch of each National Guard officer’s military career.

Revolutionary War and Post-Revolutionary War

Hastings, Hugh, compiler. Military minutes of the Council of Appointment of the State of New York, 1783-1821.
4 vol's. Albany : James B. Lyon, 1901.
A good source for the names and locations of early New York State militia officers and
nits. The fourth volume is an index.

War of 1812

Public papers of Daniel D. Tompkins, governor of New York, 1807-1817. 3 vol's.
New York and Albany : Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co. & Albany J. B. Lyon, 1898-1902.
Good source for War of 1812 officers and units. Each volume is indexed; volume 3 has a cumulative index.

Civil War

New York. Adjutant General. [Register of New York regiments in the War of the Rebellion]..
43vols. Albany: 1894-1906.
Lists the officers and enlisted men in each New York State volunteer regiment and battery during the Civil War. Includes a sketch of their service with the unit. A hard to find set.

Phisterer, Frederick, compiler. New York in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 to 1865.
6 vol's. Albany : J. B. Lyon, 1912. 3rd edition.
Provides a brief service history for each New York State volunteer and militia unit that served in the Civil War. Includes a list of battles and casualties. Lists the officers for each regiment with a sketch of their service in the regiment.

Spanish-American War

Herrick, Chauncey W., compiler. Index to New York In the Spanish-American War.
Albany : J. B. Lyon Co., 1914.
Separately printed index to New York in the Spanish-American War.

New York in the Spanish-American War, 1898 : part of the report of the Adjutant-General of the State for 1900.
3 vol's. Albany : James B. Lyon, 1900.
Provides a brief service history of each New York State regiment that participated in the
Spanish-American War. Lists each man who served in the regiment and includes a
sketch of his service record during the war.

United Spanish War Veterans. Department of New York.
Proceedings of the United Spanish War Veterans.
Annual. 1904-1973. Library has an incomplete run.

World War One

Kincaid, J. Leslie, compiler. Roll of honor: citizens of the state of New York who died while in the service of the United States during the World War.
Albany : J. 13. Lyon Co., 1?22.
Arranged by counties.

O’Ryan, John F. The story of the 27th Division.
2 vol's. New York : Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., 1921.
The most complete history of New York’s 27th Division during World War I. Well
illustrated. Includes appendices listing winners of decoration and list of the 27th
Division deaths (includes name, unit, rank, date of death, and where originally buried).
The index is fair.

Non-Printed Sources

Armory/Unit collections. -
Detailed records kept by National Guard units in several New York State communities. Included in these records are unit descriptive lists, muster rolls, scrapbooks, company/regiment letter books, photographs and other material relating to the operation of a National Guard company or regiment. A number of these collections contain Individual Military Service Record files for members of the unit. These records contain service histories and civilian information on thousands of members of the New York National Guard and New York Guard from the 1870’s to the 1950’s. Communities for which these records are currently available include Malone, Glens Falls, Oneida, Utica, Oswego, Tonawanda and Oneonta. Unpublished finding aids are available for each armory/unit collection.

Commissioned personnel record file.
3.8 linear feet
Card file of New York National Guard, National Guard Reserve, Naval Militia and New York Guard officer service cards, 1916-ca. 1955. This file was begun by the NYS Adjutant General’s office in 1926. The cards contain name, date S.O. (separated out), rank/branch U.S. service, organization/unit New York State service, business and home addresses, photograph of the officer (most cards do not have a photograph) and date of the information. It appears officers were not added to the file after ca. 1955. The file is arranged alphabetically by officer’s surname.
AA 2001.00 15

New Jersey soldiers serving In the New York National Guard during the World War.
50 pp.
Abstracts of service records of New Jersey residents who died while serving in New York National Guard units during World War 1. Information included in the records: name, residence, place of birth, age at date of enlistment, organizations served in, grade, race, date of death and person notified of death.
AA.2000.0036

New York Guard monthly rosters, 1940-1945.
51 volumes.
AA.2000.0004

New York National Guard officer service cards - casuals prior to January 1, 1930.
1.5 linear feet
Service cards for New York National Guard officers who were dropped from active duty prior to January 1, 1930. The cards include the officer’s name, grade, date of commission, date of entry into service, unit, birth date and place, and their United States and New York State military service histories. The file is arranged alphabetically by officer’s surname. These cards are for officers who served in the New York National Guard from approximately the 1870’s to 1930.
AA.2001.0018

New York National Guard officer service cards - casuals since January 1, 1943.
1.5 linear feet
Service cards for New York National Guard officers who were dropped from active duty between January 1, 1943 and approximately 1960: The cards include the officer’s name, date of birth, state where born and their United States and New York State military service histories. New York Air National Guard officers are included in this file; The file is arranged alphabetically by officer’s surname. The cards are for officers who served in the New York National Guard and Air Guard from approximately 1900 to the mid 1960’s.
AA.2001.0017

New York National Guard officer service cards - casuals who served In World War I.
.6 linear feet
Service cards for New York National Guard officers who served in World War I as either an officer, NCO or enlisted man. The cards include the officer’s name, grade, date of’ commission, date of entry into service, unit, birth date and place, and their United States and New York State military service histories. The file is arranged alphabetically
-by officer’s surname.
AA.200 1.0032

New York National Guard officers dropped on January 1, 1982.
.6 linear feet
Service cards for New York National Guard officers who were dropped from the official NYNG rolls on January 1, 1982. The cards include the officer’s name, grade, date of commission. date of entry into service, unit, birth date and place, and their United States and New York State military service histories. The file is arranged alphabetically by officer’s surname.
AA.2001 .0Q33

New York State Veterans Oral History Program collection.
A collection of video and audio interviews with New York State veterans. The main focus of the collection is New York State veterans who served in World War II. This is an ongoing project.

New York State Veterans Questionnaire collection.
A collection of service history questionnaires received from New York State veterans, or veterans who served in New York State units. The focus of this collection is on veterans of World War II to the present. This is an ongoing project.

Photograph collection, ca. 1850’s - present.
A collection of over 5,000 photographs relating to the New York National Guard and New York State military history from circa 1850 to the present. Nearly 2,300 of the photographs are of soldiers who served in New York State units during the Civil War.
The collection is accessible through a searchable database at the library.

Record of award of medal other than Decoration for Long and Faithful Service card file, ca. 1915-1971.
7.5 linear feet.
Card file containing the names of individuals who were given New York State military service medals, other than the Long and Faithful Service medal. The cards, alphabetically listed by surname, give the person’s name, address, award given, medal number, date of issue and the individual’s service organization/unit. Medal types included are: Spanish-American War, Mexican Border, Aqueduct, Conspicuous Service, World War I and II, Recruiting and New York Guard.
AA 200 1.0009

Register of officers whose services terminated prior to Jan. 1, 1858.
5.75 linear feet.
Card file of New York State militia officers whose state service ended prior to January 1, 1858. The register is arranged by organization/unit number (1-86). (Officers serving in the 1st Infantry, 1st Cavalry, 1st Artillery, etc. are all listed alphabetically by surname under “1”). Officer cards are filed under the organization in which the officer was first commissioned. Any subsequent rank or organization affiliations are listed. An officer’s organization affiliations are listed hierarchically, the smallest organization is listed first (example: regiment-brigade-division).
AA2001.0014

Register of officers whose services terminated prior to Jan 1, 1916.
4.75 linear feet.
Card file of New York National Guard and militia officers who left state service prior to 1916 and after 1857. Arranged alphabetically by surname. The information on the card includes the officer’s name, rank, organization/unit and date of rank. This is a brief sketch of an officer’s state service.
AA2001.0013

Service card file of New York National Guard enlisted men and noncommissioned officers activated for federal service during World War II.
8.75 linear feet.
The cards contain the individual’s name, home address, date of birth, place of birth, New York State service history and U.S. service history. The cards are arranged alphabetically by name.
AA2001.0016

Veteran burial location file.
5 linear feet.
This file contains cards giving the location of where veterans are buried in New York State. Locations are given for veterans of the Revolutionary War through World War I. The information on the card includes: veteran’s name, war served in, community buried in, cemetery name, type of headstone, location of the grave, military organization served in, rank and record of service. The file is arranged by war and then by veteran’s surname.
AA.200 1.0034

Compiled by Michael Aikey, 5/2002

Back to Research Main page