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Memorial Articles (MA) Search Techniques Find
Next of Kin or Lost Grads, and Data for MAs
General Tips
1. Consult with:
1.1
MA Project Coordinator:
Jack Porter.
1.2
MA Liaison (MAL) - volunteer MA leader from each
cadet company (http://www.usma1954.org/Contacts/MALiaisons.htm).
1.3
Action Coordinators (AC) - writing of individual
MAs (http://www.usma1954.org/Memorial/OurMAPages.htm
- click on Cadet Company).
1.4
Search Technique Pros:
Warren Palmer
&
Bill Epling.
2. Familiarize yourself with the MA
subject.
3. Consult widow, children, friends,
company mates, classmates, etc.
4. Keep detailed records recording
all known data (full name, DOB,
date of death, parents names, widow & children
names and addresses, addresses over the years,
military and after experiences, etc.) plus
results from all searches negative and
positive results.
5. There are numerous detailed
search techniques listed below. The particulars
of the case will dictate the sequence of trying
them.
6. Unusual names are easiest try
multiple versions of names on various search
engines.
7. Most online searches can be done
without paying be careful since one can get
into paying when not necessary (occasionally it
is prudent).
8. Most cases can be cracked with
patience and perseverance.
Search Techniques
1. West Point AOG (WPAOG):
https://www.westpointaog.org/
1.1
Archivist & Cullum Files: Dossiers on grads with
contact data, widow, obits, next-of-kin, etc.
data varies.
West Point Association of Graduates
698 Mills Rd, West Point, NY 10996-1607
Marilee Meyer, the Archivist & Cullum Files
1-800-232-4723, x1545
Fax: 1-845-446-1685
marilee.meyer@usma.edu
1.2
Assistant, Class Support Program: Good POC for
many WPAOG related matters.
West Point Association of Graduates
698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996-1607
Jo Ann Shipley
1-800-232-4723, x1538
FAX: 1-846-446-1695
jo_ann.shipley@wpaog.org
1.3
Memorial Articles Editor: Information relative
to status of MAs, etc.
West Point Association of Graduates
698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996-1607
Catherine Siska
1-800-232-4723, x1577
catherine.siska@wpaog.org
1.4
Howitzers (54 and prior): Photos, narrative,
and activities.
1.5
Register of Graduates (current and 2006 (2006
has DOB)): Cullum No., major assignments, etc.
1.6
WPAOG e-mail roster for 54: The latest 54
roster is available at
https://www.westpointaog.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=2200&srcid=2200.
Note that one must log on (with Cullum No. &
password) to view this roster. All those who
have provided contact data to WPAOG.
1.8
WPAOG full contact data (address, phone number,
e-mail, etc.) spreadsheet: All 54, ex-cadets,
and widows who have provided contact data to
WPAOG. This spreadsheet can be sorted by zip
code or any other field in the spreadsheet
(e.g., find all in a given zip code). Jack
Miller, Jack Porter, and Bill Epling have copies
of this spreadsheet.
1.9
Assembly: Back issues (available online from the
WPAOG website).
1.10
Ellis Newsletter: Back issues (check with
Bob Ellis).
2. USMA:
2.1
Graduate Records:
Parents names, DOB, home of record, SSN, Cadet
Company, etc.
Cadets, ex-cadets, grads - write or visit:
O/Dean ORD (MADN-ORD), ATTN: Graduate Records
United States Military Academy
Official Mail & Distribution Center
646 Swift Road
West Point, New York 10996-1905
Telephone: 1-845-938-3708
POC:
Joanne Rera (Joanne.Rera@usma.edu)
2.2
West Point Library (Jefferson Hall).
3. 54-40 Yearbook:
Yearbook for 40th Reunion. Individual
write-ups, pictures, addresses, etc. as of 1994.
Many classmates have a copy.
4. Social Security Death Index (SSDI):
(SSN, if dead where last payment made, if not in
SSDI then likely still alive (classmate, widow,
children, etc.)). Try multiple versions of name.
You can search with just names but SSN is much
faster particularly for fairly common names.
Army Registers in the 1970s 80s for the
Regular Army Active List contained SSNs.
Additionally, when the services switched to SSNs
in place of serial numbers for a while the SSNs
were also included in promotion lists published
in the Congressional Record during Senate
confirmations.
4.1
http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/
4.2
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/
4.3
http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/ssdi
5. Burial Location:
Where and when buried, possibly NOK, etc.
5.1
Arlington National Cemetery (where buried, next
of kin, etc.):
www.arlingtoncemetery.net/usarmy1.htm
Air Force and other services are also
searchable.
5.2
VA Cemetery site (where buried, next of kin,
etc.):
www.cem.va.gov
5.3
http://www.interment.net
5.4
Find a Grave:
www.findagrave.com
6. Obituaries:
Funeral home, NOK, obits, etc.
6.1
Ancestry.com:
www.ancestry.com
6.2
Washington Post obituary archives:
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/search.html
Death notices are searchable for free for 90
days. For earlier notices that appeared online
after 14 October 2001, the searches are free;
results will display the name and first 25 words
of the death notice. There is a $2.50 fee to
view the full text of a death notice. Once
purchased, the full text of the death notice,
photograph (if available) and Guest Book will be
online for 24 hours. Death notices earlier that
October 2001 would be available at local public
libraries on micro-film. The New York Times also
has an archive search fee similar to the Post
6.3
Obits Archive (www.obitsarchive.com)
This website generally goes back to 1990 or a
little earlier attempting to capture the obits
of everyone who died in the U.S. It is not
complete but it is an excellent site. Check the
free results. If you get a hit, go to source to
get obit which is likely a newspaper. One may
need to pay to obtain published obit from
website.
7. White pages:
7.1
Local paper editions:
www.onlinenewspapers.com
7.2
Switchboard.com:
http://www.switchboard.com/
7.3
Dogpile.com:
http://www.dogpile.com/info.dogpl/white-pages/
7.4
Infospace.com:
http://www.infospace.com/home/white-pages
8. People search:
8.1
Intelius:
www.intelius.com.
Select the "people search" in the center column
of the main menu. Site shows relationships among
people (even deceased in some cases) and likely
current or former towns in which individual
lived. Again, maximize use of free searches
without paying for data.
8.2
People Lookup:
www.peoplelookup.com.
Similar to Intelius but not nearly as good. It
sometimes yields slightly different results
which can be useful.
8.3
AnyWho:
http://www.anywho.com/.
Good for locating people and businesses,
checking on addresses and phone numbers, etc.
Can search all states, one by one, to locate
classmate or NOK. Helps to find funeral homes,
schools, realty offices, newspapers, military
units, cemeteries, government offices,
libraries, nursing homes, etc.
8.4
Miscellaneous:
Ask at schools for info re siblings, best
friends, etc. Possibly convince a reporter to
write an article to produce leads, call blindly
to people in small towns who might have known
the family, etc. Use WPAOG classmates and widows
database, sorted by zip code, to find who are in
the general area, have had contact with or have
knowledge of someone or might be able to more
readily help obtain information. West Point
Societies, West Point Parents Clubs, and active,
Reserve, NG, ROTC, and Recruiting units might
also provide information or other assistance.
An atlas is often handy as well as online maps.
9. Real estate property assessments:
Owners, when acquired &/or sold, contact data,
etc.
9.1
Fairfax County:
http://icare.fairfaxcounty.gov/Main/Home.aspx.
9.2
Arlington County:
www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/RealEstate/RealEstateAssessmentsMain.aspx.
9.3
Prince William County:
www.co.prince-william.va.us/default.aspx?topic=040046.
9.4
Alexandria:
http://ci.alexandria.va.us/city/realestate/.
9.5
District of Columbia:
https://www.taxpayerservicecenter.com/RP_Search.jsp?search_type=Assessment.
9.6
Maryland (all counties):
http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/.
9.7
Zillow.com:
http://www.zillow.com
(national in scope not 100% coverage)
Note that many states and counties
provide online access to all real property
records.
10. Professional search organizations:
For a fee they will search for folks. They will
often jump up when doing online searches.
11. Google:
http://www.google.com/
Can be powerful search tool particularly when
name is not common. Try multiple versions of
names (initials instead of first and middle
names, w & w/o suffix, etc.
12. Newspapers:
12.1
If you know that an event happened at a specific
time in a specific place it often pays to check
local online papers for that region. Newspaper
search engines vary greatly in quality and ease
of use. With exception of certain major
newspapers (NY Times, etc.), online searchable
newspaper archives often go back only 2, 5, or
10 years. One must sometimes have to pay a fee
and wait a few days while the newspaper
searchers its archives for your data.
12.2
Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/. Note: One
must provide and e-mail address and establish a
password to get full access for obits, etc. no
fee is involved.
12.3
New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/.
13. Public Libraries:
Public libraries offer user friendly online
capabilities and are easy and affable places.
Many of them will search archives of local
papers for obits of anyone you request going way
back in time (typically cost of about $5). You
usually have to send them a self addressed stamp
envelope with search fee. Search results will be
returned to you via snail mail. Common
turn-around time for a library search is a
month.
14. Zabasearch:
http://www.zabasearch.com.
Site is heavily used by law enforcement. Try a
free search. It often yields specific addresses
and even the date of birth of individuals.
15. Telephone directories:
There are many on the Internet.
15.1
Switchboard:
http://www.switchboard.com.
Be careful not to enter too much data into
search. If the town is not too large, simply
enter last name of person and then scroll
through the results to see if you have a valid
hit. Sometimes for rare names, you can search an
entire state for a person without entering the
name of a town.
15.2
Info Space:
http://www.infospace.com/.
It is useful as it permits reverse searches if
one knows a telephone number and not a name. Hit
rate on reverse searches is about 15 20%.
16. Maps:
Maps can be useful if trying to find out if two
or more towns are close to each other, etc.
16.1
Mapquest:
www.mapquest.com.
16.2
Your installed map or navigation program.
17. Ancestry.com:
http://search.ancestry.com/. Extremely
powerful search engine for multiple sources of
data.
1930 (data as of 4/1/1930) and earlier U.S.
Censuses (parents and sibling names, street
address, occupation, ages, etc.).
Obituary Collections.
SSDI.
Birth, marriage, divorce, & death collections or
indexes.
Death Indexes
Military records (draft registrations, etc.).
VA cemetery burial records.
Directories & membership list.
Court, land, will, & financial records.
This program (largely used for genealogy
research - covers a huge range of time up to the
present) but must be subscribed to. It may
provide key hits.
18. Veterans Records:
http://www.archives.gov/research_room/vetrecs/.
NOK can get copies of complete personnel records
maintained by National Archives or services.
19. Army & Air Force Mutual Aid Association:
http://www.aafmaa.com/.
Wills, contact data, widow, etc. A high
percentage of grads are, or were, members.
20. United Services Automobile Association
(USAA):
https://www.usaa.com/.
A high percentage of grads are, or were,
members.
21. Armed Forces Insurance (AFI):
http://www.afi.org/welcome.asp.
A high percentage of grads are, or were,
members. |
