BuffaloResearch.com: Vital Records

By the National Park Service

Index of compensation paid to soldiers & veterans of the War of 1812

black & white scans of over 300 pages of handwritten notes on the soldiers admitted to the Williamsville Hospital during the War of 1812. The original register is in the collection of the U.S. National Archives. Scans were acquired and shared with us by the Cheektowaga Historical Association.

This series consists of approximately 180,000 pension and bounty land warrant application files relating to claims based on service between 1812 and 1815. The files generally contain documentation submitted in support of a claim, such as the original application form, affidavits, and statements from witnesses.

Service records are comprised of cards created from muster, pay, receipt and other rolls for men aboard various vessels attached to the Lake Erie Station during the War of 1812. The information for officers, seamen, ordinary seamen, landsmen, and boys includes name, service dates, terms of service, monthly pay, vessels upon which they served, and notes of interest.

A collection of 454 items, online free in full text at Archive.org. Includes service records of soldiers.

Written in the 1850s by Mordecai Myers, who spent time on the Niagara Frontier during the War of 1812

Lists battles & skirmishes and the resulting numbers of dead and wounded. Published in 1849 and digitized by Cornell U.

On Seneca nation participation in the war of 1812

As with nearly all early state militias, volunteers in the New York state militia during the War of 1812 provided their own arms and clothing. This database is an index of claims presented to the State of New York for payment of expenses for military clothing and equipment provided by volunteers during the war.

The first applications were based on disability or death of a soldier. Beginning in 1871, they were based on service. A veteran's pension file typically includes his rank, place of residence, age or date of birth, and time of service.

These microfilm records from the National Archives were placed on the Internet Archive by the Allen County Library Genealogy Center. The finding guides were provided by DonsList.Net.

An online inventory of primary source documents from the War of 1812 collected by A. Conger Goodyear. The University Buffalo put the inventory online and the Buffalo History Museum owns the actual papers. The collection is not digitized and must be used in person.

Benson Lossing's classic history, originally published in 1869, is online in full text

The following roster was transcribed from the original by New York Oneida Genealogist Becky Karst. Her research was conducted at the Special Collections Library, Fredonia State University, Fredonia, NY.

An article from HistoryNet.com

A short article from the New York State Military Museum

A good guide to discharge, pension, and other records

This guide compiles links to digital materials related to the War of 1812 that are available throughout the Library of Congress Web site. In addition, it provides links to external Web sites focusing on the War of 1812 and a bibliography containing selections for both general and younger readers.

A fully-searchable personal name index to Pay Rolls of Militia Entitled to Land Bounty Under the Act of Congress of Sept. 28, 1850 and its supplement, Muster Rolls of the Virginia Militia in the War of 1812. Approximately 40,000 names are indexed.

Names of those who served.

There are a total of 3792 named individuals in the collection. The envelope contents typically include news clippings, biographical information on the solider, a photograph, and the original printing press plate used for the photograph.

Research advice from the National Archives

800 speeches and 1000 editorials, courtesy of the University of Detroit Mercy.

PDFs of archival letters & documents

Central & Western NY Underground Railroad agents. From: "Yesteryears : a quarterly magazine for the appreciation and study of New York regional history," v. 10, no. 40 (June 1967)

An essay with a map about identifying UGRR sites in the City of Buffalo. Courtesy of BuffaloResearch.com

Courtesy of the Cornell University Library Digital Collections: Images from the Rare Book and Manuscript Collections

The mission of the Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State is to advance and promote New York State’s historic role in the Underground Railroad movement, which was the struggle to end slavery in New York State and in the nation. This story presents an opportunity to invest in preserving and recognizing a trans formative…

This HeinOnline collection brings together, for the first time, all known legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world. This includes every statute passed by every colony and state on slavery, every federal statute dealing with slavery, and all reported state and federal cases on slavery.