How to find your Civil War heritage

Robert E Lee 1

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Jul 3, 2019
I'm looking to join the Sons of Confederate Veterens which if anyone is in it i have some questions but I went to www.findagrave.com and put in the search one of my most recently deceased relatives and it shows their siblings and parents and they lead to their spouses and children and that's how I found the Confederate soldier I needed just browsing through distant family through my known kin and then tracing the veteran back to me or an older relative like my great grandmother.
 
It must be noted that Find a Grave is a volunteer site and is subject to error, you'll want to double check via historical records (Ancestry.com for example.) If you don't have access you could contact a local SCV camp and I'm sure they'd be willing to help you out, or you could provide information relating to your ancestors (Name, birth/death, residence and familial relations) and a member here could assist you
 
Taylin has great advice. You can join a Camp in a "Legionnaire" status, paying reduced dues. They will assist you with your search.

Really? When I began my research into a family ancestor who served in the Confederate army I contacted the SCV chapter nearby the veteran's 1860s home and the NC state SCV to see what sort of assistance might be available. All of my inquiries were ignored.
 
Yeah there are several members here who will probably be able to help you, though your local chapter would also be a good contact point.

The national organization might be able to help you too:
http://www.scv.org/new/link-your-camp-website/research/genealogy-assistance-2/

I agree with @Taylin that findagrave, though useful in its own way, is probably not going to be enough for this, and you will need more extensive documentation of your relationship to that ancestor, as well as his Civil War service. All just my conjecture, though. Double check with people who actually know. :smile:
 
Robert E Lee 1, your local SCV Camp should be more than willing to assist you in discovering more about your Confederate Ancestor, especially if you are considering joining as a member and are trying to prove the connection to your ancestor who served in the Confederacy during the ACW. If your local Camp can not help you, then someone in the Brigade or the Division in which the camp is located can help. Membership in the SCV can be obtained through either lineal or collateral family lines and kinship to a veteran which must be documented genealogically.

You can do this by putting together a small family tree connecting you directly to the ancestor (you, Parents, Grandparents, Great Grandparents, etc... all the way to the ancestor under whose Confederate service record that you wish to join) and submitting with your application copies of census records, birth information, death records, etc... which connects you directly through the generations to that ancestor. A Lineal SCV membership shows that you directly descend from the Confederate Veteran by blood (Great Grandfather, Great Great Grandfather, 3rd Great Grandfather, etc...). A Collateral SCV Membership shows that you are related to the Confederate Veteran as a relative (Great Granduncle, Great Great Granduncle, 3rd Great Granduncle, etc...).

You will also need to attach some of your ancestor`s Confederate service records or pension records to prove that he honorably served in the Confederacy during the ACW. If you have specific information regarding your ancestors service during the war (campaigns, battles, skirmishes, fights, actions, etc...) you can summarize it and enclose that when you submit your application and packet for consideration to be accepted as a member.
 
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Greetings Robert E Lee 1

I will be glad to offer any assistance that you need in your family search, just let me know.
What is the family name, where did they live, do you have any dates, what is the page to your find a grave family member.


I am a member of the SCV
I just hijacked this from the thread, I’m absolutely new to everything here, where do I even start? My first post is in the intro page, so please answer me wherever it is appropriate. Thank you!
 
Greetings Rossana9041

Do you have a family member that you know their full name, state, county, they lived in, or do you have a family member that served during the war that you would like to know more about.
 
Greetings Rossana9041

Do you have a family member that you know their full name, state, county, they lived in, or do you have a family member that served during the war that you would like to know more about.

Hi, thank you for responding. I know my grandparents names and my great grandfathers name. That’s as far back as I have knowledge of. They were from Clay County WV. My kids had to do a family tree 5 or 6 years ago for a school project, and I didn’t know how to look for more. My mom was an only child, and I lost track of her first cousin, the only relative on that side I knew of as a child.
 
Hi, thank you for responding. I know my grandparents names and my great grandfathers name. That’s as far back as I have knowledge of. They were from Clay County WV. My kids had to do a family tree 5 or 6 years ago for a school project, and I didn’t know how to look for more. My mom was an only child, and I lost track of her first cousin, the only relative on that side I knew of as a child.
Clay Co. WVA
What is your ggfather's name and what is the birth date and what year was he in WVA
 
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I'm looking to join the Sons of Confederate Veterens which if anyone is in it i have some questions but I went to www.findagrave.com and put in the search one of my most recently deceased relatives and it shows their siblings and parents and they lead to their spouses and children and that's how I found the Confederate soldier I needed just browsing through distant family through my known kin and then tracing the veteran back to me or an older relative like my great grandmother.
You can even try contacting their main headquarters in Columbia, Tennessee. They have genealogists who will assist you by giving your grandfather's names and date/place birth etc. on the application.
 
Henry Clay Legg died in 1941 in Clay, West Virginia. Married to Mary Ann Whitt.
1896 is estimated to be his birth year.

Here's a link to Family Search with the page on your great-great-grandfather. You might have to create an account to see it, but it is free, and there are a lot of records for free on that site so it will be of use to you.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9C6-YWX
 
Henry Clay Legg died in 1941 in Clay, West Virginia. Married to Mary Ann Whitt.

I did a quick search on Ancestry and someone has created this Tree. Be careful with Ancestry trees as many of them have bad info. As you will notice in this tree, the father of Mary Ann Whitt is listed with a surname of Ferguson.
Maybe this will give you a start.

John W. Legg(1852-1928) is likely too young to have served.
Franklin Legg(1824-1900) would have been 37 or so. He was born in WV and died in WV.

Tree LEGG.JPG


{Edited} I just noticed this tree has Mary Ann Whitt as Henry's MOTHER and not his Wife. Hmm Maybe it is wrong.
 
I just noticed this tree has Mary Ann Whitt as Henry's MOTHER and not his Wife. Hmm Maybe it is wrong.
I found this name on another family tree that contains 74,000 names. The names shown above are the same. Henry Legg married Ida Brown and his father is John Legg and grandfather is William Legg.
 
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