Was Your Ancestor in the War of 1812 ?

If you have done searches on Ancestry.com for your relative who might have fought in the War of 1812, you may have found his record in Military Records. But there may be MORE ... hidden away in an un-indexed database. The "War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index, 1812 - 1815" is a treasure chest of information. It's not easy to browse, but not impossible, as the records are alphabetized by surname, with sections such as Gra - Gree, and Greg - Gy. Within those sections there may be 800 individuals, so some guesswork is involved. But a little luck and perseverance led me to the following file on Levi Griffin, brother of our 3gt Grandfather, Jonathan Griffin.


Information includes:
Soldier's Name and Name of Widow
Bounty Land File Numbers
Service (Rank, Regiment, State)
Dates of Enlistment and Discharge
Residence of Soldier
Residence of Widow
Maiden Name of Widow (sometimes more than one wife)
Marriage of Soldier and Widow - Date and Place
Death of Soldier
Death of Widow
Remarks (might include info that the soldier sent a substitute, etc.)

Not every person in my files who was enlisted in the War of 1812 is found in these files, but the information I found in only a few searches is priceless.

Thanks to Randy Seaver's blog Genea-Musings for the heads up on this un-searched database.