Siblings

Just because there are no siblings listed in the Mil Info, does not mean the soldier didn't have any. Just because only one sibling is listed in the Mil Info, does not mean there aren't others.

For siblings and parents to be listed in the Mil Info, there would have had to be a claim, affidavit, letter, or some other document specifically listing an individual as a sibling or parent of the soldier in the pension record. Often, there are no such documents in the pension.

Please do not assume that just because there are no siblings listed that the soldier had none.

Step children

Just a reminder:

If the step children never lived with the soldier, please do not search for them. Even if you think the step children might have lived with the soldier in a decade you can't find, please don't search for them. You still don't know that they lived with him. This is to save time.

Searching for death causes

IMPORTANT:  Please remember that even when you get a great indexed death certificate on Ancestry, you still have to look on Family Search for the image of the certificate in order to  get the death cause.  Death causes are critical to a project about health and mortality, so if the causes are available online, we want to make sure we get them.  

These are a few of the states that have great images available, mostly linked through Family Search except where noted:

Missouri (Missouri Digital Heritage, death certs between 1910-1966)

West Virginia

Michigan

Indiana

Kentucky

Ohio

Pennsylvania

North Carolina

District of Columbia