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The Minnesota Historical Society hosts an Online index of veterans grave registration reports to improve access to this popular resource. These Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) provide more details on this project.
Which Veterans are Included in this Database?
This database does not include all veterans ever buried in Minnesota.
The veterans grave registration program in Minnesota began in 1927 when the Adjutant General was given the duty of maintaining a registry of veterans’ graves in Minnesota. In 1947 the burden of registry was placed on the embalming and funeral services, which were required to send information to the Department of Veterans Affair. In 1969 the graves registration program was eliminated from the duties of the Commissioner of Veterans Affairs. Although the program officially ended in 1969, some counties—mainly Goodhue, Hennepin, Houston, Ramsey, and Swift, as well as the Fort Snelling cemetery—continued to submit reports through 1975.
If a report was not filed, the veteran will not be found in the index. If a report was filed with the Adjutant General/Department of Veterans Affairs, there will be an index entry. If a report was not filed, even though a particular veteran would have qualified, there will not be an index entry. If a report was filed for a veteran buried earlier—e.g. a Civil War or Spanish-American War veteran who died before 1927—there will be an index entry. If no one filed a report on a veteran who died earlier, there will be no entry. Unlike records kept at Fort Snelling, this database includes only the veteran; spouses are not included in the database unless s/he was also a veteran.
Since this database indexes a specific set of records, the Minnesota Historical Society cannot add veterans or other data that are not contained in the original reports.
What will the Online Index tell me?
The index should provide the veteran’s last name; first name, frequently with the middle initial or full middle name(s); the date of death; the county of burial, and the war(s) in which the veteran served. The date of death is taken directly from the veteran’s grave registration report. Occasionally, the report does not give the complete date of death. In such cases the index entry will be be noted as “Not Indexed,” indicating the report does not contain a date of death, or will appear in angle brackets < - >, indicating that the date is inexact. If only a year is given on the report, the inexact date will appear as 1 January of the year of death. If a month and year is given, the inexact date will appear as the first of the month of death. Standard names of the wars represented in the index are: War of 1812, Mexican War, Civil War, Indian Wars (including the Dakota Conflict and other 19th century engagements), Spanish-American War, Philippine American War, Boxer Rebellion, Boer War, Mexican Border War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War. If the veteran did not serve in a war (or no war was noted on the form), the index will return an entry of “Unspecified.”
What information is on a Veterans Graves Registration Report?
When completely filled out, each veteran’s grave registration report contains the full first, middle, and last name of the veteran; the date and place of enlistment; the serial number, rank, and unit of the veteran; the date and place of discharge; the legal residence; the date and place of birth (usually including the city, county, and state or country); the date and place of death (usually including the city, county, and state or country); the cause of death; name and address of next of kin; date and place of burial; the name of the cemetery and the location of the grave. Frequently, the name and address of the funeral director will be included.
Earlier forms, filled out retrospectively after 1927 for earlier deaths, may include additional narrative information about the military service of the veteran and may include additional details about the veteran’s life.
Included below are two examples of a veterans graves registration report.
How can I get copies of veterans graves registration reports?
You may use this site to search for and gather any veterans grave registration reports you wish to order. Once you are ready to purchase your selected reports, our Online Store will safely and securely process your transaction.
Library staff will make copies of the reports and mail them to you for $8.00 (plus tax for Minnesota residents) per record. This service does not include verification of additional information not appearing in the index.
As an alternative, you may visit the Minnesota Historical Society Library in St. Paul and view the reports yourself. Copies can be ordered in the Library at a nominal cost.
If you cannot determine which reports you wish to order because of similarities in names, etc., you may request Library staff assistance. Instructions and costs for these research requests can be found on the research services section of our Online store.
What is Soundex and how can it help me?
Soundex is an indexing system based on how a surname sounds rather than how it is spelled. This system enables one to search for a name even if it had been recorded with a variety of spellings. By selecting one of the Soundex options on the search screen, this function will be performed automatically. You will not need to enter any codes.
This index gives the researcher the choice of using either the tradional Soundex system or the Extended Soundex system. The traditional system is based on the first letter of the last name, so it is crucial that this letter is known and has been correctly transcribed from documents. Occasionally, letters such as “I” and “J” are misread from paper documents and then incorrectly entered into the database. In such cases, the traditional Soundex system will not be useful but the Extended Soundex system will be useful.
The Extended Soundex system, however, assigns a numeric code to the first letter and to later consonants. Because the code consists of only six numbers and there are 20 consonants in the alphabet, it is likely that a number will represent more than one letter. Therefore, a search for a surname that begins with one letter could result in surnames that begin with other letters. For example, the results of a search for the name “Jensen” would also include “Swenson” because the Extended Soundex program would similarly code the two names.
The National Archives and Records Administration’s web site provides more information on Soundex and genealogy.
What search strategies can be used to obtain better results?
To the left of the last and first/other name boxes, the researcher will find four options for searching: Exact, Contains, Starts with, Ends with. An “Exact” search will require that the name entered in the search box appears exactly as it has been entered into the index. If the name in the search box does not exactly match the name in the index, no result will be found. A “Contains” search will match a sequence of letters that appears in the name as indexed. This search allows the researcher to chose a string of letters from the last and/or first/other name and the results will return all those entries in the index matching that sequence of letters. The contains search is the default search that the computer will use unless the researcher changes it. The contains search is especially useful in the first/other name field because the index entry occasionally mixes first and middle names. The “Starts With” and “Ends With” searches allow a researcher to enter a single letter or group of letters that appear at the beginning or end of the last or first/other name.
The researcher may limit the search to a specific year or range of years of death. Researchers should be aware that if no year of death appears in the index, entering a specific year or range of years will yield no result.
The researcher also may limit the search to a specific county or counties of burial. All 87 Minnesota counties are represented in index as well as Fort Snelling National Cemetery (indicated as “Fort Snelling”), which appears in the index as if it were a county.
What is the history of the Veterans Graves Registration Program?
In 1927, the Minnesota Adjutant General was given responsibility to maintain a permanent registry of the graves of all persons who served in the military or naval forces of the United States and whose mortal remains were buried in Minnesota. In 1943, this responsibility was transferred to the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. In 1947, the funeral director overseeing the burial was required to complete the form and forward it to the state. In 1969, this graves registration program was eliminated from the duties of the Veterans Affairs Department, although some officials continued to submit reports until about 1975. The extant records total approximately 70,000 forms.
What are other research tips and warnings for the researcher?
The Veterans Graves Registration Index includes only military veterans who are buried in Minnesota. It does not include veterans who enlisted from Minnesota, who resided in Minnesota, or who died in Minnesota if they are buried outside the state. This index also does not include Minnesota veterans who may have been buried in American cemeteries on other continents.
According to the law, forms had to be submitted only for veterans who were buried between 1927 and 1969. However, many county veterans officers or interested individuals submitted reports for veterans buried in Minnesota prior to 1927. Thus, many Civil War and Spanish-American War veterans who died long before 1927 are included. However, it must be stressed that these reports are not comprehensive; not every veteran buried in Minnesota is represented in this index.
The completeness of each report varies according to the information provided to the compiler. Early pre-1927 reports may be very complete or they may consist only of a name and grave location of the veteran.
Some Civil War veteran’s reports, filled out retrospectively, give only the veterans’ name, unit of service, and location of burial. There is no way that a researcher can assume completeness of any report without looking at the full report.
Some inconsistencies in the original filing of the reports have been noted. This is especially true for burials at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Most of these reports were filed in Fort Snelling. However, a few Fort Snelling burials were filed in Hennepin County.
Finally, over the decades individuals and families have changed the spelling of family surnames. These reports, and therefore the accompanying index, reflect the spelling used at the time the report was submitted. For example: van der Lande to Vanderland or Le Sueur to Lesueur or O’Sullivan to Sullivan. The name listed may not be the same name the family uses today.
Why can’t I find a veterans graves registration report that I know should be there?
There are many reasons why the report for a specific veteran may not be included in the index. Some reports simply were not forwarded to the state. When the information for a veterans graves registration form is first compiled, there is also room for error. People providing the information often forget to include certain pieces of data. It is not unusual to find misspellings in older records of all types. In addition, poor handwriting may have led to errors in transcription or re-keying of data.
While the Minnesota Historical Society is greatly concerned with the quality of this index, not all these errors can be corrected. Information in original records, even when erroneous, cannot be changed. To help make your searches successful, be aware of the possibilities of misspellings and different spellings. Consider all the possible variations in a name when doing a search (e.g., Johnson, Johnsen or Jonson). Use the Soundex options to give yourself the best chance to find a name. Remember that the complete record is not available through the index; you may need to order copies of a number of certificates to get more information and narrow your search.
Although the forms are supposed to be filed in the county of burial, please note that occasionally they are filed in the county in which the funeral director was headquartered or in which the decedent resided.
How do I search for a married female veteran whose military service was under her maiden name?
The veteran is indexed under his/her legal name at the time of death. Please check the index under that name. Remember you can use exact, starts with, ends with, contains, or Soundex options.
What wars are covered in the Veterans Graves Registration Index?
War of 1812 (1812-1814)
Mexican War (1846-1848)
Civil War (1861-1865)
Indian Wars 19th century (includes the Dakota Conflict)
Spanish-American War (1898)
Philippine American War (1899-1902)
Boxer Rebellion (1900)
Boer War (1899-1902)
Mexican Border War (1916-1917)
World War I "WWI" (1914-1918)
World War II "WWII" (1939-1945)
Korean War (1950-1953)
Vietnam War (1964-1975)
How do I locate other sources for listings of veterans graves?
Check your local library and historical society for cemetery records, indexes, or transcriptions.
Websites
The National WWII Memorial contains information on the “Greatest Generation.” Further information is available at their website. www.wwiimemorial.com.
For the Civil War check the Civil War Solders and Sailors System at www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/
Another source for Mexican War, Civil War and Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, and the Korean War is www.abmc.gov
Minnesota World War II Casualties Army and Air Force
www.accessgenealogy.com/worldwar/minnesota/index.htm
Nationwide Gravesite Locator Veterans and their dependents buried in Veterans Administration National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries and other Department of Interior and military cemeteries.
http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/j2ee/servlet/NGL_v1
American Veteran’s Cemeteries Cemeteries for our nation’s veterans.
http://www.invsoa.homestead.com/Cemeteries.html
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