US Military; Specifically US Army Historians . . .

And, more specifically, the New York US Army National Guard. 

Finding original source documents for our ancestors can be challenging enough, but it is downright aggravating to have come across this “breadcrumb,” a military service card for an ancestor, only for the search to hit a gigantic roadblock. . .¹

 

New York Military Service Card for Edwin G LINDSEY

 

Index and Source Citation

The source information states that ancestry.com received the database and images from the New York State Military Museum, Saratoga Springs New York.  The card provides the register and page number where the record and information can be found.  Contacting the New York State Military Museum, I learn from Jim, the Assistant Librarian / Archivist, that

”Unfortunately, no one knows what “Register B” refers to.”  

Well, that’s frustrating.  The New York Military Museum website includes the following:  New York State Militia Officers Prior to 1858; About this Collection and a Historical Sketch of the 121st.  However, the historical sketch does not specifically mention the 17th Brigade, 10th division; both noted on Edwin’s  Service Card.  The site also includes an Alphabetical Listing of New York State Militia Officers Prior to 1858.  But, Edwin G LINDSEY is missing from that list.

Clearly, a military service card for Edwin exists / existed, but what the register is that the card refers to, and, where it is seems to be a mystery.  The museum’s website has this plea. . . 

“Each card also refers to a page in a resource called Register "B." (No amount of research has determined exactly what this Register "B" actually is. If someone knows what and where this resource is please contact us.)”

We’ve all been there . . . can’t find information or documents that document our ancestor’s lives and story; yet, they did exist – we are living proof of that.  That is bad enough, but to know that there was a document; a register that existed that contained information and details on our ancestor, but have it lost to . . . is just maddening.  If there are any military historians or descendants of an ancestor who served with the New York State Militia in the 121st Infantry, 17th Brigade, 10th Division and can aid in solving the mystery of Register “B,” I encourage you to contact the New York State Military Museum. 

What database / index have you found that leads you to a record – seemingly – only to find that it is elusive and / or missing?

 Tracy

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Sources:

¹Ancestry.com. New York, Military Service Cards, 1816-1979 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.  Original data: NYNG Officer Service Cards prior to 1/1/1930. Saratoga Springs, New York: New York State Military Museum. NYNG Officer Service Cards prior to 1/1/1930. New York State Military Museum, Saratoga Springs, New York.