WW1 Veteran's Bonus
I'm doing my family history research and my Grandfather was a WW1 veteran. In about 1936, my mom tells me that he got a "Veteran's Bonus" when mom and her parents were living in Falls City, OR. His military records were stored in St. Louis and were destroyed in a fire and as a result, I'm having to snorkel around to find out about him in other ways. My Grandmother divorced him long before I was born, so I never even got to meet him!
I don't even have a proper birthdate on him!
When the Veteran's Bonus checks were issued, was there ever a master list of the people checks went out to? I could narrow it down by state and city and see if his name is on the list. The list must be archived someplace.
Could you point me in the direction of this information. Many thanks in advance. Maybe now I can begin his lineage. His name was: Robert Paul Adams, dob 1896/97 and he says on my mom's birth certificate that he was born in "WY".
Answers
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April
I am just another 'lowly' User/Patron ...
And, not that I can be of much help/assistance ...
But ...
That said ...
Can I humbly suggest that you REPOST this 'Question' of yours, to a couple, of 'Group(s)', in the 'Groups' section (ie. found on the 'left-hand-side' Column), of this "Community.FamilySearch" Forum; on the 'off chance' that, the members of those 'Groups' may be able to help/assist you.
By the way, you will need to "Join" a 'Group' to post a 'Question' in that 'Group'.
The two (x2) 'Group(s)' that I would humbly suggest; at least, as a starting point, are:
[ 1 ] ... Home > Groups > Military Records
Military Records
https://community.familysearch.org/en/group/121-military-records
[ 2 ] ... Home > Groups > United States Genealogy Research
United States Genealogy Research
https://community.familysearch.org/en/group/198-united-states-genealogy-research
Good Luck.
I hope this helps.
Brett
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You ask good questions in your post, and Brett has shared some great groups to join. To narrow down your Grandfather's birthdate, calculate that he probably was close to your Grandmother's age and if you know her birth year, add 2 to 5 years + or - to get a range for his year. Also, if you know where your grandmother lived around the time she would have married your grandfather or divorced him.
Other places to look would be the National Archives they are a great repository of military records. I believe they are set up in quite a few States, here is a link to the different locations https://www.archives.gov/contact as well as calling local governments, historical societies, local newspaper archives and Newspapers.com may prove helpful too. April, I came across this story about the Bonus Army: How a Protest leads to the GI Bill. You may find this rather interesting (historical reference) as it would have impacted your grandfather. https://www.npr.org/2011/11/11/142224795/the-bonus-army-how-a-protest-led-to-the-gi-bill
Sometimes marriage records have birthdates of the groom and bride, are you able to find your grandmother's marriage record? Census records are good to look into as well, to try and pin down your grandfather's birthdate.
Wishing you a successful genealogy hunt.
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The American Legion helped us when we were trying to find out about my father’s Korean War service. They were able to give us some addresses to check.
Wishing you success in your search.
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