NGS to Launch Preserve the Pensions Phase II: Veteran Bounty Land Records Project

NGS Press release…

RICHMOND, VA, 2 JUNE 2023—The National Genealogical Society (NGS) today announced the next phase of its work with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to preserve pension files and other records of veterans of early American wars.

NGS and the National Archives and Records Administration have agreed that the second phase of the Preserve the Pensions project will fund the preservation, indexing, digitization, and public availability of the Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, ca. 1800 – ca. 1900 (HMS Entry Number A1-26, totaling over 3300 cubic feet of records). The project will also include Case Files of Bounty-Land Warrant Applications of Indians Based on Services Between 1812 and 1855, ca. 1812 – ca. 1900 (HMS Enter Number A1-27, with an additional 28 cubic feet of records).

The project is expected to run from January 2024 through December 2027. NGS will launch a capital fundraising campaign to raise $2.5 million to support the project. NGS has hired David P. King, Fundraising Counsel LLC, to assist with fundraising.

“These records offer significant evidence for tracing early American military families. To enable people to discover their past, these historical records need easier and greater access to those researching their family history, “said David Rencher, AG, CG, FUGA, FIGRS, who serves on the NGS board and chairs the Society’s development committee.

The new project builds on the “Preserve the Pensions: War of 1812” effort begun by the Federation of Genealogical Societies, which merged with NGS in 2020. That project raised over $3 million to preserve the pension records of War of 1812 soldiers. NGS recently signed an agreement with Ancestry and NARA to restart those efforts after the work was put on hold when COVID-19 forced the closure of NARA.

“The Veteran Bounty Land Records project will take the combined efforts of the entire genealogy community,” said Kathryn M. Doyle, president of NGS. “We look forward to working with other genealogy organizations, particularly our member organizations, to complete this project.” Organizations wishing to contribute to the fundraising may contact NGS executive director Matt Menashes, CAE. Fundraising kicks off this summer.

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