WWI Veterans Surveys

On Thursday, August 7th, Diane Haddad wrote in the Family Tree Magazine's blog "The Genealogy Insider", regarding a wonderful free database available at the Library of Virginia

Diane wrote that in 1919 in an effort to keep the stories of Virginians returning from the Great War preserved, a governor-appointed Historical Commission sent out questionnaires to the state's returning WWI soldiers and nurses. A report was never published and the questionnaires ended up with the Library of Virginia.

Today, those questionnaires have been placed in a database of more than 14,900 records, one for each respondent. Those files are linked to digitized images of each questionnaire page, plus any accompanying photographs or other materials submitted.

These files hold a wealth of info, data such as the respondent's name, dates, places, educational and religious background, and military service details. Soldiers answered questions about their wartime experiences and how the war affected their personal values.

You can search on a keyboard for a name or hometown or phrase, or enter a word to browse alphabetically adjacent records.

LOV's search results come in a table form. To view the record, click the number on the far left to bring up the catalog entry. Next click the URL next to the document icon, then click the link to the page of the questionnaire.

These records hold an invaluable amount of wealth for the family or professional historian.

Until next time!
cbh