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Veterans who are recovering from war injuries in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, have been given the opportunity to research their family history with the help of volunteers of the Sons of the American Revolution and Ancestry.com. The Operation Ancestor Search Program was initiated in May 2010 and more than 100 veterans have participated in the program so far.
According to a recent article in The SAR Magazine (Vol. 106, No, 2, Fall 2011), “Besides offering a reprieve to the participants, the research they conduct acts as a stress reducer and nearly always puts them in touch with their family. In several cases, participants have even connected with distant cousins who lived close enough to the military hospital to visit the injured service member … (and) participants are often proud to discover their ancestors also served in the military.”
Fold3 (formerly Footnote) and the National Archives and Records Administration have also supported this program, thus enabling many veterans to experience “wow” moments, when family data is found.
Pfc. Heather Cummings wrote, “I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for offering this program. I have learned of, connected, and communicated with a whole side of my family we never even knew and it is awesome! It is a great learning experience and has been an invaluable tool in helping me heal here at Walter Reed, and I cannot thank you enough for the wonderful opportunity you have given us.”
Additional sites are being sought so that the OAS program can be expanded. Any SAR chapter interested in starting an Operation Ancestor Search program in a local military medical facility should contact Carl Bedell, founder of the program, at oas@dcssar.org. Perhaps this could also be a project for a local genealogical society.
National Adoption Day
Nov. 19, 2011, was declared to be National Adoption Day, but it was on Nov. 15, 2011, that adopted adults could submit a request for a non-certified copy of their original Illinois birth certificate. Adopted persons born prior to Jan. 1, 1946, have been able to request a birth certificate at any time, but the new law, the amended Illinois Adoption Act (750 ILCS 50) signed May 10, 1010, enables those born on or after Jan. 1, 1946, to apply for a certificate.
According to an Illinois website, at http://www.newillinoisadoptionlaw.com/home.htm, “In most cases, the original birth certificate will list the first and last names of one or both birth parents.” However, “all birth parents may indicate their preferences regarding contact with their adult birth child.” This website also provides links to additional information as well as applications and instructions.
Queries, as well as a general exchange of genealogical material that readers would like to share, will be printed in the column for free. Contact Joan Griffis by e-mailing JBGriffis@aol.com.
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