The Best Places to Check for Ancestors' Records Brought to you in association with our partner, The Ellis Island Foundation .
War stories turn into legends very quickly.
But if anyone in your family was in the U.S. military, there are ways to verify his service. And these records may hold interesting information. In addition to records that tell if your ancestors served in the armed forces, there are also pension records. All these records are kept by the federal government. You must know your ancestor's full name, the approximate dates during which he served, and the state or territory from which he entered the military.