Genealogy Research

Genealogy Research

Accumulating and sharing our unparalleled collection of resources on military history is just half the battle — and the Museum & Library staff is proud to offer research services designed to help answer your questions and to break down those brick walls in your quest to discover your family legacy.

We specialize in military records and are best able to handle questions involving deceased family members who served in the armed forces. Due to privacy laws, we are unable to locate living friends or relatives for you; individuals interested in these kinds of searches should see this notice from Joint Military Postal Activity-Atlantic.

Requests will be processed in the order in which they are received, with a maximum of three simultaneous inquiries. In order to help us process your request quickly, please be as specific as possible and provide a family group sheet, Separation of Service documents, or other appropriate identifying information (e.g. date and place of birth, names of spouses and children, etc.).

Examples of questions that we can handle include:

  • "Please locate any additional information on Roger Ferryman.  He served in the Air Force during WWII.  I already have his Separation of Service papers."
  • "Please locate information on Calvin B. Flick.  He was a Civil War veteran and may have lived in the Wisconsin home for veterans."
  • "Can you locate a unit history for my uncle?  He served in the 114th Infantry Regiment, 44th Division during World War II."

There are no fees associated with our assistance with genealogy research though you are welcome to make a charitable donation to the Museum & Library.  Additionally, services like photocopying (10 cents per page) and digital scanning (variable) are available for an additional charge.

E-MAIL REQUESTS: All research inquiries may be submitted to genealogy@pritzkermilitary.org. Please include your postal address with your inquiry so that documents may be mailed to you as appropriate.

US POSTAL (MAIL) REQUESTS: Please submit to:

Pritzker Military Museum & Library
Attn: Genealogy Research Request
104 S. Michigan Ave. Ste. 400
Chicago, IL 60603 

TELEPHONE REQUESTS: Inquiries may be made also be made by telephone, but often require additional correspondence by mail or e-mail when family group sheets or other documentation is needed. Please call us (312) 374-9333 for more information.