Records for keepers who served between 1845 to 1912 are stored at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Due to the frequency of requests for this type of information by people conducting genealogical research, the National Archives has digitized the 6 rolls of microfilm and made them available on CDs:

Roll 1 covers – The New England states 1845 to 1913

Roll 2 covers – New York to Virginia 1845 to 1913

Roll 3 covers – North Carolina to Texas 1845 to 1913

Roll 4 covers – Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes 1845 to 1900

Roll 5 covers – Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes 1900 to 1913

Roll 6 covers – The West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii 1845 to 1913

All of the keeper information found in the microfilm are now available in the US Lighthouse Society's Research Catalog at:  https://archives.uslhs.org/index.php/people and on https://www.lighthousefriends.com

Lighthouse Keeper Civilian Personnel Records

If the individual served with the U.S. Lighthouse Service (starting in 1896) or the Coast Guard as a Civilian Employee (lightkeepers prior to 1939 were civilians, many stayed in as civilians after the Lighthouse Service merged with the Coast Guard after 1939), you will need to contact the Civilian Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

Coast Guard Military Personnel Records

Personnel records of active duty Coast Guard personnel are stored at the Military Personnel Records Center also in St. Louis, Missouri.

Coast Guard Crew Lists

These records are stored at the US Coast Guard Records Branch. If you are looking for the names of the crew of a particular cutter or those of a Coast Guard station, you will need to send a request, in writing, to the following office in the Coast Guard’s personnel command. Indicate in the letter which cutter or station and the date (month and year) you are interested in:

Records Branch, CGPC-adm-3
US Coast Guard Personnel Command
4200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1100
Arlington, VA 22203-1840

Locating a Coast Guard Retiree:

You will need to contact the Coast Guard Pay and Personnel Center. Due to the Privacy Act, however, they cannot provide home addresses. Nevertheless, if you would like to contact a Coast Guard retiree, send an envelope addressed to:

COMMANDING OFFICER (RPD)
U.S. Coast Guard Pay & Personnel Center
444 SE Quincy
Topeka, KS 66683-3591

Enclose in this envelope your correspondence (your letter to the retiree you wish to contact) inside another stamped envelope with the retiree’s full name on it. The Pay and Personnel Center will look through their files, add the retiree’s address, and forward your correspondence on to the retiree. Please include a telephone number where you may be reached-since there may be more that one retiree by the name you are seeking, they may need to contact you.

There are a number of books and search engines on the Internet that are useful references to utilize when attempting to locate someone who served in the Coast Guard, such as:

Richard S. Johnson. How to Locate Anyone Who Is Or Has Been in the Military: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard: Active, Retired, Reserve, National Guard, Veterans and Others: Unit Reunion and Veterans Organization Information. Fort Sam Houston, TX: Military Information Enterprises, 1988

Crew Lists & Muster Rolls

Please contact the Coast Guard Personnel Service Center.

Please have the cutter’s or station’s name and the month and year you are interested in.

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