Trail of Tears

Question

According to family stories in Tennessee, my 4th great-grandfather worked for the government to move Native Americans during the Indian Removal Act period. How would I find official records of his employment?

A1 Reference Branch · Answer

algeske 
 Thank you for posting your question on History Hub! 
 If your ancestor was a soldier whose unit was involved in Native American removal, then his military service records might be useful to check. The Archives 1 Reference Branch in Washington, DC (RR1R), has the following records documenting pre-World War I military service: 
 
 Compiled military service records for Volunteer soldiers 
 Registers of enlistment and enlistment papers for Regular Army soldiers 
 Pension application files for Volunteer and Regular Army soldiers 
 
 Alternatively, if your ancestor was a federal civilian employee with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), then he might be documented in BIA employment records or BIA correspondence files . 
 For more information about these records, including to determine if we have detailed finding aids, please email our unit directly at archives1reference@nara.gov so that we can assist you further. 
 We hope this assists you with your research! 
 Sincerely, Archives 1 Reference Branch (RR1R-23-66829-RB)