For my line with many men of the same name, Alfred Ridge is a son of Thomas Ridge, I thought an unmarried man's records could name siblings and parents. As a beginner, this was a daunting task and closures from Covid made it impossible. When I saw Gopher mentioned in a Facebook chat group it seemed like the answer. And it was, 52 pages worth! His injuries led to an extensive medical record with testimonials from many people because his doctor died. Who knew. Just a single page has descriptions, dates, living situation, and multiple locations. As the only [...]

I came across the Gopher Records service during research into one of my ancestors. I decided to use their service to get specific civil war records that could contain some interesting and detailed information regarding my ancestors, somewhat unexpected, military service. Gopher Records provided exactly what I was looking for and at a very reasonable cost. I highly recommend them based on my experience.

I found Gopher Records on a list of independent researchers available for hire to retrieve records at the National Archives. Bob Velke was very responsive and kept me updated as the National Archives gradually re-opened to researcher access during the COVID pandemic. Fortunately, Bob retrieved my ancestor's entire Civil War pension record including his widow's pension application where I found the information I needed to document my ancestor's divorce from a previous wife, my second great-grandmother. The county records were burned in 1864 so I had no other documentation of my second great-grandparents' life event.

I am extremely happy with the service from Gopher Records. Communication score: 5/5- they responded to my initial inquiry quickly and with everything I needed to know, and checked in while the work was in progress so I knew where things stood. Ease of Ordering: 5/5- a well-designed order form. Speed of Delivery: 5/5- they gave a reasonable time estimate and then were even quicker on delivery. Ease of Payment and Delivery of Material: 5/5- kudos to their webmaster! I can only wish every online transaction worked this well. Value: 5/5- Ordering from Gopher Records was affordable, even without reference to the much [...]

I am quite pleased with Gopher Records. It took only two weeks to get my records. Plus, the price was very reasonable. I shall use them again.

I am so delighted with Gopher Records. They were able to scan my ancestor's Civil War pension records and hospitalization cards in such a speedy manner. They are also cheaper than NARA! Three weeks is much better than a year or two. I have already recommended them to people on Facebook genealogy groups who want Civil War records. My Civil War soldier from New York was shot in his armpit and they got the miniball out through his back of his shoulder. This occurred at Cedar Creek. Thank you Gopher Records!

Gopher Records found a Bounty Land Application and Warrant for the heirs of a soldier who died in the War of 1812. Two previous searches by others could not find it. It included affidavits to two courts identifying the soldier's wife and all of his children who were alive at the date of his death plus their ages. No other researcher of this family had a complete list of the children. I have spread it around to the others. It also included a letter from the government detailing the soldier's enlistment. The [...]

I have used another service in the past. Gopher Records is by far better.

The team at Gopher Records was quick and efficient getting me homestead files and military files for my research. Their communication is straight-forward and honest. When the archives was closed I received several updates letting me know when Gopher Records would be able to go and access records. Overall very pleased with their services!

I was very pleased with the complete Pension file of 25 pages and the fast turnaround time. I told my Genealogy Writing group that meets by zoom every week about sending for them. They talked about how long they had to wait when they hired people to look for them. Everyone was pleasantly surprised to learn that I received the file the next week. AND the pension file proved the cause of death of my Civil War Ancestor. (Different sides of the family had completely different stories about how he died.) Thank you, Linda