My records came very quickly and were complete. I highly recommend this service! Thank you!

This was my second order from Gopher Records - and I am even more satisfied with this order than my first. I first ordered the free records assessment, as I am not very experienced in researching military records. After receiving the information from that, I decided to order the Civil War Soldier's Bundle, which included the soldier's service file, pension file, and carded medical records. This was money well-spent! The pension file included letters written by the soldier as well as testimony given by my 3rd great-grandparents - and even included my 3rd great-grandfather's signature. [...]

One of my Civil War Pension requests had an issue at NARA and the Gopher Records team had already appealed the decision before contacting me about the issue and kindly asked for up to 2-3 weeks to resolve whatever issue had arisen. In the meantime they split my initial order so I could get the other research interests while they figured out next steps on the snag. Great resolution! Within a week I believe I received the full pension file, 255 pages of sworn affidavits, medical records, and service summaries, for free. I was told the file had already been [...]

Fast turnaround and great digital copies. If you have ever visited the archives you will understand the tremendous service and great price. If you visit It would be hard to spend less than $300 per night and an extra $50 for your car, plus your travel expenses. You will need to pay for a ride to and from or walk, not an easy task if you are carrying a computer, copier and any paperwork you have. It will take a while to learn the system. How nice is this over the older system when you had to order from the archives itself [...]

I had been curious about my great-grandfather's background as a young man serving in the Civil War as no stories about that generation had ever been passed down to me. I appreciated the service of Gopher Records in retrieving 210 pages tied to his Civil War experiences, including his pension files. I'm learning more and more about him as I work my way through, and I find it exciting to see his actual signature as well as his wife's signature along with a daughter's signature as she served as a guardian to her mother. I learned about Gopher Records [...]

Customer service is top-notch. I will use these guys every single time I need NARA (National Archives) records for things like Civil War pensions or old Homesteading claims. I highly recommended them. Thanks, Bob! I was looking for old Homestead files from the 1930s - cash purchases from a time period past the “normal” era for these things, which I understand makes them harder to find/retrieve. In my particular case, I was looking for two separate claims by the same ancestor (in the same general area). Neither of which were “regular” completed transactions. I had originally asked for help from a different [...]

I have a photo of my grandmother's cousin in his Spanish American War uniform with limited information on the back. The only information I could find on Ancestry and Family Search was the cover to his service records. I asked Gopher Records for help, and within days they sent me his military service records, and are currently working on his pension records. Their fees are much more reasonable than requesting the information from NARA, and they are much quicker to respond. They don't charge anything unless they find what you requested. I will definitely use them again, and highly [...]

Thank you for the superior job you did in researching my two Civil War soldiers. All the documents you furnished established a timeline from their mustering into the Army of the Potomac following through till their discharges. It was a very interesting read and gave a good idea about their time in service. The added bonus was the widow who applied for a pension for herself and minor child after the war. She was unknown to me. Thank you again Gopher Records!

I have been thrilled with the service from GopherRecords! When I first looked at ordering pension records I looked at the National Archives first and it seemed very daunting as well as very expensive! The process through GopherRecords is so easy to use and you don't get charged unless they find the file you are requesting! Thank you so much!

I discovered 4 volumes of records for a North Carolina regiment. The Archives held the original volumes, not transcribed. Gopher Records copied all 4 volumes for me at an incredibly low price, cheaper than me traveling to D.C. just for 1 volume. Their work was timely and of exceptional quality. I now have all available records on the regiment for research and study. Without Gopher Records, the information might never have come to light. I highly recommend this very professional and friendly company!