I had heard that Gopher Records was the way to go for obtaining records but had waited because I was not yet ready to invest in the records. Finally, I decided to place an order and was shocked at the level of personal service that is given, and on top of that, the turn around was so much faster than I anticipated (in my case, less than a week!). And I gained information from the files that I never would have had otherwise. Highly recommend!!

Many thanks to Bob Velke and Gopher Records. In the very early 2000s, I ordered a copy of a GG grandfather's Civil War pension file from the National Archives. It contained 25 pages. The photocopies were poor quality and difficult to read. Fast forward to February 2025 when I placed an order for the digital files with Gopher. In less than 2 weeks, I received the ENTIRE file consisting of 316 pages of clearly legible text! From the file, I finally have a physical description of my GG grandfather, for whom I have no photos, and some interesting character assessments [...]

I am very pleased with the Pension Records I have received. The convenience of being able to order from home is very nice. The time it takes to receive the files has been very quick. i am very happy with the information contained in the records. Once actually gets the feeling that you know the people named in them. It gives a very realistic picture of the times these people lived through. The illnesses and ailments the soldiers suffered without modern diagnoses and equipment and medication could be horrendous. One learns who these people [...]

I have ordered records from the National Archive directly, and I won’t do that again. Gopher Records was able to get me the same info, less cost, and much faster than using the National Archive service. You don’t pay until the records are secured, which is nice. I have also always gotten records ahead of the promised timeframe. The best way to go!

I was thrilled by the speed, thoroughness, and thoughtful communication in response to my request for a copy of an ancestor’s Mexican War pension file. Wonderful service and high quality result—plus super fast!

I recently contacted Gopher Records about military records for my great, great grandfather and can’t express how much getting the information meant to me. They were very quick and found sooo much good information. So many of the questions that I’ve had for years were answered. I can’t recommend them highly enough enough!

I wrote the NARA personally. I filled out their paperwork and waited 3 months for a reply which was "there is nothing available on this individual". I was certain that my 3rd great grandfather had fought in the War of 1812. Family stories were very strong on his behalf but I had no documentation to prove. I paid for a subscription to Fold 3, watched all the tutorials and could only find his name with no link to prove that this was the correct man. For less money than a year's subscription to Fold [...]

After hearing about Gopher Records through various online communities dedicated to genealogy, I decided to take the gamble of ordering both the service record and pension file for a direct descendant of my family. Even though I ordered them separately, I was highly impressed by the speed and quality of both my orders when they arrived, exceeding my honest expectations. I will definitely recommend this service to other folks who'd be interested in researching their Civil War ancestors, especially those within the reenacting community.

Thanks to Bob & Gopher Records, we were able to put to rest a long-standing debate over how old a particular soldier was in our cemetery. Written on the man's discharge papers was a note from his commanding officer that the man was now 52 years old but at the time of enlistment was listed as age 40 just a year before the officer wrote this discharge. So this cleared up the mystery of his military records not matching other records we had for this man! Thank you, Gopher Records for helping us solve this mini-mystery!

Retrieving some records can be insanely slow. I have made use of Gopher Records on a few occasions and found the service fast, easy to use and a reasonable cost. Very pleased.