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Albert Woolson smoked about eight cigars a day. Defying scientific sense, he still managed to live past his 109th birthday.

When Woolson died in 1956, his longevity and his smoking habits weren't the only remarkable things about him. He was the last known surviving Civil War Union veteran. More than 2 million of his comrades had already died.

Another claim to fame for Woolson: He was the last member of the Grand Army of the Republic, or GAR.

Benjamin Franklin Stephenson founded the GAR in 1866, one year after the close of the Civil War.

Even though the veterans might have wanted to forget their miserable and often gruesome war experiences, they didn't want to forget their comrades and the bonds they formed.

The GAR offered men an opportunity to gather with other veterans who understood the memories and the traumas that were suppressed behind the regular routine of civilian life.

Any honorably discharged Union veteran was eligible to join.

At its peak in 1890, more than 409,000 Union vets were on the GAR membership rosters. Men joined a local post in the community where they lived. Posts sprung up across the country and in a few foreign countries as well.

For example, just about every dinky town dotting the Kansas Plains counted Union veterans among its residents. Kansas, consequently, had nearly 500 GAR posts in the 1880s.

The GAR was more than just an excuse for a guy's night out. The organization wielded considerable political power, lobbying for veterans' rights and for pension legislation.

The GAR also established veterans' homes to care for the elderly and disabled.

Well aware of their own mortality, GAR members established a second generation organization in 1881, the Sons of Veterans of the United States of America. This organization, now known as the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, still exists today.

So how can family history researchers know if their ancestors joined the GAR?

Start at the cemetery. Local GAR posts frequently placed markers at members' graves. A star-shaped metal plaque reading "GAR Post 170," for example, tops a short post thrust into the ground by my great-grandfather's Kansas grave.

Even if there isn't a grave marker, hunt for GAR records to see if your ancestor shows up on the membership rolls. The Sons of Veterans' has a state by state listing of some local posts.

The records were maintained at the local level, and so there is no central national repository. Check with the state archives or state historical society for records. Some records might be at local libraries and museums.

The information in the records varies, but you might find membership rolls, lists of member deaths and burials, account books, letters of application and other correspondence, and meeting minutes.

The New Mexico GAR records, for example, are at the state archives. I found an 1870 letter submitted by Cyrus DeForrest requesting membership in Post No. 1. His handwritten letter outlines his military service and noted his age, occupation, and residence.

Keep in mind that veterans joined GAR posts where they lived after the war, not necessarily where they lived before or during the war.