Henry O. Flipper, the first black graduate of West Point, was charged with embezzlement while serving as a buffalo soldier. The image is from the monthly return that notes his arrest in 1881.

He was found not guilty but was still dismissed from the Army for conduct unbecoming an officer. The Army finally gave him his honorable discharge in 1976, and President Bill Clinton granted a full pardon in 1999.

Learn how to follow the paper trail left by your African American ancestors at ancestry.com/africanamerican.

Christy’s tenure with the unit was short. The 10^th Cavalry’s regimental return for August 1867 notes that he was killed in action on August 2^nd, the first buffalo soldier to die in combat.

From U.S., Buffalo Soldiers, Returns From Regular Army Cavalry Regiments, 1866-1916

Find out how to search for your own African American veterans at ancestry.com/africanamerican.

Last year, we launched the Interactive Image Viewer as an interactive tool to help you view and interpret information from many of the Census records available online. We’re excited to announce that the Interactive Image Viewer will now be available for several more collections in the coming weeks. Finding and understanding historical records is one of the most exciting and important parts of family history, so we’ve been working hard to make an intuitive and enjoyable experience that will work for different Web browsers and devices. Although we still have work to do, here are a few changes you’ll find:

Many, however, are known, remembered, and honored for their service. French-born Henry Falcott enlisted in San Francisco shortly after immigrating to the United States. He served in the 8th U.S. Cavalry during the Apache Wars and received the Medal of Honor. Henry is buried in the San Antonio National Cemetery.  The first burial in the Los Angeles National Cemetery took place in 1889.  Abner Pratt, veteran of the Mexican-American war, also served in the Indiana Infantry during the Civil War. Like Nicholas Porter Earp (father of Wyatt Earp), Abner was living at the National Soldiers Home for Disabled Soldiers and Sailors when he died.

Memphis. San Antonio.  Los Angeles. These three cemeteries, and dozens of others are the final resting place for thousands of soldiers.  And the records of these burials, along with details about their military service are contained in burial registers.

From the 1860s until the mid-20th century, in some places, U.S. Army personnel tracked burials at national cemeteries and military posts in registers that included name, rank, company/regiment, date and cause of death, age, grave number, and original place of burial in the case of reinterments. The U.S. Army was responsible for all national cemeteries from the 1860s until the early 1930s, and they were responsible for depositing most burial registers at NARA.  In 1973, the Army transferred 82 national cemeteries to what is now VA, where the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) oversees them.

With more than 500,000 individuals listed in the records, these ledgers are one of two new Ancestry.com collections, U.S. Burial Registers, Military Posts and National Cemeteries, 1862–1960 and U.S. Headstone Applications, 1925–1963. Both are now available for searching in time for Veterans Day 2012.

As we head into this Veterans Day weekend, may we all take a little time to remember, honor and thank our family members and others who have served in the armed forces, defending the freedoms we enjoy every day.

Incidentally, according to our count of Halloweens, Mrs. Waltrip was, in fact, only one of more than 40 “Halloweens” listed in the 1940 U.S. Census. Since the census doesn’t record birth dates, there’s no way of knowing if all the Halloweens were born on October 31 and simply fell victim to the spirit of the season, as it were. But Halloween isn’t the only spooky name parents have saddled their children with, either.

In fact, speaking of Spooky, there’s always Spooky King of Mississippi. Or Fright Davis, who apparently took in lodgers, according to the 1920 census. (But did they ever leave…?)

If you thought Dracula was a boy’s name, time to think again. Dracula Taylor was very much a woman, wife of Bert and mother of John R. (No word on who actually talked to the census taker that day and whether Dracula was a given name or simply a loving epithet.)

Speaking of thinking again, you might think twice about trick-or-treating at Ghoul Hall’s place. Or knocking on Witch Hazel Hofling’s door hoping for a treat. Pumpkin Hudgkins’s house sounds much more friendly. Ghoul might have been out with his pillowcase working the neighborhood with Goblin Harris and Skeleton Evans anyway.

If you were in Chicago, for years you could have tried your luck at Victor and Irma Frankensteins’ door. (It’s really, Irma, not Igor—check the record.) Or you could find folks named Boo all over the country, from Boo Boatright in Maryland to Boo Murray in Washington.

And though I was hoping for a “Casper” or maybe even a “Space,” no luck: Ghost Ballias’s siblings were named Georgia, Helen, and Paul. All nice names. But where’s the fun in that?

Available to everyone who visits the collection is a gallery of stars long before they became the focus of the paparazzi’s lenses. Notable additions include these previously unpublished photos:

• Snoop Dogg as an underclassman at Long Beach Polytechnic High School in 1988

• Don Johnson, Senior Prom attendant at South High School in 1967

• Kevin Costner playing varsity basketball at Villa Park High School in 1973

• Lucy Liu as a part of the Big Siblings Club at Stuyvesant High School in 1986

“This collection gives everyone the chance to see the surprising differences, and similarities, we share with our relatives and others and serves as a reminder of our own formative years,” said Daniel Jones, VP of Content Acquisition for Ancestry.com. “Regardless of who you are searching for, the Ancestry.com U.S. Yearbooks Collection can make the journey easy, informative, and, most importantly, a lot of fun.”

Take a look at our Ancestry.com yearbooks here and get your search started!

• Heartthrobs: It’s a family reunion of heartthrobs as Justin Bieber, who’s appeared on the cover of almost every teen magazine connects with his newly found 11th cousin, once removed, Ryan Gosling. Gosling, who stole hearts in the drama, The Notebook, shares a bloodline with Bieber by way of Mathurin Roy and wife Marguerite Biré. Records indicate Roy and Biré were born in France in the early 1600s and later immigrated to Quebec, where Roy was a mason. By the time the couple passed away in the late 1600s, their family tree had already started to grow.

• Odd Couples: It’s not that “Complicated” for Bieber and Avril Lavigne, who are 12th cousins. Both can trace a line straight back to the same Roy/Biré family. The branch of that family which directly connects Bieber to Lavigne started when Mathurin Roy and Marguerite Biré married.

• Pop Prince and Pop Diva: Bieber’s family tree holds yet another famous branch: pop-diva Celine Dion. Dating back to the 1600s, the Bieber/Dion connection began with 17th century ancestors the two pop stars share: Jacques Vezina and Marie Boisdon. Vézina and Boisdon were natives of France who immigrated to Quebec in the 17th century. Genealogically speaking, this connection makes Bieber and Dion 10th cousins, three times removed.

“Discoveries like this are rare, so the fact that some of the top entertainment industry stars are all related is especially fascinating,” says Lesley Anderson, Canadian genealogy expert with Ancestry.com. “There’s something special about discovering a shared connection. And to be able to go so far back in history while making that connection is one of the most satisfying aspects of family history research.”

Search all U.S. Censuses free

From August 29th through September 3rd, Ancestry.com is opening all of its U.S. census records – FREE. Share this info with all your family, friends and followers; you can point them to www.ancestry.com/census to learn more and start searching.

Take a trip back in time

Go beyond searching your family’s true story in the census records and see what your own life could have been like as an adult in 1940 with the Ancestry.com Time Machine. Our interactive, time-travel experience requires just a handful of information provided by you. And in return, you get a custom video featuring YOU in 1940. While it’s not genealogy, it is high-tech fun. Create your own video and share it with your followers. And encourage them to create their own at www.ancestry.com/TimeMachine.