Prepared by Elisabeth Lindsay.

A roster is a list, roll, or register of persons or groups, often related to military personnel or units with their turns or periods of duty. May also refer to a list of attendees, participants, members, etc.

Rosters, lists, and directories are useful sources in genealogy, indicating an ancestor's participation or association with a particular group, pinpointing time and place, e.g. masonic rosters, alumni rosters, team rosters, etc. Information varies across documents and organizations but may indicate rank or position, degree attained; membership status; residence; titles; profession; spouse names -- some records may even indicate birth and/or death dates.

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