The Salvation Army was "church"?

Interesting how things we take for granted can suddenly spring into relief. Without specific information, who would think to look toward the bell-ringing Salvation Army as a source of genealogical information. What is the Salvation Army, anyway? In her article, "Salvation Army Records," Gena Philibert Ortega answers the question, providing a brief history of this "church," how it was organized, and your best hope of obtaining records. The article shows that finding the information you need is not always an easy task and you need to be resourceful; and, it's easy to see how this pattern of reserach can be applied to other research challenges. The bonus to this type of research is that even if you don't find your ancestor's name in the records, you may find a great deal to help build the story of your ancestor's life.