civil war pension applications

Subsequent acts broadened the coverage to include all veterans, their widows, and their unmarried or widowed daughters. The federal pension system profoundly affected both the American political and economic systems in the decades after the war. Thus, these files often include supporting documents such as marriage records, birth records, death records, affidavits, depositions of witnesses, and pages from family bibles. Many of their stories exist within an often examined and cited primary sourceCivil War pension records. Civil War Records - Home - Research Guides & Indexes at The Library of This database is an index to approximately 28,000 individuals who applied for Civil War Confederate pensions in Tennessee. The reality of the situation was, as usual, quite different than the image. Pensions for naval service were published on the following NARA microfiche publications: Some of these microfiche publications have also been digitized on Fold3. The resulting Civil War pension records often contain family information useful for genealogy research. You may press enter to select an option. Shaffer, Donald, After the Glory: The Struggles of Black Civil War Veterans. for information about state agencies with records relating to Confederate pensions. An example of these cards is shown below. If both RDT1 and RL-SL inform you that they do not have the file, please file a FOIA requested with the Department of Veterans Affairs. In many cases, the veteran was eligible to apply for a pension to the. For proof of age, you might find copies of family Bibles or church registers, or you may find affidavits from parents or siblings. This Act awarded pensions to soldiers injured during the Civil War and the surviving widows and minor children of soldiers killed during the war, generally called the General Law.. President Theodore Roosevelt issued the Executive Order for Old Age Pensions in 1904, which increased pension payments based solely on age, with increases for veterans of 62 years, 65 years, and 70 years of age, regardless of injuries. The USGenWeb Archives Pension Project is an endeavor to provide actual transcriptions of Pension related materials for all Wars prior to 1900. One of the side effects of this legislation was a large number of men transferring their pensions from their previous disability pensions to these new service pensions because the new pensions paid more. Authorised by the Australian Government, Canberra. Further information is on NARAs Frequently Asked Questions web page. under, length of time served, and the name of the company (most companies were organized at the state level). We suggest that you start your research by searching the, General Index to Civil War and Later Pension Files, ca. You can access a range of DVA services online. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Women were also included both as widows and as veterans (primarily nurses) as time went on. Enter search terms here to filter available options. If you are using an Apple computer and want to fill . You must know your ancestor's military unit to order a service record or a pension record. ), A complete Federal pre-Civil War military pension application based on Federal military service before 1861 (includes the Pension Documents Packet.). By 1910 more than 90% of living Union veterans were receiving some kind of government assistance. More than a million men were on the pension rolls by 1893 and pensions ate more than 40% of the federal governments revenue. But the above information is only a small part of what you might find in a pension application file. Their hometowns threw them parades, their family was (usually) thrilled to have them back, but it was just not enough. Civil War "Widows' Pensions" - Forces War Records This collection as of June 2016 is only about 11% complete, but will eventually encompass approved pension case files of widows and other dependents of soldiers submitted between 1861 and 1934 and sailors between 1910 and 1934. The Civil War pension system provided a model for later systems. These index cards are organized alphabetically by the surname of the applicant. The card also includes places to put the names of any dependents who applied under this soldiers service, including the widow and minor children. 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. She teaches at the Genealogical Institute of Pittsburgh and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. Also, the index is available with a free account on, United States General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, While the index is available in the places listed above, most of the pension case files are not available online. Union pension files are not microfilmed and must be copied from the files at the National Archives (NARA) if they are not available digitally. "A Reasonable Degree of Promptitude" | National Archives For most modern Americans the image of Civil War veterans is the one they have seen in the movies or read in novels. Online Civil War Records, Indexes and Rosters - Online Military Records Following the Civil War, pensions were initially granted under the "General Law" enacted on 22 July 1861 in an effort to recruit volunteers, and later expanded on 14 July 1862 as "An Act to Grant Pensions," which provided pensions for soldiers with war-related disabilities, and for widows, children under sixteen years of age, and dependent relatives of soldiers who died in military service. Civil War Union Pension Records: Family History Research A widow(er) can apply for this pension where they were legally married to, or in a de facto relationship with, an Australian veteran immediately before the veteran's death. Some repositories also have records of Confederate Homes (for veterans, widows, etc. In certain circumstances, the War Widow(er) Pension will be paid automatically without regard to whether the veteran's death was as a result of war service or eligible war service. This website requires a paid subscription for full access. These first recipients only received benefits from the time of their application. The Civil War pension was a federal program introduced in 1862 to compensate wounded Union Army veterans and their dependents. You may use arrow keys to change which option is selected. The Arrears Act provided veterans a lump sum payment to cover the time between when they left the military and when they applied for the pension. We welcome updates and additions to this Wiki page. USA.gov, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration In addition to the specific information provided in the affidavit, they also provide information for your cluster genealogy studies, by identifying an associate and their specific association. What Can You Learn From a Civil War Pension Record? On 27 June 1890, Congress passed the Disability Act of 1890 which extended pension benefits to veterans who could prove at least 90 days of service in the Civil War (with honorable discharge) and a disability not caused by "vicious habits," even if unrelated to the war. The series was microfilmed as National Archives Microfilm Publication No. The Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900, NARA microfilm publication T289, FS Library Film is available and searchable by name on Fold3. There are two series of applications that were rejected and never converted to certificates of pension. Please make note that NARA does not house Confederate pension files. Generally, an applicant was eligible for a pension only if he was indigent or disabled. Powell, Kimberly. Hunt received this plea from Mrs. R.C. These series are the soldier's or survivor's original (SO) application and the widow's original (WO). If both RDT1 and RL-SL inform you that they do not have the file, you may file a FOIA request with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The acts required that applicants be residents of Virginia. For more information see the Department of Veterans' Affairs Factsheet DP60 - War Widow(er)'s Pension. All questions regarding VAs FOIA procedures and fees may be emailed to VACOFOIAService@va.gov. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library. Please check the websites of individual locations for details about requesting appointments. A handy booklet titled Orders, Instructions, and Regulations Governing the Pension Bureau (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1915), available in digitized format for free at Internet Archive, provides an overview of the Pension Bureau's operations as well as an explanation of the the pension application process, describing what types of evidence were required and why for each application. . These pension applicants were either Confederate soldiers or the widows of deceased soldiers. We can be contacted at wiki@genealogicalstudies.com. However, the veteran still had to have been disabled as a result of his time in the service. An interesting side note is that the Grand Army of the Republic actively campaigned for their black brethren to be granted pensions just as white veterans were. Finding Your Revolutionary War Ancestor - Research Guides by Subject Help for people impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence and abuse. You can order online or use NATF Form 86 for military service records and NATF Form 85 for pension records. Table 1 Results of Civil War Pension Applications Based on the Service of Soldiers from Dubuque and Des Moines, Iowa. The two indexes sometimes contain slightly different information, so it is good practice to check both. Military pension application files based on Federal (not State or Confederate) service between 1775 and 1903 (before World War I) are held by the National Archives. In 1937 Georgia had 232 veterans receiving pensions but still 1377 widows, all of whom were eligible for $30 a month even in the depths of the Depression. (2021, February 16). In 1907 and 1912 Congress passed Acts granting pensions to veterans over the age of sixty-two years, based on the time of service. Some libraries offer free access to Ancestry and/or Fold3 to their patrons. Confederate veterans had to produce comrades who would swear to their honorable service. Pension supplement. 1949 - ca. Three years later pension payments began to those unable to economically care for themselves, again following the federal model. Commission 2023 - All Rights ReservedFunded with the support of the Governments In other circumstances, a person must apply for the War Widow(er) Pension by completing the relevant claim form, which can be obtained by contacting the Department of Veterans' Affairs on 1800 555 254 or via the Department of Veterans' Affairs website. War Widow (er) Pension. Kimberly Powell is a professional genealogist and the author of The Everything Guide to Online Genealogy. Many pension applications contain numerous affidavits, from all sorts of associates, including family, friends, neighbors, current and former co-workers, current and former comrades-at-arms, former commanding officers, local government officials, physicians, and others. Glasson, William Henry, Federal Military Pensions in the United States. with full details about the file you are seeking. Its sheer size and complexity warned the federal government of what might happen if there were even bigger wars later. Each pension application was given its own identifying number. Best of luck with your research! If both RDT1 and RL-SL inform you that they do not have the file, please file a FOIA requested with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The 1890 act allowed widows to receive pensions if their husbands were disabled for any reason at the time of their death, not just due to injuries received in service.

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