Civil War Pension Records

Submitted by: HOST GFS Amy@aol.com

 

A great place to gain information on your ancestors, providing they participated in the Civil War, is the Civil War Pension file. These files can contain a gold mine of information.

There were a few different types of pensions that were available to veterans and their families resulting from their services. For example:

INVALID PENSION

The Invalid pension was granted to a veteran for himself as a result of a disability contracted during the war. I have seen them increased later on for other illnesses occurring after service. In order to be granted this pension, the applicant had to give detail of his service and the circumstances surrounding his injury. This will give you background on his actions during the War. He may also have to attest to his age and place of birth. If he was married he probably also had to provide proof of his wife and children (my gr-gr-grandfather had to list all children including birth date -- living and deceased -- so this was a great help). This file will provide information like his addresses after the War.

WIDOW'S PENSION

The Widow's Pension file gives more information of genealogical interest, in my opinion. In order to be granted a Widow's Pension, the widow would have to prove her marriage and her children, producing church records, ministers' signatures, bible records, whatever she had to prove the union had taken place as stated. Again, you will find home addressesm children's names and birth dates.

MOTHER'S PENSION

The Mother's Pension (sometimes even a Father) will include similar information on addresses. The mother will give depositions as to her dependence on her son for her support in the years preceeding his death. Sometimes this will include proof of the father's death, resulting in the mother's dependence.

In all of the pensions mentioned, you can find depositions from friends, neighbors and family members all attesting to the character of the applicant, their dependence on the promise of the pension and you will be able to follow the family's movements for periods usually spanning many years while the pension files were active. One word of caution on the depositions and the people who signed them...they usually state that they are not related to the applicant and have no personal interest in the claim. Not Always True! Look closely at the names given. My gr-gr-grandmother had five people give depositions on her behalf and she was actually related to four of them! You may find a hidden clue that you would never have noticed!

Civil War Pension files can be obtained by completing a form available through the National Archives and Records Center (NARA), NATF Form 85. You can request this form by email, however records requests must be by regular postal service. Fees can be obtained by visiting the website at http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/

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