Comments on: The Proof of the Pension Is in the Reading, by Michael John Neill http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=1866 The Place for Ancestral Connections Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:46:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.1 by: Fred H. de Oliveira, Jr. http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=1866#comment-220254 Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:31:09 +0000 http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=1866#comment-220254 Yes, the pension files DO contain a lot more than pension information. Several years ago I discovered that the Civil War pension file for the second husband of my great-grandmother, Fred Weston, was in the National Archives, and for a small fee I received a copy of the entire file. Through this file I was able to get a fairly good picture of great-grandmother Friederike's life after my grandfather divorced her in absentia in 1881. She lived with Mr. Weston in Albuquerque from about 1881, where he worked in the railroad shops. About 1894 Weston developed a double hernia from heavy lifting and had to stop working, even though he was only 52 years old. Friederike applied on his behalf for a Civil War pension in about 1897. She re-applied (to request an increase) several times after that before Weston's death in 1906. In about 1902 he was moved to a home for disabled veterans in Sawville, CA, where he lived until his death. Meanwhile, Friederike finished raising their three children by taking in laundry. All this and much more I learned just from the Civil War pension file! Since the "official" family story was that Friederike had died not long after my great-grandparents' divorce, this part of her life had always been a dark family secret. Thanks to that Civil War pension file, the story can now be told. Yes, the pension files DO contain a lot more than pension information. Several years ago I discovered that the Civil War pension file for the second husband of my great-grandmother, Fred Weston, was in the National Archives, and for a small fee I received a copy of the entire file.

Through this file I was able to get a fairly good picture of great-grandmother Friederike’s life after my grandfather divorced her in absentia in 1881. She lived with Mr. Weston in Albuquerque from about 1881, where he worked in the railroad shops. About 1894 Weston developed a double hernia from heavy lifting and had to stop working, even though he was only 52 years old.

Friederike applied on his behalf for a Civil War pension in about 1897. She re-applied (to request an increase) several times after that before Weston’s death in 1906. In about 1902 he was moved to a home for disabled veterans in Sawville, CA, where he lived until his death. Meanwhile, Friederike finished raising their three children by taking in laundry.

All this and much more I learned just from the Civil War pension file! Since the “official” family story was that Friederike had died not long after my great-grandparents’ divorce, this part of her life had always been a dark family secret. Thanks to that Civil War pension file, the story can now be told.

]]> by: Jeanne Luhr http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=1866#comment-218429 Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:03:33 +0000 http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=1866#comment-218429 One of the forms my great-grandfather had to fill out to get his Civil War pension was a list of all his children, living or dead, and their birth dates. Several of us had noticed that great-grandmother was listed as having had 12 children, 11 living in the 1900 Census but none of us knew the name of the twelfth child. She wasn't listed in the family Bible. But there on that pension form was her name and birth date! she was born in 1868 and evidently died before 1870 as she never appears on a census. One of the forms my great-grandfather had to fill out to get his Civil War pension was a list of all his children, living or dead, and their birth dates. Several of us had noticed that great-grandmother was listed as having had 12 children, 11 living in the 1900 Census but none of us knew the name of the twelfth child. She wasn’t listed in the family Bible. But there on that pension form was her name and birth date! she was born in 1868 and evidently died before 1870 as she never appears on a census.

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