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Orphaned Military Records
A recent research experience at the National Archives weeks later is still blowing my mind. When Adjutant General Ainsworth was placed in charge of pensions in 1886, the approval rate for soldiers requesting disability pensions had a massive backlog, and approval of benefits took years. The task of verifying the service of the soldier was difficult, with no indexes, and included searching regimental and company records, and hospital records, which was creating a huge political liability for Congress. General Ainsworth undertook a massive project to compile the service history of soldiers during the 18th and 19th centuries resulting in the CMSR (compiled military service record), the genealogists go-to record for…
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Do Military Pensions Contain Asset Information?
Yes, they may. Generally, a widow needed to prove a financial need to receive his pension, proof of his death, and proof of death (or divorce) of any of her and his prior spouses. A veteran qualified for a pension, regardless of assets, if he was injured in the service of the United States. Beginning in 1907, elderly veterans could receive a pension when they turned 62/70/75 years of age, with sufficient proof of their age, which did not require them to be disabled (34 U.S. Stat 879, chap. 468, “An Act Granting pensions to certain enlisted men, soldiers, and officers who served in the civil war and the war…
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Why Is John’s Diary in his Pension Packet?
During my June visit to the National Archives (Washington, DC), I pulled the Civil War pension packet for John B. Creps. The find of this trip was cousin John’s diary, kept by him during his Civil War service and found in his pension packet1. See this article Introducing John B Creps, and this article to read the entire (its short) diary. John wrote in his diary daily sharing gossip and news of friends, conveying the mundane drudgery of a soldier waiting to be deployed. Some entries are long, while he has just a brief sentence or two on other days. But the question remains, why or how did his diary…
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John B Creps Diary
During my June visit to the National Archives (Washington, DC), I pulled the Civil War pension packet for John B. Creps. The find of this trip was cousin John’s diary, kept by him during his Civil War service and found in his pension packet1. See this article Introducing John B Creps. Below is each page in the diary of John B Creps of Company H, 67th Regiment of Ohio Infantry which he kept during the Civil War. I thought about creating a transcript of each of the pages, but feel the visual of each page speaks louder. The writing, for the most part, is extremely legible, given the diary is…
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Introducing John B Creps
During my June visit to the National Archives (Washington, DC), I pulled the Civil War pension packet for John B. Creps. The find of this trip was cousin John’s diary, kept by him during his Civil War service and found in his pension packet. John served in Company H, 67th Regiment of Ohio Infantry during the Civil War (Union). He was born in Wood County (Oh) and enlisted at 19 years of age on 16 Dec 1863 in Toledo for a term of 3 years. He had brown hair, gray eyes, a fair complexion, and was 5 feet 4.5 inches tall. Upon his enlistment, John was eligible for a $300…
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The Traveling Genealogist®
The Traveling Genealogist® is you, me, and every genealogist who heads out to a courthouse, archive, museum, cemetery, or any other place we might travel to research our family members. This journal will chronicle my findings in the repositories I visit. I frequently travel to the National Archives, Archives 1 (DC), Archives 2 (MD), and other repositories for myself and clients. While I don’t get to share my client’s interesting findings (unless I have permission), I do get to share the neat things I find while poking around in the archives. Not everything I find is for a family member. As a genealogy speaker and lecturer at historical societies, conferences,…
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2019 Archived Posts
GenDetective blog posts from 2019 These posts are here for archival purposes, in an Adobe PDF format, refer to the original release of GenDetective 2019. Published Post Title 01 Jan 2019 2018 My Year of DNA Research 03 Jan 2019 My Map View: That’s Not Where My Family Was At! 08 Jan 2019 My Map View: What Places Did GenDetective Pick For My Family? 16 Jan 2019 My Map View: People Versus Events? 22 Jan 2019 My Map View: Country Maps 22 Jan 2019 My Map View: State Maps For Other Countries 05 Feb 2019 My Map View: State Maps for The United States 13 Feb 2019 My Map View:…
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2018 Archived Posts
GenDetective blog posts from 2018 These posts are here for archival purposes, in an Adobe PDF format, refer to the original release of GenDetective 2018. Published Post Title 24 Jan 2018 GenDetective Version 3.1 Now Available! 24 Jan 2018 What If Purple Is My Least Favorite Color? 20 Jan 2018 What Is My Tree View? 07 Mar 2018 Those Darn Wells’ .. The Problem 14 Mar 2018 Those Darn Wells’ .. The Approach 26 Mar 2018 Those Darn Wells’ .. Our Hall 29 Mar 2018 Those Darn Wells’ .. A Mountain Of Data 07 May 2018 Those Darn Wells’ .. Starting With Marriages 10 May 2018 What Is My Family…
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2017 Archived Posts
GenDetective blog posts from 2017 These posts are here for archival purposes, in an Adobe PDF format, refer to the original release of GenDetective 2017. Published Post Title 16 Jan 2017 2016: The Year I Broke Thru 2 Genealogy Brick Walls! 13 Feb 2017 We’re Related App Milestone — 100 Matches! 21 Apr 2017 Is There Going To Be A GenDetective Version 3? 25 May 2017 GenDetective v3: Different Screen Sizes 30 May 2017 GenDetective and New WWII Draft Registration Cards 20 Jun 2017 GenDetective v3: Remove MS Access Report Engine! 27 Jul 2017 GenDetective v3: Enhanced Research Progress! 25 Aug 2017 GenDetective v3: My Video Library Enhancements 30 Aug…
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2016 Archived Posts
GenDetective blog posts from 2016 These posts are here for archival purposes, in an Adobe PDF format, refer to the original release of GenDetective 2016. Published Post Title 05 Jan 2016 Hello New Ancestors 10 Jan 2016 Connecting To Database Redux 23 Jan 2016 Local Tax Records 09 Feb 2016 This And That 13 Apr 2016 Jackpot! 1 Sep 2016 Have You Been A Selfish FindAGrave User Too? 23 Dec 2016 The We’re Related App 29 Dec 2016 Looking Back At 2016
