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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…
