Re: Rejected Pension Information
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In reply to:
Re: Rejected Pension Information
John Preston 11/12/07
John,
You are quite right about the helpful nature of a reorganized abstract, such as the book you mention.The entries are very very brief, however, and in at least one intance I know of not really accurate.
The NGSQ index volume gives only state of service, state of residence, and no information really on the pension applications except the file number.For common names as usual such an index still leaves a lot to look through on the microfilm -- but it does at least offer a way to make a checklist.
If you did not find your man in the book you mentioned, he is unlikely to be in the microfilm files.
What you have noted, concerning the widow's having a hard time proving service of her deceased husband, was more broadly true of widows, particularly when they were 2nd or 3rd wives.By they time they were applying in the 1830s and 1840s, few witnesses to the husband's service and to their life together as husband and wife were still living, and of those still living many had moved away and were not in touch.
If the attorney in question were working prospectively, such as for a share of the first few pension checks, possibly he decided that not enough evidence was accessible to make teh arduous application procedure worth his time.
Good hunting,
Judy