Hello Tim and all. I'm going to add my 2 cents worth on this discussion. I've ordered 3 pension files from the National Archives, each of them the full file for $37.00. Each of them is quite different in what data it contains. At the minimum, each of them documents the wedding date of the veteran and his wife and seeks to determine whether they had remained as husband and wife through the Vet's death and that she remained unmarried to the point of application. To do this, there may be fairly detailed information from the person who married them or people who witnessed their marriage and knew them throughout their lives. I've noticed that the amount of info in the file depends a lot on how often the veteran moved. Where the veteran stayed in the same location there is less info in the files, at least the ones that I have. One of my Vets moved to many, many places after the war and there is detailed information about where they lived and when, who they knew, and testimony from those persons. I learned about floods and fires, children,siblings and friends, as well as statements from physicians. That particular file contains tons of affidavits from many people in their lives. Where my Vet remained in the same location, the files simply document the marriage and the injuries the Vet received and how it impacted his employment. Still, the affidavits may lead to further records because it gives you an insight into friends and occupations. The smallest of my files weighed 3/4 of a pound. Gee, it seems to me that since they don't charge your credit card until after they've located the file, that they ought to charge you the smaller charge if they only locate a few pages. Do keep your records. Should the files be located at a later date, you might be able to make the argument that you've already paid for them and that they ought to be provided to you free of charge. Best of luck. Shelly