Many of you have asked me why there is no record of a Civil War pension for an ancestor. I have replied that it was need-based. Here is an excellent elaboration on that from the State Archives of Georgia . Dee For details on sources used, refer to this link: http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncbladen/lookups.htm Since many of the former Confederate states had very little money after the war, the money that was used for pensions was given to those who were destitute or were unable to make a living because of a disability. There were very strict guidelines used to determine who was eligible for a pension. Here's the information from our "Civil War Sources at the Georgia Department of Archives and History" brochure: Confederate Pension Records Article VII, Section 1, of the 1877 Georgia Constitution authorized the state to pay for artificial limbs for Confederate veterans. The Act of September 20, 1879, provided that such claimants could submit proof of eligibility to the governor who, on receipt of the claim, was authorized to draw a warrant on the state treasurer. Later acts and constitutional amendments expanded the list of disabilities for which confederate veterans could claim state benefits, such as the loss of eyes and hearing (1886) and the disabilities of age and poverty (1894). The Act of December 23, 1890, allowed for pensions to be paid to widows who were married during the war to Confederate soldiers who died in service of afterwards from wounds or diseases contracted in service. The Act of December 29, 1899, extended this coverage to include widows who, by reason of poverty, age infirmity, or blindness, were unable to provide a living for themselves. The Act of December 15, 1896, created the position of commissioner of pensions. Prior to this time, the comptroller general and the governor administered the claims. Between 1896 and 1939 the responsibility for administering the Pensions and Records Department within the state of Georgia. The Act of March 17, 1960, abolished this department and transferred its records to State Archives of Georgia. Georgia paid pensions to Confederate soldiers and their widows who were residents of Georgia at the time of the application, providing they met existing application requirements. Eligibility requirements changed from year to year. Military service or wartime residence could have been in another state. Soldiers and widows who left Georgia after the war were not eligible for a Georgia pension, but they may have applied in their subsequent states of residence. Additional Facts A typical soldier's pension application may include the name of his unit, day of enlistment and discharge, value of personal property, and the number of years that he lived continuously in Georgia, or, in some cases, his exact date of birth. In rare cases the applicant included his discharge and affidavits from members of his unit in order to prove his service. A typical widow's pension application may include the husband's name, name of his unit, date of their marriage, husband's death date, and how she was supported. In some cases, the widow included a copy of the marriage certificate to prove her relationship to the soldier. Not contained in a typical pension application is genealogical data about family members, such as names of parents, wife, or children. A soldier's death date normally is not included in his file but many times can be found on other pension office records. Usually, names of other family members are found only if the pensioner died while still due a pension payment. Pensioners had to complete an application form each year through 1907; therefore, there is a separate application for each year. The most significant information is normally found on the initial application. After 1907, the county Ordinary annually sent to the state pension office an updated list of county pensioners to show changes from the pervious years. The applications are currently arranged alphabetically by county and then by surname within each county. State Archives of Georgia created a name index, and a card was made for each applicant and the three witnesses to the initial application. The index card contains the name of the applicant, the husband's name in the case of the widow, the soldier's unit number/name, and the county in which the application was filed. Hope this helps, Pamela W. Coleman, Public Programs Coordinator State Archives of Georgia www.GeorgiaArchives.org -----Original Message----- From: Slsamz@aol.com [mailto:Slsamz@aol.com] Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 8:47 AM To: GA-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [GA-Roots] Obtaining pension after Civil War I have a question regarding pensions after the Civil War. My gg Grandfather had four sons in the war from GA. One came home. As far as I can determine no one requested a pension for their service. Was this common in the South? If so, why? Did they not trust the US Gov or just not want their money? Did they know they could get pension money? Thanks, Sandy ==== GA-ROOTS Mailing List ==== Faye Dyess fdy13@home.com Listmanager Thou shalt check thy spelling and thy grammer. Searchable Archives at: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl ==== GA-ROOTS Mailing List ==== Faye Dyess fdy13@home.com Listmanager Learn and Enjoy IRC Chats-Step by Step Instructions-It's free and fun http://www.flash.net/~gen4m/ Thou shalt ponder how thy recipient might react to thy message.