> > To receive a pension for Revolutionary War service you had to live > until 1832, when Congress finally agreed on having a pension, after most of > the guys who served had died. Jim, In 1832 the largest and most inclusive pension act was passed by Congress that made many men eligible who were not eligible under previous acts. But many Revolutionary soldiers were pensioned under earlier Acts of Congress. There is no way to know if a Revolutionary veteran/widow was a pensioner or not without checking the various pension indexes. Even members of militias could be pensioned if they could prove their service and participation in the war effort, and that service was of sufficient duration. Peggy Reeves

We have placed a bunch of pension indices up on our census page: http://census.evendon.com You can restrict the search to the pensions only using the SEARCH SELECTOR in the Left Pane. Don Eve and Don Krieger Pittsburgh, PA http://www.evendon.com Everything on our site is free and permanent. Loading is very fast. Each page includes a highlighted copy/paste link which you can use for easy online citation. Please support us by letting others know about our site -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Peggy K. Reeves Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 9:28 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [PALANCAS] Revolutionary pensioners > > To receive a pension for Revolutionary War service you had to live > until 1832, when Congress finally agreed on having a pension, after most of > the guys who served had died. Jim, In 1832 the largest and most inclusive pension act was passed by Congress that made many men eligible who were not eligible under previous acts. But many Revolutionary soldiers were pensioned under earlier Acts of Congress. There is no way to know if a Revolutionary veteran/widow was a pensioner or not without checking the various pension indexes. Even members of militias could be pensioned if they could prove their service and participation in the war effort, and that service was of sufficient duration. Peggy Reeves ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi Peggy,      Yes, there were pensions before 1832 but they helped only a small fraction of the people who served.  Officers who had died in service or people who were maimed but managed to survive.  I know Lancaster County provided a pension for a Captain who died in service.  Still, the average guy didn't have a chance to receive a pension, you had to live to your 70s to qualify and not many people lived to that great age in those days.  Not to mention, all the people who can certify that you actually served had already died.  Of the 10 or 12 Revolutionary War soldiers in my genealogy, only 1 received a pension.                                                                                                                   Jim For more on Revolutionary War service visit The Conestoga Area Historical Society http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pacahs/index.htm ________________________________ From: Peggy K. Reeves <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 9:28:01 AM Subject: Re: [PALANCAS] Revolutionary pensioners > > To receive a pension for Revolutionary War service you had to live > until 1832, when Congress finally agreed on having a pension, after most of > the guys who served had died. Jim, In 1832 the largest and most inclusive pension act was passed by Congress that made many men eligible who were not eligible under previous acts.  But many Revolutionary soldiers were pensioned under earlier Acts of Congress.  There is no way to know if a Revolutionary veteran/widow was a pensioner or not without checking the various pension indexes.  Even members of militias could be pensioned if they could prove their service and participation in the war effort, and that service was of sufficient duration. Peggy Reeves ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message