I forgot to mention this about pension records. Our early soldiers were never paid in money, they were paid in land. But as time went on, we became more patriotic about our old veterans and every few years Congress would pass a new law about pensions. Men who did not qualify in early times, might qualify later on. Of course, these men died off, so many never got a pension. But......some of them had much younger wives when they died (sometimes second, third or fourth wife) who would qualify and applied for a widow's pension. also, in later laws, heirs qualified. So you might have children or grandchildren many years later - in 1850s way - sending in for pension or land. They of course had to prove they were the heirs so there is a lot of info in these papers. Also look at rejected pension records - if a man applied under one of the first laws, he might not have gotten anything and been rejected. Then if he died, he never applied for a later pension.......but his old rejected one is still there with all the info. Since the men were asked questions such as 1. where did you live when you began military service? 2. where did you live after service 3. where do you live now, etc. It is a good way to get the migration route of your family. they will often say - I left blank, moved to blank for 10 years, then went to blank. If they are going say from NC to TN to IL.......this is a big help in following them. Also notice the people who vouch for them - sometimes they are relatives of some kind, maybe even of the wife so you get a lead on her maiden name. In some widow's pension records, marriage bond is included or she will mention her maiden name. Also in one I have, she gives date and place of her husbands death and where he is buried. Mary