Ann, Karen, and Chris, I appreciate your responses. I ordered the XC file from Suitland, Maryland. My local VA Service Officer helped me with the process, including how I should write the letter. When requesting about anything that is in the care and custody of the government ALWAYS invoke FIOA (Freedom of Information Act). It sounds crazy but when you invoke it that seems to get the ball rolling. Chris you inspired me to learn more about what XC stands for. First, Chris, VA stands for the Department of Veterans affairs. Second, I googled XC file VA and got the following, which I copied directly from the site: "When the VA receives proof of a veteran's death, that documentation IS associated with the file, which IS converted to an XC Folder through the addition of the prefix X In addition to containing the claims history of benefits for which each veteran applied during his/her lifetime, the XC Folder also documents the following benefit categories of death claims 1. Death Compensation 2. Pension 3. Accrued amounts 4. Insurance 5. Burial allowance 6. Dependency and indemnity compensation 7. Adjusted compensation 8. Dependents educational assistance The XC Folder contains all the information necessary to support the beneficiary's award transfer" Chris, these are the acronyms. Seems the Federal Government can't live without them. I know as I recently retired from the Federal Government. It would make your head spin with all the acronyms we used. I will add that this XC file has an enormous amount of information because the soldier kept applying for pensions. He would be denied and he would go right back and apply again. This started out an injury sustained when his horse was shot by the enemy and fell on the soldier as they both went down. There are doctors (surgeons) notes with the drawing showing where on his body is the injury. Does anyone else know if the other deponents were in a separate room when they gave their negative ceremony? I would like to know the process for applying for a claim and witnesses called in behalf of the soldier. Anyone out there who specializes in the Civil War pensions, or someone working for the VA? Cheryl Proctor Southern Indiana On Saturday, November 15, 2014 8:53 AM, Ann Gillespie via <[email protected]> wrote: When the various people were giving their statements, they were submitting statements not appearing at a hearing. Though it was more usual for the people giving statements to be in the same geographic area, that wasn't the case. I've seen files for veterans or surviving spouses who had moved across the country between their service and applying for the pension. So no, they were not giving statements in the presence of the applicant. Sometimes they were interviewed and the statement is in a question and answer format, but that is not always the case. Depending on their level of literacy, they might appear before a justice of the peace and have that person record their testimony or they might write out their statement and appear before a notary to attest to it being their statement and sign it in that person's presence. Some statements appear to just be letters written to the pension bureau - I remember seeing one that was written by the applicant of the letterhead of the drugstore he owned. I have seen a number of pension files with a list of people who had submitted affidavits or who needed to do so. At times, especially if there was a conflict, the list would also include a determination as to whether the statements submitted by each person could or should be considered credible. One of my great-grandfather's served for the Union and applied for a pension. He was injured in training and discharged for disability, but when he applied for the pension a question arose as to whether he had suffered a new injury or aggravated an injury from his childhood. He told a different story each time he submitted a statement, so on the list in his file everyone else is listed as credible but he is not. He was never able to qualify as having a disability stemming from his service and only qualified once the criteria changed to being disabled and having served, without the requirement of a link between the two. What we now refer to as the VA was established in 1921. Prior to that date, pensions were under the auspices of the Department of War. The Veteran's Bureau, as it was originally known, took over the administration of all of the pensions that were still active at the time and assigned them new file numbers to differentiate them. The C and XC numbers are those new numbers, so all of those files have original application and certificate numbers, but they are filed under the C or XC number. Theoretically, when the file is no longer active it is moved to the National Archives, but that process is not dependable. Many of these files are still in the custody of the VA. So far, I have only had one client request a pension file that turned out to be an XC file and was in the custody of the National Archives. There is one child of a Civil War soldier still receiving a pension. Children were only eligible to receive pensions until they turned 16, except in the case of disability and this person does have a developmental disability. I believe that the pension payment she receives is less than $80 per month. Ann Gillespie http://anngillespieresearch.com/<http://anngillespieresearch.weebly.com/> On Sat, Nov 15, 2014 at 5:52 AM, Karen Rhodes via < [email protected]> wrote: > > VA is the Veteran's Administration, an executive department of the U.S. > government which handles veterans' affairs such as pension records and > health care. XC is a designation for a particular class of Veterans' > files. It is the prefix for the number assigned to a claim and related > documents. > > Karen Packard Rhodes > Middleburg, Clay County, Florida > > > > > On 11/15/2014 2:45 AM, Christopher Gray via wrote: > > Hi - as someone from over the pond, while very interested in the topic, I > > don't understand the acronyms. What is a VA and XC? Chris > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [email protected] > > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf > Of > > [email protected] via > > Sent: 15 November 2014 05:42 > > To: [email protected] > > Subject: [TGF] XC file > > > > I am learning what it is like to decipher an XC file from the VA of a > > soldier who served in the Union during the Civil War. There is a wealth > of > > information in this file. > > > > > > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive > environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to > professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. > ------------------------------- > 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 > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. ------------------------------- 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

I forgot to add that every pages of copies I got from Suitland, Maryland were stamped in big bold black letters "VA COPY". For the most part the bold letters stamped have not interfered with my reading of the documents, but a few occasions, it makes a big difference as it interferes with my ability to read the print. Cheryl Proctor Southern Indiana On Saturday, November 15, 2014 2:03 PM, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote: Ann, Karen, and Chris, I appreciate your responses. I ordered the XC file from Suitland, Maryland. My local VA Service Officer helped me with the process, including how I should write the letter. When requesting about anything that is in the care and custody of the government ALWAYS invoke FIOA (Freedom of Information Act). It sounds crazy but when you invoke it that seems to get the ball rolling. Chris you inspired me to learn more about what XC stands for. First, Chris, VA stands for the Department of Veterans affairs. Second, I googled XC file VA and got the following, which I copied directly from the site: "When the VA receives proof of a veteran's death, that documentation IS associated with the file, which IS converted to an XC Folder through the addition of the prefix X In addition to containing the claims history of benefits for which each veteran applied during his/her lifetime, the XC Folder also documents the following benefit categories of death claims 1. Death Compensation 2. Pension 3. Accrued amounts 4. Insurance 5. Burial allowance 6. Dependency and indemnity compensation 7. Adjusted compensation 8. Dependents educational assistance The XC Folder contains all the information necessary to support the beneficiary's award transfer" Chris, these are the acronyms. Seems the Federal Government can't live without them. I know as I recently retired from the Federal Government. It would make your head spin with all the acronyms we used. I will add that this XC file has an enormous amount of information because the soldier kept applying for pensions. He would be denied and he would go right back and apply again. This started out an injury sustained when his horse was shot by the enemy and fell on the soldier as they both went down. There are doctors (surgeons) notes with the drawing showing where on his body is the injury. Does anyone else know if the other deponents were in a separate room when they gave their negative ceremony? I would like to know the process for applying for a claim and witnesses called in behalf of the soldier. Anyone out there who specializes in the Civil War pensions, or someone working for the VA? Cheryl Proctor Southern Indiana On Saturday, November 15, 2014 8:53 AM, Ann Gillespie via <[email protected]> wrote: When the various people were giving their statements, they were submitting statements not appearing at a hearing. Though it was more usual for the people giving statements to be in the same geographic area, that wasn't the case. I've seen files for veterans or surviving spouses who had moved across the country between their service and applying for the pension. So no, they were not giving statements in the presence of the applicant. Sometimes they were interviewed and the statement is in a question and answer format, but that is not always the case. Depending on their level of literacy, they might appear before a justice of the peace and have that person record their testimony or they might write out their statement and appear before a notary to attest to it being their statement and sign it in that person's presence. Some statements appear to just be letters written to the pension bureau - I remember seeing one that was written by the applicant of the letterhead of the drugstore he owned. I have seen a number of pension files with a list of people who had submitted affidavits or who needed to do so. At times, especially if there was a conflict, the list would also include a determination as to whether the statements submitted by each person could or should be considered credible. One of my great-grandfather's served for the Union and applied for a pension. He was injured in training and discharged for disability, but when he applied for the pension a question arose as to whether he had suffered a new injury or aggravated an injury from his childhood. He told a different story each time he submitted a statement, so on the list in his file everyone else is listed as credible but he is not. He was never able to qualify as having a disability stemming from his service and only qualified once the criteria changed to being disabled and having served, without the requirement of a link between the two. What we now refer to as the VA was established in 1921. Prior to that date, pensions were under the auspices of the Department of War. The Veteran's Bureau, as it was originally known, took over the administration of all of the pensions that were still active at the time and assigned them new file numbers to differentiate them. The C and XC numbers are those new numbers, so all of those files have original application and certificate numbers, but they are filed under the C or XC number. Theoretically, when the file is no longer active it is moved to the National Archives, but that process is not dependable. Many of these files are still in the custody of the VA. So far, I have only had one client request a pension file that turned out to be an XC file and was in the custody of the National Archives. There is one child of a Civil War soldier still receiving a pension. Children were only eligible to receive pensions until they turned 16, except in the case of disability and this person does have a developmental disability. I believe that the pension payment she receives is less than $80 per month. Ann Gillespie http://anngillespieresearch.com/<http://anngillespieresearch.weebly.com/> On Sat, Nov 15, 2014 at 5:52 AM, Karen Rhodes via < [email protected]> wrote: > > VA is the Veteran's Administration, an executive department of the U.S. > government which handles veterans' affairs such as pension records and > health care. XC is a designation for a particular class of Veterans' > files. It is the prefix for the number assigned to a claim and related > documents. > > Karen Packard Rhodes > Middleburg, Clay County, Florida > > > > > On 11/15/2014 2:45 AM, Christopher Gray via wrote: > > Hi - as someone from over the pond, while very interested in the topic, I > > don't understand the acronyms. What is a VA and XC? Chris > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [email protected] > > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf > Of > > [email protected] via > > Sent: 15 November 2014 05:42 > > To: [email protected] > > Subject: [TGF] XC file > > > > I am learning what it is like to decipher an XC file from the VA of a > > soldier who served in the Union during the Civil War. There is a wealth > of > > information in this file. > > > > > > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive > environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to > professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. > ------------------------------- > 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 > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. ------------------------------- 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