A Guide to the Confederate Pension Records, 1884-1978 Confederate Pension Records 44105

A Guide to the Confederate Pension Records, 1884-1978

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 44105


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Library of Virginia

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© 2010 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.

Processed by: Craig S. Moore

Repository
The Library of Virginia
Accession Number
44105
Title
Confederate Pension Records, 1884-1978
Extent
46.75 cubic feet (127 boxes and 35 volumes)
Creator
Virginia. Dept. of Accounts
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Virginia Dept. of Accounts. Confederate Pension Records, 1884-1978. Accession 44105. State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These records came in several accessions and were combined into one body of records under Acc. 44105. Included are the following accessions: 25311, 26270, 26418, 26835, 28020, 28021, 28023, 28306, & 29468.

Historical Information

The Virginia General Assembly passed Confederate pension acts in 1888, 1900, and 1902, and a series of supplementary acts between 1903 and 1934. The act of 1888 provided pensions to Confederate soldiers, sailors, and marines disabled in action and to the widows of those killed in action. Subsequent acts broadened the coverage to include all veterans, their widows and their unmarried or widowed daughters. The act required that applicants be residents of Virginia. Later legislation included veterans or their survivors residing in the District of Columbia as well. An act of the Assembly passed in 1924 provided a pension of twenty-five dollars to any person who accompanied a Confederate soldier in services as a body-servant or who was detailed as a guard, cook, hostler or teamster, etc. Additional subsequent acts increased pension payments and categorized pensioners into several classes based on their disability.

On 15 March 1902, the General Assembly passed an act to appropriate certain sums of money from the public treasury in aid of Confederate memorial associations having in charge cemeteries containing the graves of Confederate soldiers. This act instructed the auditor of public accounts to draw an annual warrant from the treasurer in favor of the treasurers of various memorial associations. Subsequent acts have been passed through the present time for appropriating funds for the care and upkeep of Confederate cemeteries and graves.

An act providing for the funeral expenses of Confederate soldiers or widows enrolled on the pension roll was passed by the General Assembly on 11 March 1908. This act provided twenty-five dollars for funeral expenses of any Confederate pensioner or any widow on the pension roll of the state of Virginia. The act required a certificate of the clerk of the circuit court regarding the death of the pensioner. The auditor of public accounts was then responsible for issuing a warrant for funeral expenses.

On 1 March 1928 the Office of the Comptroller in the Department of Accounts assumed the functions of the Auditor of Public Accounts with regard to Confederate pensions.

Scope and Content

The Confederate Pension Records consist of 118 boxes and 35 volumes and are arranged in eight series. Series have been designated for Applications, Card Files, Certificates, Confederate Memorial Association, Correspondence, Funeral Expenses, Miscellaneous, and Volumes. This collection documents pension payments to Confederate veterans, widows, daughters, and servants. These records should not be confused with The Library of Virginia's Confederate Pension Rolls which should be searched before any examination of the Confederate Pension Records (Click Here to Search Pensions) . The Confederate Pension Records differ from the Confederate Pension Rolls in that they serve as the administrative and financial documentation for the pension rolls. Even though there are pension applications for daughters of Confederate veterans within the Confederate Pension Records, the Confederate Pension Rolls are the best source for these types of records. It is these applications that provide the most extensive information on the Confederate pensioners. The strength of the Confederate Pension Records is that they provide information on maiden daughters or widowed daughters of Confederate veterans who received a pension from the state of Virginia. The Confederate Pension Rolls do not provide information on Confederate daughters who received pensions. In addition, the Confederate Pension Records document pension payments forty years beyond the documentation in the Confederate Pension Rolls.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series:

Series I: Applications, 1913-1975 (bulk 1913-1929, 1967-1975) Subseries A: Daughters Enrolled, 1967-1977 Subseries B: Rerating Applications, 1913-1929 Series II: Card Files, 1930-1975 Subseries A: Payroll Cards, 1930-1977 Sub Subseries 1: Daughters, 1942-1977 Sub Subseries 2: Soldiers, Widows, and Servants, 1930-1966 Sub Subseries 3: Widows, 1939-1970 Subseries B: United Daughters of the Confederacy Convention Registration Cards, n.d. Series III: Certificates, 1908-1960 (bulk 1925-1958) Subseries A: Allowed Certificates, 1908-1960 (bulk 1925-1958) Sub Subseries 1: Servants, 1927-1950 (bulk 1927-1928) Sub Subseries 2: Soldiers, 1925-1950 (bulk 1925-1928) Sub Subseries 3: Widows, 1927-1974 (bulk 1927-1928, 1949-1958) Subseries B: Disallowed Certificates, 1908-1929 (bulk 1916-1929) Series IV: Confederate Memorial Association, 1946-1972 Series V: Correspondence, 1921-1977 (bulk, 1921-1925, 1960-1972) Subseries A: Confederate Pension Administrator, 1963-1972 Subseries B: Deceased Daughters, 1965-1977 Subseries C: Deceased Widows, 1960-1973 Subseries D: Incoming Correspondence, 1923-1925 Subseries E: Pension Clerk's Correspondence, 1921-1924 Series VI: Funeral Expenses, 1909-1967 (bulk 1918-1929) Subseries A: Allowed Claims, 1926-1967 (bulk 1926-1929) Subseries B: Disallowed Claims, 1909, 1918-1930 (bulk 1918-1929) Series VII: Miscellaneous, 1884-1973 Series VIII: Volumes, 1933-1978 Subseries A: Daughter Pensions, 1924-1958 Subseries B: Veteran and Widow Pensions, 1933-1958 Subseries C: Registers, 1933-1947 Subseries D: Warrant Registers, 1961-1978

Related Material

See also Confederate Pension Rolls (Searchable from Virginia Memory on the Library of Virginia website)

Separated Material

Oversized documents separated to Box 118.


Adjunct Descriptive Data

Contents List

Series I: Applications , 1913-1975 .
Boxes 1-4.
Extent: 4 boxes.

The Applications series is housed in four archival boxes and is arranged in two subseries. Subseries have been designated for Daughters Enrolled and Rerating Applications. This series documents applications from both Civil War veterans and daughters of veterans for pensions or changes to pensions. Please note that the Rerating Applications subseries is incomplete.

Arranged into two subseries.

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Series II: Card Files , 1930-1977 .
Boxes 5-26.
Extent: 22 boxes.

The Card Files series is housed in twenty-two archival boxes and is arranged in two series. Subseries have been designated for Payroll Cards and United Daughters of the Confederacy Registration Cards. The Payroll Cards are the more useful and important subseries. The Card Files series provides a good ready reference source of Confederate pensioners. In addition, the Card Files can be used to determine a pensioner's date of death. These cards provide similar information including name, roll number, locality, veteran's name, veteran's unit, amount of annual pension, date approved, date died, date death reported, remarks, and amount paid each quarter. Some of the cards are stamped "dead" or "dropped" from pension roll. Little is known of the United Daughters of the Confederacy Convention Registration Cards, but they do contain information on veterans and widows of veterans who attended one of the UDC conventions in Richmond.

Arranged into two subseries.

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Series III: Certificates , 1908-1974 .
Boxes 27-66.
Extent: 39 boxes.

The Certificates series is housed in thirty-nine archival boxes and is arranged in two series. Series have been designated for Allowed and Disallowed certificates. These pension certificates were completed by the pensioner and sent to the Auditor of Public Accounts for payment of their pension. This series represents the largest in the collection. Although the certificates do not contain as much information as the Applications, they are useful since they contain the age of the pensioner.

Arranged into two subseries.

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Series IV: Confederate Memorial Association , 1946-1974 .
Boxes 67-77.
Extent: 13 boxes.

The Confederate Memorial Association series is housed in thirteen archival boxes and is arranged in alphabetical order. Included are appropriations, correspondence, invoices, and reports of expenses. This series generally documents expenditures of Confederate Memorial Associations for the care and upkeep of the graves of Confederate soldiers in cemeteries throughout Virginia. Originally established an Act of Assembly in 1902, the Confederate Memorial Fund was created for the auditor of public accounts to annually draw a warrant upon the treasurer in favor of the treasurers of Confederate Memorial Associations.

The appropriations file contains legislation regarding appropriations to aid Confederate Memorial Associations and organizations of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Virginia to be used in caring for Confederate cemeteries and graves of Confederate soldiers and sailors. The Invoices document expenditures of funds by treasurers of various chapters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy to the Department of Accounts. The invoices include annual reports of Confederate Memorial Funds by U.D.C. chapters. These reports contain similar information provided in Reports of Expenses, but are later in date. The Reports of Expenses are arranged in chronological order, then alphabetically by locality, chapter, or cemetery. The reports document payments to individuals for the upkeep of Confederate graves, landscaping, fence repair, flag markers, grave markers, etc. The reports often include correspondence from treasurers of various chapters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Chief Pension Clerk John H. Johnson, Henry G. Gilmer & Sidney C. Day, Jr., comptrollers, and the treasurer of the Confederate Memorial Association. The report provides the amount of balance on hand, the amount of appropriation by the Commonwealth for the year, a list of disbursements including date of payment, to whom paid, on what account paid, and the amount paid. Each report is certified & signed by the commissioner in chancery. Note that numerous checks & receipts documenting the disbursements have been weeded from the collection since the information they provide is documented in the report.

Arranged alphabetically.

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Series V: Correspondence , 1921-1977 .
Boxes 78-102.
Extent: 32 boxes.

The Correspondence series is housed in twenty-five boxes and is arranged in five subseries. Subseries have been designated for the Confederate Pension Administrator, Deceased Daughters, Deceased Widows, Incoming Correspondence, and Pension Clerk's Correspondence. This series includes mostly correspondence, but also pension applications, invoices, notification cards, death certificates, obituaries, forms, and other sundry items. All five subseries relate to the general administration of Confederate pensions, especially those awarded to the widows or daughters of Confederate veterans. The chief value of this series is in the genealogical information it provides on veterans, their wives, and those daughters who were eligible to receive a pension. Note that there is a large gap from 1926 to 1959 without administrative correspondence. Please consult the Confederate Memorial Association & Funeral Expenses series for records during this time period.

Arranged into five subseries.

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Series VI: Funeral Expenses , 1926-1967 .
Boxes 103-115.
Extent: 13 boxes.

The Funeral Expenses series is housed in thirteen archival boxes and is arranged in two series. Series have been designated for Allowed and Disallowed funeral expenses. This series documents claims for funeral expenses submitted by the administrators or executors of Civil War veterans and widows according to the act of the General Assembly of 1908. The bulk of the material can be found in the Allowed funeral expenses subseries.

Arranged in two series.

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Series VII: Miscellaneous , 1884-1973 .
Boxes 116-118.
Extent: 3 boxes.

The Miscellaneous series is housed in three archival boxes and is arranged in alphabetical order. This series contains court orders, disbursements, legislation, ledgers, powers of attorney, treasurer's reports, and other sundry items. The Court Orders were submitted by various cities & counties and are arranged alphabetically by locality. These orders relate to the approval of rerating applications between 1917 & 1925. The orders provide the names of the pension applicant and sometimes the veteran's unit. The orders also include letters from county clerks to the auditor, C. Lee Moore. The Powers of Attorney concern to the appointment of individuals to serve as committee for pensioners, appointments to pension boards, and certificates of qualification. The Treasurer's Reports were created by the Auditor of Public Accounts between 1913 & 1925 on account of the death of pensioners. These reports include the date, check number, county, payee, & amount. Also noteworthy is a file devoted to John Salling who was supposedly the last surviving Confederate veteran from Virginia who died in 1959 at the age of 112. This file includes Salling's application for a pension in 1950. Lastly, there is a chronological list of disbursements of the appropriations for disabled soldiers which provides the name of the veteran, date of disbursement, residence, & amount of disbursement between 1884 & 1887.

Arranged alphabetically.

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Series VIII: Volumes , 1924-1978 .
Volumes 1-35.
Extent: 35 volumes.

The Volumes series consists of thirty-five volumes and is arranged in four subseries. Subseries have been designated for Daughter Pensions, Veteran & Widow Pensions, Registers, and Warrant Registers. These volumes document the payment of pensions to Confederate veterans and the widows and daughters of veterans.

Arranged in four subseries.

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