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Letter to the editor

Genealogy

Pension, census records hold big payoffs

By DONNA MURRAY ALLEN
Published July 22, 2004

Conflicting facts and unproven assumptions make it necessary to use at least three separate sources to prove major life events such as birth, marriage and death. That's the only way to be certain you are correctly pairing offspring with their biological parents.

Prior to the mid-1800s, records are sparse. Census records listed only heads of households until 1850. Vital statistics records pop up about as frequently as a gold nugget in a panned out creek. But some church and Bible records, land and property tax records, citizenship papers and voting records do exist in county courthouses, state archives, public libraries and local historical societies. You just have to dig them up.

Pension papers, wills and probate records are even more import. These documents are among the most accurate because money is involved. "Follow the Money" should be every rooter's mantra. Such records may prove marriages and parentage. They can also replace myths with facts.

Take the case of Robert Mills. Family Bible records are as hit and miss as my son's baby book, but do offer good clues. Census records involving this family are mightily confusing. To top if off, Mills' 1904 obituary says he served in the Civil War and collected a pension. Not so, says the National Archives & Records Administration (NARA). It was actually Robert's son, Amos, who fought in The Rebellion. He was killed in action on May 15, 1864. Twenty-five years later, Robert Mills applied for a hardship pension as a dependent father based on Amos' military service.

He gave a deposition on October 18, 1889. "I was married to the mother of the soldier in 1839 and she lived with me as my wife for about six years afterward, and then eloped with another married man whose name was Samuel Arnold and I never heard any tidings of either one of them since." Robert remarried about 10 months later. They remained together until she died in 1850. He married his third wife, Mahala, that same year. She was still living with him in 1889. (Incredibly, the 1850 census was taken during that brief period when Mills was between wives. He appears as a widower on the 1850 census.) Mills had children by all three women. I had always suspected that he had been married three times, but until now could not prove it.

Mills goes on to say that he had four children by his first wife, the third being Amos. The fourth was a baby that his wife took with her when she left. He had three more children with his second wife. She died shortly after giving birth to the third child. Robert had nine more children with his third wife. None of the wives' names are given and only a few of the children are referred to by name.

Mills contended that Amos had helped him financially prior to and while he served in the military and would have continued to support him in his old age. Numerous affidavits signed by relatives and friends corroborate his testimony.

As one supporter opined: "The children of the wife who ran away were all said to be industrious, those of the second wife not so good and those of his third wife utterly worthless."

Robert Mills received $12 a month for the remainder of his life.

Civil War pension papers don't come cheap. I paid $37 for this packet of 62 legal-size pages. But the information is priceless to Mills' descendants.

Civil War pension benefits were not limited to surviving veterans. And, as evidenced by this case, parents of soldiers killed in action may receive benefits just like spouses and minor children.

NARA is where you can obtain Civil War pension records. Log on to www.archives.gov to request a copy of the appropriate form and to learn more about what military and pension records are available.

- Read past Donna Murray Allen columns online at www.sptimes.com Type "Donna Murray Allen" in the search box. You can write to Allen c/o Floridian, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or e-mail her at rootscolumn@yahoo.com Her Web site: www.rootsdetective.com includes information on classes and lectures.

[Last modified July 21, 2004, 08:55:33]