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The Index to Confederate Pension Applications provides the names,
counties of residence, and pension numbers of 54,634 approved, rejected,
and home pensions issued by the Texas government between 1899 and
1975.
Confederate veterans and their widows were dependent upon the generosity
of the already impoverished former Confederate states for any postwar
pension benefits. In awarding pensions for Confederate service,
Texas, like most other southern states, confined its relief payments
to veterans or their widows resident in Texas since 1880 who were
disabled or indigent. Therefore, the index of applicants for Confederate
pensions in no way represents a complete roster of Texas residents
who fought for the Confederacy.
The Confederate Pension Applications were transferred to the Texas
State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) from the Office of
the Comptroller of Public Accounts between 1934 and 1980. Even at
the time of transfer, some application files were identified as
missing. Although the names and associated file numbers are known,
the records themselves are no longer available. There is value,
however, in knowing the applications actually existed, along with
the limited information found in the index. The entries are clearly
recognizable by the word Missing which appears next to the
application numbers. Patrons should not request photocopies of these
non-existent records.
The application forms and any supporting documentation or correspondence
are on file in TSLAC's Archives and Information Services Division.
You may request copies of the files by telephone, mail, or e-mail.
To obtain an approved pension, give the applicant's name and pension
number. If the pension application number is shown as Rejected
or Home, be sure to give the applicant's full name as it
appears in the index, provide the county, and specify rejected or
home.
Files may vary in content and total number of pages. Staff will
copy all items in each file requested. For more information on requesting
copies, visit Request
a Copy.
How to Search the Index
The Index to Confederate Pension Applications can be searched from
two pages: Search by Name
and Search
by Keyword. The results from either page will provide the same
information: Applicant Name; Application Number; County where the
applicant lived at the time of application; Husband's name if the
applicant is a widow; and Husband's Application Number if he received
a pension.
The Search by Name
page allows a variety of searches and options. To search by name,
enter the last and first names in the search boxes. You may also
search by a first or last name, allowing greater flexibility.
Additional search types are available in the Search Options box
for the last name only. You can select from Begins Like, Exactly,
and Find Any. Results of a last name search for Camp using each
option, are given below.
Begins Like: found entries for last names Camp
and Campbell
Exactly: found only entries with the last
name Camp
Find any: found entries for last names Camp,
Campbell and McCampbell
You will notice that each contains the string "camp" somewhere
in the last name.
When your search includes a first name, any occurrence of the name
or string of letters will be found. For example: a first name search
for Jon will return entries with first or middle names that include
Jonathan, Jonas, Jones and others.
The Name search, along with the search options, can be limited
by selecting a specific county. For example, if the Smith you are
seeking was known to have applied for a pension while living in
Brown County, select that specific county from the drop-down menu.
Once Brown is selected, the search finds only 10 Smiths despite
the presence of almost 900 in the database.
The County search option can also be used to generate an alphabetical
list of indexed names of those individuals who applied for pensions
from a particular county. Leave all other fields blank and select
a county from the drop-down menu.
An Application Number search will provide the applicant's name
and county.
Search results can be sorted either alphabetically or numerically.
The Search
by Keyword page provides the same search and sorting options,
but will look for the occurrence of a name in both the first and
last name fields in a single search. A name must be entered in the
Keyword field in order for the search to find results. This page
cannot be used to generate a list of all entries from a particular
county. Use the Search
by Name page for any options that involve leaving the name field
blank.
Remember to check all possible spellings of a veteran's surname
before deciding that he or his widow did not apply for a pension.
Although it is possible the person you are seeking did not apply
for a pension, there are other reasons your search might not be
successful. The names in the listing are based on the spelling given
on the endorsement page of the printed pension application form.
If that name was misspelled, the misspelling is reflected in the
index. The listing for a widow's pension includes her husband's
name as it appears on her application form; that may be different
from the spelling on her husband's application. Surnames such as
DeLeon may be entered as DeLeon or De Leon. Again, be sure to check
all possible spellings and variations.
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