Hi Katie (again),

The destruction of one brickwall for me, a Thomas L. Williams, was very much
hastened by a Civil War pension file for a married daughter, my aunt, of my
ancestor, who thankfully wrote down the city of her birth in California,
Missouri, unlike my ancestor her big sister who just wrote down "Tennessee"
(Cocke in fact, confirmed by probate records in Missouri).  I say hastened
because the online BLM land records showed a Thomas L. Williams bought land
there in now Moniteau Co Missouri, but he never appeared in the census
records, so we set it aside. We found his parents probate records in Moniteau
County Missouri...something I'd never expected to find because Cocke County
is burned.  We found this through his daughter's husband's files, which we
weren't expecting.   (FYI, I found this cousin whose ancestor was born in
Missouri via the husband at his genforum surname board..www.genforum.com.)

The Civil War pension files are the ORIGINAL files with your ancestors
original papers, notes, admonitions from authorities that they are missing x,
y, z documents, etc. are at the archives.   I find just handling them quite
exciting, but then I was excited even when I thought my ancestor's land in
Arkansas was the site of the Bentonville Walmart..

You "order" the Civil War pension files at the desk in the census microfilm
room, but you view and copy them in the reading room/library a couple of
floors down, where they will be delivered a few hours later.  To order them,
you have to use the microfilm indexes for the pension files.  For the actual
military records, you will have to use the microfilms which are
state-by-state indexed alphabetically by surname.  I had a heck of a time
finding my Hugh Lawson White Hill's file.  I knew he went by Lawson but
thought surely he'd use his full name on pension file.  I finally found him
at H. Lawson Hill.

On using them for research --My advice to you if you not only want to collect
more information, but tear down brick walls, is that you come armed with the
names of any of your folks' siblings, cousins, etc. that are known because
their files might have information in them that is helpful.  For example in
addition to the above "birthplace" example I gave which is one line on the
application, there might be someone who you "think" is a brother.  If you get
his file, it lists all of his children (ever) and their birthdates.   Then on
the internet you find some one descended from a person of that name and
birthdate, who has the family bible with your ancestor's siblings, brothers,
etc.  Don't forget the married sisters because that's all I had to go on.
Also, while you are there you can go hunting for possible siblings.

ALSO at the National Archives are the original sales documents for the land
patents at the Bureau of Land Managements website:   www.glorecords.blm.gov
For these townshipped, ranged, sectioned states:  Alabama, Alaska, Arizona,
Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South
Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

In addition for some of the above, the original plat books are at the
Archives in DC, others are at BLM's Springfield VA office (see FAQ at the
website).

These original purchase records are important because they show the date that
the purchase was made, which like Virginia patents, is usually one to four
years before the certificate is granted (date you'll get at the website).
Plus if the homesteaded you'll get a bigger file, etc.


Good Luck.

Janet Hunter (we talked Lancasters, DeFords, etc. awhile back)



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