Kentucky Confederate Pension Applications - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The records consist of images of pension applications and an alphabetical index. They were filed by surviving former Confederate soldiers who lived in Kentucky or their widows. The records cover the years 1912 to 1950. The collection is located at the Kentucky State Archives.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The index includes the following information: The following information is found on most Confederate soldier's pension applications in Kentucky: • 5
 * Application number
 * Full name of applicant

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching the collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The residence of your ancestor
 * The approximate age of your ancestor

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s pension application, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. The pieces of information in the record may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. This information will often lead you to other records.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Death dates may lead to death certificates, mortuary, or burial records
 * Use the birth date or age along with the residence or place of birth of the deceased to locate census, church, and land records
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the deceased; this is especially helpful if the surname is uncommon
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been seeking the pension. Keep in mind that in some cases the applications were filed under the name of the widow or other dependent
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * Applications were sent to and processed by the state where the veteran or family member lived at the time, which was not always the state in which the soldier had served

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Kentucky.
 * US Military Basic Search Strategies
 * Beginning United States Civil War Research
 * Locating a Confederate Civil War Soldier (1861–1865)
 * Kentucky Guided Research
 * Kentucky Record Finder
 * Kentucky Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Kentucky Research, 1880-Present
 * Beginning Research in United States Military Records

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Carlisle County, Kentucky confederate pension applications Wickliffe, Kentucky : Ballard-Carlisle Historical & Genealogical Society, 1994. FHL 976.997 M2c
 * Graves County, Pension applications, 1912-1929
 * Jefferson County. Confederate pension applications by soldiers and indigent widows, 1912-1940
 * Lyon County, Soldier's application for pension and widow's indigent pension, 1912-1933
 * Trigg County, Soldier's application for pension and widow's indigent pension, 1912-1941

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * Kentucky Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Alicia Simpson, comp. Index of Confederate pension applications, Commonwealth of Kentucky. Frankfort, Kentucky : Public Records Division Dept. for Library and Archives, ©1988. FHL 976.9 M2k
 * Don Simmons. Graves County, Kentucky, Confederate pension applications.Melber, Kentucky : Simmons Historical Publications, c1978. FHL 976.993 M28s

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.