United States, Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
A pension card was created for every veteran or veteran’s widow who received a pension. There were four types of cards kept. which are referred to as:


 * Army invalids
 * Army widows
 * Navy invalids
 * Navy widows

The form for the four types of cards is practically identical. On the front of the cards for invalid veterans are recorded the name of veteran, his certificate number, his unit or arm of Service, the disability for which pensioned, the law or laws under which pensioned, the class of pension or certificate, the rate of pension, the effective date of pension, the date of the certificate, any fees paid, the name of the pension agency or group transferred from (if applicable), the date of death, the date the Bureau was notified, the former roll number, and 'home.' On the reverse side of the form appears the name of the veteran, his certificate number, and the record of the individual payments. The army and navy widow’s cards are similar to the invalids’ cards with the addition of the widow’s name and occasionally information regarding payments made to minors, but they do not indicate if the veteran had a disability.

In 1907 the Bureau of Pensions and Veterans Administration began recording payments of pension with a card system. Pensions were granted to army invalids, army widows, navy invalids and navy widows. The nearly 2 million 5x8 cards are arranged alphabetically by the surname of the veteran or widow. In 1923 payments were changed from monthly to quarterly. Payments that extended through this period were recorded on a second card.

This collection covers the years from 1907 to 1933.

The payment cards were created as a method for the government to keep track of the pensions being distributed.

The information in these cards is generally reliable.

For a list of records by surnames currently published in this collection, select the Browse.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. It may include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

A full bibliographic record is available in the.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in the collection are listed below:


 * Name of veteran
 * Veteran’s Unit or arm of service
 * Date of pension
 * Veteran’s death date
 * Veteran’s “home”
 * Veteran’s disability (not included in widows cards)
 * Name of widow (only on widows cards)

Additional information about the contents of these cards is available in the Wiki Article: Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933.

How to Use the Record
To search the collection, select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the Surname range which takes you to the images.

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

Use pension payment cards to discover information about the veteran’s military service, i.e. his unit, the dates of service, etc., information regarding the veteran’s family, his place of residence, and any disabilities he may have had. The cards can lead to other military service records, and provide clues for further research on the veteran’s family

Related Websites
National Archives and Records Administration

Related Wiki Articles

 * Union Pension Records
 * US Military Pension Records
 * Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933 (This detailed wiki article has an index of the cards)

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
"United States, Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933." index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org): accessed 8 April 2011. Hulda E Abbott, Widow of Wellington H Hipkins; citing Pension Payment Cards, Abbott, H. Emory-Aleita, L. Jesus; Bureau of Pensions and Veterans Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.