Missouri, Confederate Pension Applications and Soldiers Home Applications - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
This collection includes records for the years 1911 to 1938.

Record Description
These records are digital images of Confederate pension files and applications for admission to the Confederate soldiers' home. The applications are arranged in alphabetical order. The pensions are for Confederate veterans who were living in Missouri, although they may have enlisted from another state. The Confederate Soldiers’ Home in Higginsville, Missouri, was open for infirm and dependent former Confederate soldiers and sailors, their wives, widows, and orphans.

Record Content
These applications usually include the following information:


 * Soldier’s name
 * Date of application
 * Dates of service
 * Birth date or age
 * Birthplace
 * Name of spouse
 * Names of dependent children
 * Death date
 * Military unit served in
 * Type of records in file

How to Use the Record
To search for your ancestors in the index you will need to know their full names. Check the index for the surname and then the given name. If you are having difficulty finding your ancestor, look for variations in the spelling of the name. If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information 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. For example:


 * Death dates may lead to death certificates, mortuary, or burial records.
 * Use the age to calculate an approximate birth date.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the residence or place of birth of the deceased to locate census, church, and land records.

You may also find these search tips helpful:


 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the deceased, this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been seeking the pension.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Record History
Service records were kept for each Confederate soldier. Those records, or abstracts of those records, were compiled into individual files. Each envelope/jacket contains information and cross references to original records relating to the soldier.

Why this Record Was Created
These records were created as permanent record of Confederate service and to determine eligibility for benefits and admission to the soldier’s home.

Record Reliability
The information in these records is generally reliable. However, some of it depends on personal memory so it still may contain inaccuracies, such as slightly altered spellings and dates or misinterpretations.

Related Websites
Office of the Adjutant General in Jefferson City, Missouri

Related Wiki Articles
Missouri Military Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

The format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections, including how to cite individual archives is found in the following link: How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection
'Missouri, Confederate Pension Applications and Soldiers Home Applications." database and images, FamilySearch accessed March 25. 2011. entry for George A Bandy. pension approved August 20, 1913; citing Pension Appilictions, Pension Applications - Approved, Bandy, Georg A - Banister, George W, Images 1-4; Missouri Department of Records and Archives, Jefferson City, Missouri.

Sources of Information for This Collection
“Missouri Confederate Pension Applications and Soldiers' Home Admission Applications,” images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/); from the Missouri Department of Records and Archives, Jefferson City, Missouri. FHL microfilm, 27 reels. Family History Library Salt Lake City, Utah.

The suggested format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections is found in the following article: How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections