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

United States Missouri 

What is in the Collection?
These records are digital images of Confederate pension files and applications for admission to the Confederate soldiers' home for the years 1911 to 1938. 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.

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.

These records were created as permanent record of Confederate service and to determine eligibility for benefits and admission to the soldier’s home.;

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.

Collection Contents
Information found in this collection may include:


 * Soldier’s name and place of residence
 * Date of application
 * Dates of service
 * Birth date or age
 * Birthplace
 * Name of spouse
 * Names of dependent children
 * Death date, if deceased
 * Military unit in which served
 * Commanding officers of company and regiment
 * Witnesses declaring veracity of statement

How Do I Search the Collection?
To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select Browse through images on the initial collection page ⇒Select the Pension Record Type ⇒Select the Beginning name - Ending name which takes you to the images.

Search the collection by image 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.

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.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation

Image Citation