Arkansas Confederate Pensions - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Arkansas

What is in the Collection?
This database contains an index and images of pension applications filed by Confederate veterans and widows living in the state of Arkansas for the years 1901 to 1929. These records were created at the state level and therefore there are some variations in the qualifications for receiving aid and the amounts of aid between the states. Requests for pensions were sent to the state where the veteran or his dependents lived at the time of application, which was often not the state in which the veteran had enlisted or served.

Sample Images
In 1891 Arkansas began granting pensions to impoverished Confederate veterans and in 1915 the State began granting pensions to their widows and mothers. In most states the pension system began with providing pensions to injured veterans and then later expanded to include veteran’s widows or other dependents. In addition to Arkansas, Confederate pensions were also granted in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Pension applications were created to provide a way for veterans or their widows to obtain financial assistance after serving in the military. The information in these records is generally reliable.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Information found in applications submitted by the veteran may include some or all of the following information:


 * Soldier's Name
 * Date and place of birth
 * Unit dates and places of enlistment and discharge
 * Brief description of service
 * Wounds received
 * Physician's statement
 * Place and length of residency in the state

If the application was submitted by the widow of the veteran it may also include the following:


 * Her full name
 * Place of birth
 * Date and place of marriage to the veteran
 * Date and place of the veteran's death
 * Names of witnesses
 * Proof of indigence

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of the soldier or widow.
 * The place of birth of the soldier.
 * The dates of military service.
 * The military unit in which the soldier served.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "Beginning name - Ending name" category which takes you to the images

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s pension record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. 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.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * 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.
 * 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.
 * When searching for an application keep in mind that in some cases the applications were filed under the name of the widow or other dependent who submitted the application.
 * Applications were sent in 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 Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search the records of nearby localities.

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.

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