US Civil War Union pension files

By mbcross on Sun, 06/02/2024 - 15:24

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I am starting to delve into pension records for an ancestor and his widow. I've looked at EE4 and crafted the following citations for the widow's pension:

Declaration for Widow's Pension, 5 August 1918, Elizabeth H. Culmer, widow's pension application no. 1,125,358, W.C. certificate no. 873,872, service of John W. Culmer (Sgt., Co. G, 20th Wisc. Inf., Civil War); Case Files of Approved Pension Applications, 1861-1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

And for the soldier's invalid pension:

John W. Culmer (Sgt., Co. G, 20th Wisc. Inf., Civil War), pension no. Inv. 975,528; Case Files of Approved Pension Applications, 1861-1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

I did notice in EE4 that there is an ellipsis after "Case Files of Approved Pension Applications," but I couldn't find any information about what should go there in place of the ellipsis.

Submitted byEEon Sun, 06/02/2024 - 20:37

Matthew, I see no problem with your citation (a statement that I'm making somewhat blindly, since I have not seen your documents). As for rgw ellipsis that replaces the very long collection name in that citation, have you tried Googling for the phrase—i.e., "Case Files of Approved Pension Applications ..., 1861–1934." Odds are good that you'll get a NARA hit that supplies the other couple of dozen words covered by the ellipsis.

Also bear in mind that when EE provides an example for citing a NARA source, the exact identity of collections and series applies to that particular record that EE cites. Other similar files may be in a different collection or series. Your citation should be accurate for the record you are using.  NARA should supply you with the needed information to properly identify a record. If they don't, you should ask. As a last resort, you may seek the needed information in NARA's online catalogs.

Those appear to be the last two items at this link, with the first being for widows and other dependents and the second for the veterans themselves.

https://catalog.archives.gov/search?levelOfDescription=series&page=1&q=%22Case%20Files%20of%20Approved%20Pension%20Applications%22

Would you like for me to attach the documents, or at least the particular document I was referring to in the citation for the widow's pension?

Thank you, Elizabeth. I did have one follow-up question. In the citation for the widow's pension, "Declaration for Widow's Pension" is the title of a document, so I am thinking it should be in quotes, but I've also learned to keep assumptions to a minimum with genealogical research.

Matthew, using quotation marks around the title of a document that you quote exactly is the clearest way to convey information precisely; but for that particular type of record a generic reference, without quotes, is common.