More Civil War pension documents

By mbcross on Mon, 06/10/2024 - 13:46

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I am working through the pension file for John W. Culmer. Although this document is not explicitly identified as an affidavit, I have treated it as such. The document in question asks the pensioner to provide information about himself, his marriage, and children. It is signed, but I see no evidence of it being notarized.

I think I have it correct, but I welcome any tweaks.

Affidavit of John W. Culmer, 19 March 1915, John W. Culmer (Sgt., Co. G, 20th Wisc. Inf., Civil War), pension no. Inv. 975,528; Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Veterans Who Served in the Army and Navy Mainly in the Civil War and The War With Spain ("Civil War and Later Survivors' Certificates"): Nos. SC 9,487 - 999,999, 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.  
 

Submitted byEEon Mon, 06/10/2024 - 17:33

Matthew, this time I'm going to respond with a different question: Why do you think this might have a problem? What are you uncertain over?

Submitted bymbcrosson Mon, 06/10/2024 - 17:54

I’m uncertain about punctuation. Admittedly after I hit send earlier today, I realized that I think I need a semicolon after 1915 instead of the comma, so it should look like the following, but I still value any feedback you have.

 

Affidavit of John W. Culmer, 19 March 1915; John W. Culmer (Sgt., Co. G, 20th Wisc. Inf., Civil War), pension no. Inv. 975,528; Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Veterans Who Served in the Army and Navy Mainly in the Civil War and The War With Spain ("Civil War and Later Survivors' Certificates"): Nos. SC 9,487 - 999,999, 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.  
 

Submitted byEEon Tue, 06/11/2024 - 10:22

Yes. You're thinking it through well, Matthew. Logically, there should be a semicolon there to separate the document from the file that it is in. After that, each semicolon separates the file from the collection, the collection from the series, the series from the record group, and then the record group from the archives and its locale. 

No one will rap your knuckles over a comma instead of a semi-colon; but when you publish your work, your editors will appreciate your attention to detail.