Citing War of 1812 widow's pension certificate

How do I cite a War of 1812 widow's pension files that were obtained from NARA in person?

Submitted byEEon Sat, 01/07/2023 - 09:54

Hi, Ohiogirl48. Turn to EE 11.40. That's the "Pension Records" section in the National Archives chapter. The particular war does not matter, where format is concerned.  The elements that need identifying are the same because NARA's organizational structure is the same. You simply substitute the appropriate words to identity your particular pensioner and the particular set of records you used.

As for the certificate itself, it is just one document within the file to be cited. Whether you cite the soldier's or widow's affidavit, or a certificate issued to them, or a medical record, or a Bible record in the file, the format is the same. When, in your writing or database entry, you pull a specific piece of information from one specific document, you simply identify which document you are using, who created it, and the date of the document.

Submitted byOhiogirl48@gmail.comon Sat, 01/07/2023 - 16:48

How do I cite the pension file as a whole? Do I mention that it was collected in person at NARA?

Submitted byOhiogirl48@gmail.comon Sat, 01/07/2023 - 17:38

Disregard my last question. On EE page 605, the First Reference Note shows the year 1993 after National Archives and Records Administration. What does 1993 represent?

Ohiogirl48, following the standard pattern for citing published works in Source List Entries, "1993" represents the year that publication was published.  You will also find "1993" again in the First Reference Note's publication data.

On the other hand, if you used the original at NARA, you would not be following this example for microfilm, published or otherwise.

Submitted byOhiogirl48@gmail.comon Mon, 01/09/2023 - 14:17

Yes, I just learned from the person that obtained the pension files for me that when you retrieve them directly from NARA you are presented with the original files. So, do I follow the example in EE on page 604?

Yes, Ohiogirl, the citations on p. 604 (EE 11.40 "Pension Files" in the NARA chapter) are to the original files. They demonstrate the elements that you need to identify. For each element, you will substitute the specific detail that describes your person's file and the collection and series in which it is archived.

If you were at the archives using the records yourself, you would find this information on the file box in which the case is archived. Before that, you would have found that information in whatever catalog you used to identify the box so that you could order it for examination. Since you used a record-retriever, you are dependent upon that person to provide you with the citation details needed to locate the record and create a citation so someone else can use it. If the person did not provide adequate details, then you will need to ask for them.

Submitted byOhiogirl48@gmail.comon Mon, 01/09/2023 - 15:16

Does this do it?  

Deposition of Claimant, 7 Jun 1887, Sarah Spidle, widow's pension application no. 27087, certificate no. 20890; service of William Spidle (Pvt., Capt. Alban's Co., Ohio Militia, War of 1812; War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, ca. 1871–ca. 1900; Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

 

Ohiogirl48, because I did not retrieve this file and did not read the specific archival labels on the box, I cannot say that every jot and tittle of the archival heirarchy is correct. But the pattern of the citation is appropriate and you have identified all the essentials at the document and file level.