CIVIL WAR PENSION ~ Chaplain Wallace W. Thorp - 3rd New York Heavy Artillery

Certificate granting Wallace W. Thorpe a pension for his service in the Civil War, dated 2 Oct 1912 - he died the following year

I have long wanted to write about this particular ancestor's pension file.  However, it is the longest one I've ever received and full of handwritten declarations and affidavits.  258 pages to be exact. The thought of going through this pension file page by page and gleaning the important information, as I do with others, was daunting. I received this pension file back in November 2017.

Enter, AI - the genealogists best friend and quiet assistant. I used ChapGPT to glean information I had asked for, such as all names of family & witnesses, types of disability, places of residence and service details. Of course I proofread the entire document. But, what a relief to finally have this one done.

Chaplain Wallace Walter Thorp (also spelled Thorpe) is my half 2nd great granduncle, a half brother to my paternal 2nd great grandfather, Horace Henry Thorp, Sr.  

The opening pages of the pension file establish the administrative framework of both the invalid and widow’s pension claims for Chaplain Wallace W. Thorp. The file begins with National Archives cover sheets identifying Pension Certificate No. 771883, issued to Julia M. Thorp, widow of Wallace W. Thorp. These covers confirm Wallace W. Thorp as the veteran and Julia M. Thorp as the pensioner under the widow’s claim. ¹

Chaplain Wallace W. Thorp & his wife Julia M. Austin 
The writing on his photo, received from a descendant reads - Rev. Wallace W. Thorpe, Chaplin for the New York Volunteers, Wappingers Falls, N.Y.  April 11, 1898

Wife / Widow

·       Julia M. Austin Thorp

·       Listed as widow on pension certificate

·       Receiving pension as of Dec 1, 1913

·       Pension dropped June 18, 1914 (likely her date of death or remarriage)

Letter from Julia & Wallace's son, Theodore C. Thorpe, letting the Commissioner of Pension know that his mother died 10 Jun 1914

Early administrative cards identify Wallace W. Thorp as Chaplain, 3rd New York Heavy Artillery, appointed on 27 August 1864. War Department correspondence confirms that his resignation was accepted without misconduct. ⁷

The Declaration for Pension executed by Wallace W. Thorp states that he served as Chaplain in the 3rd New York Heavy Artillery and was honorably discharged. In this declaration, Thorp affirms that his disabilities originated during service and that he had not rendered service for the Confederacy nor engaged in disloyal conduct. ⁴

Nature of Service

·         He was a Chaplain, not a combat soldier.

·         Chaplains often:

Ø Conducted services

Ø Visited hospitals

Ø Assisted surgeons

Ø Wrote letters for soldiers

Ø Performed burials

Ø Provided moral support

From the earliest pension filings onward, Thorp consistently reported these conditions, which were used to justify his pension.^{6 8}

    ·       Severe swelling in both limbs
·       Acute sickness lasting 10+ days
·       Bed confinement
·       Needing watchers at night
·       Possible sciatic or rheumatic condition
·       Later use of crutches (though some witnesses did not recall this)
·       Paralysis agitans (likely Parkinson’s disease)
·       Bronchitis
·       General debility

Original invalid pension Claim No. 495,960. These cards record multiple pension acts under which the claim was reviewed, including the Acts of July 14, 1862; March 3, 1873; and June 27, 1890.²

An increase application under the Act of February 6, 1907, lists Wallace W. Thorp as residing in Binghamton, Broome County, New York, and confirms that he was already on the pension rolls prior to that date.³

Indexes to Special Examiner reports within these pages list early witnesses, including Dr. E. K. Everett and Dr. O. E. Carrier, whose depositions were later incorporated into the evidentiary record.⁵

Thorp was awarded an invalid pension under Claim No. 495,960, later receiving Certificate No. 102,273. His pension was repeatedly reviewed and increased, including under the liberal provisions of the Act of June 27, 1890, which required only proof of inability to perform manual labor. ⁹

The size of Civil War pension files varies greatly from several pages to several hundred.  However, they are worth their weight in gold in regards to the information contained in most of them. From the names of parents, spouses, siblings, neighbors to locations where the pensioner lived. You may also find actual vital records of births, deaths or marriage. And some lucky researchers have also received images of the soldier. I have not yet received one, but still hoping.

Other items of interest in this file include:

 Sister-in-law

·         Mrs. James Peterson

·         Identified as sister to Wallace’s wife

·         Lived in Oshkosh, Wisconsin

·         Mention in witness testimony

WITNESSES & ASSOCIATES

Oshkosh, Wisconsin witnesses

·         Dr. Ira Kizertel – dentist, testified about Wallace’s health

·         O. E. Barrier – church member, testified about illness

·         Mrs. O. E. Barrier – housekeeper, testified about family and health

·         Morris Jones – businessman

·         E. P. Sawyer – prominent Oshkosh figure

·         M. Williamson – church deacon

·         E. Class – sexton of Congregational Church

·         Trickwine – church member    

1908 pension declaration witnesses

·         Vandrell & Chammy – residents of Lestershire

·         Say. Andersen – resident of Lestershire

·         William White – Notary Public

·         Mabel Vergason – witness 

RESIDENCES (Pages 1–25)

Wallace gives a detailed list of where he lived after the war:

1867–1869
·         Oshkosh, Wisconsin
1870–1890
·         Marshalltown, Iowa
1890–1895
·         Center Point, Iowa (written as “Centerville” but context suggests Center Point)
1895–1907
·         Millington, Illinois
·         Falling Waters, New York
·         Lestershire, New York (now Johnson City)
Birthplace
·         Skaneateles, New York Born January 17, 1833
 
Residence at time of 1907–1908 pension filings
·         Lestershire, Broome County, New York

He married Julia M. Thorp on 30 May 1861 in Binghamton, New York, officiated by Rev. Zachariah Paddock. The couple resided continuously in Binghamton, Broome County, New York. ¹⁰

Notarized record of the marriage of Wallace W. Thorpe to Julia M. Thorpe (although her maiden name was Austin) in Binghamton, N.Y. on 30 May 1861

Wallace W. Thorp died on 17 November 1913, aged 77, while still a pensioner. Following his death, his widow Julia M. Thorp filed a dependent pension claim, which was approved after submission of affidavits proving marriage, cohabitation, and absence of remarriage. ¹¹

Pension card showing that Wallace W. Thorpe died 17 Nov 1913 and the bureau was notified on 12 Dec 1913 (see bottom portion of card)

You can clearly see the value in these documents for knowing where to look for your ancestor, records pertaining to his or her life, family members etc.  

Footnotes 

1. National Archives pension cover sheets, pages 1–2.
2. Pension index and administrative cards, pages 3–4.
3. Increase application under Act of Feb. 6, 1907, page 5.
4. Declaration for Pension by Wallace W. Thorp, page 7.
5. Index to Special Examiner’s Reports, page 9.
6. Depositions of Wallace W. Thorp, pages 17–20.
7. War Department service verification, pages 100–101.
8. Early depositions and medical testimony, pages 1–25.
9. Pension increase determinations, pages 51–99.
10. Marriage certification and affidavits, pages 13–14.
11. Widow’s pension claim and affidavits, pages 9–25.

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2026   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

CIVIL WAR PENSION FILES ~ How many do I have? How many do you have?

Sometimes we have to spend our days doing organization work, rather than research.  

That's what I did today.  I desperately needed to get my Civil War Pension files (what I've ordered and received) in order. These are all Union pension files.  I do have one Confederate soldier who was killed in action and I plan to try and locate a file for him.  But, the confederate files are hard to come by.

These are digital files in PDF format, so thankfully not a bunch of paper.

Since 2016 when I ordered my very first Civil War Pension file, to last month when I ordered my most recent - I have been captivated by them.  

They can contain copious quantities of information or hardly anything at all.  Most of the time, though, they are filled with information about that military ancestor, his family, his friends, his time in service, his health and so much more.

I've found Birth, Marriage and Death records/information and also letters. If you're really lucky there might be a photo of the soldier.  I'm told that only about 5% contain photos.  None of mine have, so far.

The smallest one I've received is 21 pages and the largest is 258 

That's quite a disparity.  Just for fun I totaled all the pages from all  pension files I have,  and they came to a whopping 2118 pages. 

HOW PENSION FILES DO I CURRENTLY HAVE?

22 

The big question - how many have I blogged about?

10 

That's just under half of the files I’ve received. Thus, my desire to create a spreadsheet and enter every file I have, when I ordered them, when I received them, how many pages they contain and whether or not I have written a blog post ..... yet.

My goal is to review and write about them over the next couple of years.  Don't worry, I've perused all of them.  Now I just need to really dig in and write.

There are many ways to order these records.  They are housed at the National Archives, mostly in Washington, D.C., but some are housed at other locations, like St. Louis.

Ordering directly from the Archives is not only expensive but can also take a very long time from order to receipt.

I've used 2 sources for my pension files.

Twisted Twigs and most recently, Gopher Records.

Both services got me what I'd asked for in a timely manner. 

I’d love to hear about your discoveries if you’ve ordered Civil War pension files.

If you’d like to see what a pension file looks like and read about the 10 pension files I’ve written about and the things I found inside them, click here – CIVIL WAR PENSION FILES  

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

FRIDAY FINDS ~ Hospital Register for Deaths of Volunteers in the Civil War–J.W. Frampton died 1864

I’ve located a Civil War hospital record for J. W. Frampton.  This record was located on Ancestry.com U.S., Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, 1861-1865  I’ve not seen these hospital registers before.  I was actually searching for records of another Frampton ancestor when I saw this one.



This record is indexed as J. H. Frampton.  I believe in looking at this record, and comparing the “H” and “W” written on it, that this is J.W. Frampton.

Name: J H Frampton
Death Date: 6 Jun 1864
Death Place: 2 Corps Field Hospital
Enlistment State: Pennsylvania
Rank: Private
Company: I
Regiment: 84 Penn Inft
Box Number: 49

Here is John's headstone from FindAGrave #40243488

Headstone for John W. Frampton and his brother Isaac - used with permission from Caz who placed the image on FindAGrave

This man died of a gunshot wound.  I have Framptons who originated in Pennsylvania and later moved to Ohio and Virginia/West Virginia.  Is this young man one of them?  At this point I don’t know.  Further research is needed.
 
Have you seen these hospital records before?  It seems like I’m always turning up new records.  Think how many are online that we don’t know about. Will we ever see them all?  I doubt it.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MILITARY MONDAY ~ THE CIVIL WAR PENSION FILE OF GEORGE F. HALL–1837-1896

George F. Hall wearing his Union Army cap - used with permission of Brian White who owns the photo

George F. Hall, my husband’s great granduncle, was born 3 Sep 1837 in New Jersey, the oldest son of Reverend George Hall and Almira Rosette Hall.  He had four younger siblings; Cornelia B.R. Hall, Charles A. B. Hall, Thomas Cornelius Hall and Susan Emily Hall.  According to his father’s obituary there was a 6th child born to the couple, but I don’t know what became of that child, when he/she was born or anything else, at this time.

By the age of 14, George F. Hall and his parents and siblings were living in Smithfield, Madison, New York.  All records indicate that George stayed in New York the rest of his life.  In the census taken in 1860, just prior to the beginning of the Civil War, George was living in New York City with the Howe family.  He was 23 years old and no occupation is listed for him.  Also in the household with him were his siblings, Emily & Thomas.  I have a death date for his mother, Almira in 1858.  The whereabouts of his father, Reverend George Hall is unknown in 1860.

Now to George’s military service.  He enlisted before April 1862.  He would have been 25-26 yrs. old at the time.  He served in Company H 1st U.S. Sharpshooters and Company I, 14th Heavy Artillery, N.Y. Volunteers.  And was discharged 25 Jul 1865.

Not only did George serve, but so did his brother Thomas Cornelius Hall (who is my husband’s direct ancestor), his great grandfather.

 

To learn more about Thomas’ service and his pension file you can read my blog post CIVIL WAR PENSION FILE ~ Cora E. Hall widow of Thomas C. Hall ~ What gems does it contain?

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

Page 3 from his pension file

As I read through George’s pension file I learned that he experienced quite a bit of illness during his military service and that it continued for the rest of his life.  The entire pension file is focused on medical examinations and letters from George and others, trying to prove that he got sick in the service and remained so, which made him unable to perform manual labor.

Page 8 from his pension file

George applied for his Civil War pension in 30 Jun 1880.  You can find the pension index files on genealogy websites, such as Fold3, Ancestry.com.  These index cards then allow you to order the pension file.  The files vary a great deal in size and information contained.  I have some that are 50 pages long and others that are 225 pages.  The files can be ordered directly from NARA (National Archives) or from a third party.  I order mine from Twisted Twigs on Gnarled Branches Genealogy.  The turnaround is less expensive and quicker than what NARA can do. 

I make no guarantees nor do I make any remuneration from referral to Twisted Twigs.  The service has worked well for me.

 

Here is George’s index card, that got me started in seeking his file.

It seems that he contracted a fever, possibly Malaria and was taken sick in Yorktown, VA in April 1862.  In May of 1891 George was examined by a physician and said to be 5’ 10 1/2” tall, weight 124 pounds and 54 years old.  This physical description varies on some of the other examination records.  Was he 5’8, 5’9 or 5’10 1/2”? His statement to this physician is “I am totally disabled.”  He is also stated to have Dyspepsia (indigestion) and disease of the heart.

In Dec 1884 George was examined, yet again, and the doctor said “General appearance is unhealthy and very nervous, tremulous when he walks. Appears very much exhausted.  Exam of heart show no physical signs of heart disease.  In the opinion of this doctor he suffers from nervous exhaustion.” 

Throughout the pension file, one thing is clear.  George F. Hall is not a healthy man.  Although it states that prior to his service he was quite healthy and able.

There are several letters back and forth to the Commissioner of Pensions.  Not only from George himself, but one letter from a Lieutenant named William Worsley Winthorp.

 

Here’s the letter written to George F. Hall from Lt. Winthorp.  Dated 9 Aug 1862 from Carver Hospital in Washington, D.C.

I found out about Lt. Winthrop via a Facebook group for the 1st U. S. Sharpshooters.  I searched Facebook to see if there was a group for them.  It’s not uncommon to find specific pages devoted to units from any of our wars. You can find that Facebook group here Company H, 1st U.S. Sharpshooters.  I was unable to read the signature on the letter above and posted a query to see if someone in the group could read it.  Someone responded and told me it was William Worsley Winthorp.  As it turns out Lt. Winthorp, who later became a Captain, was well versed in Military Law and taught at West Point for a while.

Although there isn’t much in the way of family information in this particular file, there was mention of George being married in 1869 and moving to W. Stockholm, New York where he began practicing medicine.  He practiced something known as Botanic Medicine, according to a statement in his pension file.  I found this definition of Botanical Medicine

“Herbal medicine, also known as herbalism or botanical medicine, is a medical system based on the use of plants or plant extracts that may be eaten or applied to the skin.” 

However, his headstone is engraved with the word “surgeon.”  I wonder if I can find out more about George’s medical training?  When did he become a surgeon?

This is page 58 from George’s file.  A deposition from Gilbert Constable in Jun 1882. He states he had known George for 24 years, which would mean both before and after the Civil War.  He says George was able to do a “farmer’s work” and worked for Gilbert’s brother-in-law.

 

The last piece of information, important to my research, is the U.S. Pension Agency letter stating that the pension has been dropped due to the death of George F. Hall on 14 May 1896.  This date matches what I had located on his FindAGrave memorial.

One of the best finds I had in this journey with George, is finding his memorial on FindAGrave.com #81670494.  The memorial contained a photo of George in his uniform.  Being a thorough researcher, I wanted to find out how the person who posted the photo, knew this was George F. Hall.  I sent a message to Brian White who added the picture of George to his memorial.  I got a response almost immediately, not only granting permission to use the photo, but sending me an image of the back of it.  AND…..he sent me the beautiful ambrotype framed photo displayed at the beginning of this blog post.  It doesn’t get much better than that.  My sincere thanks to Brian.

Always remember, it never hurts to ask.  I can’t tell you how many positive responses I’ve received over the years.

Here’s the picture of George in his uniform and the back of that same photo.

George F. Hall in his Union Army uniform - used with permission of Brian White, who owns the photo

Back of the photo of George in his uniform - used with permission of Brian White who owns the photo

As to George’s life after the war.  I find he and Sarah in the 1870 census, living in Stockholm, St. Lawrence, New York (just like the statement in his pension record said).  There are no children listed with them.  He is 39 years old and his occupation is listed as “physician.”

In 1880 he and Sarah are in Brasher Falls, St. Lawrence, New York and living with them is a Florence E. Wilson, age 26.  Based on earlier census records, I believe Florence to be Sarah’s younger sister.  Again, George is listed as a Physician.

In the 1890 Veteran’s census schedule, George is listed as living in Brasher Falls, St. Lawrence, New York.  I’m always so grateful for the 1890 veteran’s schedule, because it can put our Civil War ancestors at a place in time.  With the loss of the majority of the 1890 U.S. Federal Population census to a fire, this can be very helpful.

George’s wife, Sarah died 20 Sep 1892.  I don’t have a death record for her.  If she died in New York, you know their records are difficult to obtain.  She is buried with George and you can find her memorial on FindAGrave #81670795.

George died 14 May 1896.  There is an obituary posted on his FindAGrave memorial.  I have looked long and hard on various newspaper sites and have not found this obituary.  I will continue to look for a copy of the actual newspaper article.  As with Sarah, I have not located a death record yet, either.

I do hope that George and Sarah lived a happy life together.  His obituary said he had “many friends, lived alone after Sarah’s death and lived an exemplary life with a Christian spirit.”

If you are related to anyone mentioned in this blog post, I’d love to hear from you.  Likewise, if you have any corrections or additions, please contact me.

FOR OTHER POSTS ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR AND PENSION FILES YOU MAY VISIT

Civil War Pension Files and Other Info

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION