Thursday, November 11, 2010

Treasure Chest Thursday - Isaac Seaver's Pension Declaration

It's Treasure Chest Thursday, and on Veteran's Day what better treasure to show than a Civil War Pension Declaration for my second great-grandfather, Isaac Seaver (1823-1901).  Isaac is the only ancestor of mine that served in the Civil War.

My uncle, Edward R. Seaver, ordered Isaac's Civil War Pension File from the National Archives back in the early 1990s, and sent it to me in about 1998.  There are only 16 pages in this file, which leads mto believe that he obtained only the Pension Documents file rather than the Complete Pension File.

Here is the Declaration for Invalid Pension for Isaac Seaver:

The transcription of this document is (handwritten information in italics and underlined):

Declaration for Invalid Pension
Act of June 27, 1890
----- xx -----
NOTE: This can be executed before any officer authorized to administer oaths for practical purposes.  If such officer uses a seal, certificate of clerk of Court is not necessary.  If no seal is used, then such certificate must be attached.
----- xx -----
State of Massachusetts County of Worcester, SS,
on this 11th day of June, A.D. one thousand eight hundred and ninety two,
personally appeared before me, a Notary Public
within and for the County and State aforesaid, Isaac Seaver 3d
aged 68 years, a resident of the town of Clinton
County of Worcester State of Massachusetts, who being
duly sworn according to law, declares that he is the identical Isaac Seaver 3d
who was ENROLLED on the 10th day of August, 1864 in  Company H
(private) 4th Reg't H'y Arty. Mass. Vol's
in the war of the rebellion, and served at least
ninety days, and was HONORABLY DISCHARGED at Fort Richardson, Va. on the 19th
day of June, 1865.  That he is ... unable to earn a support to
manual labor by reason of "Varicose veins of both legs. Rheumatism
resulting heart trouble, trouble of the urinary organs having symptoms of
enlarged prostrate gland and results of
carbuncle on back of neck."

That said disabilities are not due to his vicious habits, and are to the best of his knowledge and belief permanent. That
he has never applied for pension made application No. .... That he is a pensioner
under Certificate No. That he has not been in the military or naval service of the U.S. since the 19th
day of June 1865.
That he has never been employed in the military or naval service otherwise than stated above.

Poor Isaac had varicose veins, rheumatism, prostate trouble and a neck carbuncle.  One thing I learned from this declaration is that he resided in Clinton and not Leominster in 1892.  He was in  Leominster in both the 1880 and 1900 census.  In 1892, he may have been living in the house owned in Clinton by his third wife, Alvina P. (Bradley) (Lewis) Seaver. 

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