How a Civil War Pension File Helped me Map my Ancestor’s Last Years
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The last I found of my third great grandfather, George R West, was in the 1885 Minnesota State Census which identified him as living in Wayzata, MN. Of course I had no 1890 Federal Census to reference, and it would have been the last census George was listed in before he died in 1892. I was fine having 1885 be the last year George appeared in a document; after all, it was only 7 years prior to his death and realistically, what does one get up to in their last years?
Well, a lot, apparently. And I wouldn't have known that if it wasn't for his Civil War pension file.
George was born in Cayuga Co., NY and removed to Huron Co., OH when he was a young man with his family. George spent a number of years in Ohio before moving to Dubuque, IA and raising his family there.
In his older age, George moved to Wayzata, MN a lakeside suburb of Minneapolis, ostensibly to be closer to his son, my 2nd great grandfather, Orlando West. I assumed that, as he grew older, he wanted to be in the care of one of his children and Orlando was most well-to-do child, operating a hotel and working as a steamboat captain in Wayzata for a number of years. And thus George moved there sometime between 1880, when he appears on the federal census in Dubuque, and 1885 when he appears on the Minnesota State Census in Wayzata.
A painting of the Belle of Minnetonka, the steamboat my 2nd great grandfather Orlando West captained out of Wayzata, MN
But then I noticed something curious - I had his place of death down as Dubuque. And, sure enough, he is buried at Linwood Cemetery there. This seemed curious to me - why move back to Iowa in the last years of his life? Why not stay in Minnesota? Unfortunately I had no where to turn to look for any of this information...except one source. His Civil War pension file.
George filed his invalid pension application on February 24, 1886. On the form, it is stated that he lived in Wayzata, MN - information in line with the 1885 Minnesota State Census. So in 1886, he was still living in Wayzata. Good to know.
Then I came across a ripped piece of paper, missing the majority of its substance but containing a little information at the top to help me in my research. It was the beginning of an inability affidavit filled out by George himself when he began his process for filing for an invalid pension. It gave the date: February 28th, 1887, and the location: Houston Co., MN. For those of you unfamiliar with Minnesota geography, Houston Co. is southeast of the Twin Cities, on the MN-WI border just west of La Crosse. In other words, it is not near Wayzata. So why was George filing his inability affidavit in a completely different county than where he was living?
A page of George's pension file detailing Houston Co., MN as his location
Further down in his pension file appeared another ripped piece of an inability affidavit, but containing just enough information to answer my questions. It identified George as a resident of Brownsville, Houston Co., MN:
A page of George's pension file noting his P.O. address as Brownsville, Houston, MN
So George didn't live his last years entirely in Wayzata, MN. He was there in 1885, according to the state census, and there in 1886, according to the first document filed for his pension, but in 1887 he was living miles away in Brownsville: something I would have never known if it wasn't for his file.
It would seem George moved again the following year according to a surgeon's certificate dated June 8th, 1887. He was examined in Wisconsin, probably somewhere in or near La Crosse as that was the post office listed for the surgeon - but George gave his post office address as Dubuque. Perhaps 1887 was the year he was making his way back east to his old town?
A surgeon's certificate from George's pension file listing the physician's address as LaCrosse, WI
Another surgeon's certificate was filed on March 6th, 1889, this time from Dubuque. George also listed his post office as Dubuque, so it would seem that between 1887 and 1889 he had officially returned.
Excerpt of a surgeon's certificate from George's pension file listing the physician's address as Dubuque, IA
After his, George continuously lists his place of residence as Dubuque until his death in 1892, but 260 miles and old age didn't stop him from visiting Wayzata again:
Star Tribune, 19 August 1889
Wondering if your ancestor ever applied for a Civil War pension? You can search for them on Fold3!