Bills of Repairs September 24,1904

 This cover sheet is found in the Civil War Pension File of my paternal third great-grandfather.  The bills were submitted by a pension attorney, W.V. Sickel, on behalf of my third great-grandmother after the death of my third great-grandfather, as she was trying to get his monthly pension as his widow.  My third great-grandfather qualified for a pension because he served at the end of the Civil War in Company I of the 215th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Infantry.

Assessors Record Cover Sheet of September 23, 1904

 This Assessors Record Cover Sheet is found in the Civil War Pension File of my paternal third great-grandfather and was filed on September 23, 1904.

It mentions my third great-grandmother as the widow of James Odgers, but does not list her name.

Board Of Revision Of Taxes August 31, 1904

 This form from the office of the Board of Revision of Taxes is found in the Civil War Pension File of my paternal third great-grandfather.  After his death, my third great-grandmother filed to continue getting the pension he was receiving for the time he spent as a Union soldier in the Civil War.

This was filed on August 31, 1904 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  At that time my third great-grandmother owned four houses in the city of Philadelphia.  They are all listed here, as well as how much they were worth.

The house and lot that had the highest value was her own home at 1416 South 15th Street.  It was worth $3,200.  Next was the house and lot at 1445 South 16th Street at $2,100, 1532 South 8th Street at $1,800, and 813 Tasker Street at $1,200.  The total worth of all the houses was $8,300, which would be about $250,000 today.

Certificate of Death

 This certificate of Death is dated June 18, 1904 and is found in the Civil War Pension File of my paternal third great-grandfather.  He died on April 30, 1904 at the age of 76 in the State Hospital for the Insane in Norristown, Pennsylvania.  His cause of death is listed as uremia - a condition involving abnormally high levels of waste products in the blood.  It is likely that his kidneys were no longer filtering properly, which may have been from some type of kidney disease.

This certificate was received by the Pension Office on July 18, 1904.

May 4, 1904 Receipt

 This receipt is from the Civil War Pension File of my paternal third great-grandfather and is for some paper hanging that my third great-grandmother had done at 813 Tasker Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The paper hanging business was owned by a Jospeh R. Senglein, who worked out of 1509 South Thirteenth Street.

Wall paper was hung in three rooms of the house. There were three pieces hung on the sides and ceiling of the bathroom, as well as 1 piece on the border.  In the kitchen, seven pieces on the side walls, three on the ceiling, and one and half on the boarder.  In the dining room, eight pieces on the side walls, four on the ceiling, and 2 on the boarder.

The total amount charged for this job was $5.31, which would be about $159 today,

April 12, 1904 Receipt

 This receipt is found in the Civil War Pension File of my paternal third great-grandfather.  It is for some plumbing work that my third great-grandmother had done on various houses in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The work was done by a Robert E. Henderson that worked out of 1131 South Broad Street.

On October 21, five hours of work was spent by a plumber and a helper preparing a tank and spigots at 1416 South 15th Street.  The cost was $2.00.

On July 13, four hours of work was spent by a plumber and a helper repairing a tank in the bath room.  It looks like four joints and four feet of 1/2 lead pipe were used for the repairs.  No address was given for this work.  The cost was $5.

On February 2, one days time for a plumber and a helper were spent at 813 Tasker Street thawing out and repairing pipes.   The total cost for that day was $6.50.

On February 8, a plumber and a helper did work for five hours at 1445 South 16th Street.  The total cost for that was $2.50.

On February 9, five hours of time was put in by a plumber and a helper thawing out and repairing pipes at 1532 South 8th Street.  The total cost for that was $4.50.

On February 10, my third great-grandmother had a new water closet installed at 1416 South 15th Street.  The total cost of that was $10.

On March 17, five hours of time was put in by a plumber and a helper repairing and thawing out pipes at 1532 South 8th Street.  The cost of that was $4.50.

On March 30, My third great-grandmother had to have more burst pipes repaired.  This time at 1445 South 16th Street.  That cost her $2.50.

On April 1, a new main pipe was placed at 1416 South 15th Street.  This took one day's work by a digger and a plumber and his helper.  That job cost the most, $19.25.

The total on this receipt is $56.85, which would be about $1,706 today.  My third great-grandmother made a $10 payment on the account on April 15.

March 16, 1904 Receipt

This receipt is from the Civil War Pension File of my paternal third great-grandfather and is for some paper hanging that my third great-grandmother had done at 1532 South 8th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The paper hanging business was owned by a  Joseph R. Stenglein, who worked out of 1509 South 13th Street.  The business hung plain and ornamental paper.

There were four pieces of wallpaper hung on the side walls, 3 pieces on the ceiling, and 1 1/4 pieces on the border of the kitchen.  There were five pieces each hung on the dining room and parlor ceilings.

The total for all of the paper hanging was $3.29.  That would be about $95 today.

May 14, 1904 Receipt

This receipt is found in the Civil War Pension File of my paternal third great-grandfather.  It is from May 14, 1904, a couple of weeks after his death.  It looks like my third great-grandmother had her kitchen sink spigot replaced at her home at 1416 South 15th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The cost was $1.25, which would be about $36 today.  

The plumber that did the work was David J. Lowery, who worked out of an office at the Southeast corner of 15th and Wharton Streets.  This receipt even lists his home address, 1436 South 16th Street, right around the corner from my third great-grandmother's home.

April 13, 1904 Receipt

This handwritten receipt is found in the Civil War Pension File of my paternal third great-grandfather.  It is for some yard work that was done by a John Jenner at 1445 South 16th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The charge was for $3.50, which would be about $100 today, and the fee looks to be paid on April 13, 1904.

January 1904 Receipt

This receipt is found in the Civil War Pension File of my paternal third great-grandfather.  He was charged $12, which would be about $345 today, for some heater work that was done at his home at 1416 South 15th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

This work was done by H.J. Shannon, who worked out of 1710 and 1719 Federal Street.  It leaves me to wonder if one of those addresses was his home and the other his business.

December 1, 1903 Receipt

This receipt is found in the Civil War Pension File of my paternal third great-grandfather.  He was billed $2.05, which would be about $59 today, for repairs to a tin roof at 813 Tasker Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Payment was made in full on January 4, 1904 to H.J. Shannon. who worked out of 1710 and 1719 Federal Street.  According to this receipt, all roofs repairs were guaranteed.

General Affidavit of July 14, 1904

This General Affidavit is found in the Civil War Pension File of my third great-grandfather.  He had earned a pension by serving in the Union Army in Company I of the 215 Regiment of the Pennsylvania Infantry Volunteers.  

This form was filed over two months after he had died as my third great-grandmother was trying to receive a Widow's Pension.  She was unable to provide a marriage certificate as proof of her marriage, so she needed to provide other evidence.

This evidence is provided by Margaret Stewart, a 69 year old acquaintance of my third great-grandparents.  She was a resident of Collingdale, Delaware County in Pennsylvania.

She testified that she knew my third great-grandmother for 50 years and my third great-grandfather for 51 years.  She also declared that neither one of them had been married before their marriage to each other and that they had cohabitated as husband and wife from December 1854 until his death.  She also said that my third great-grandmother had not remarried.

May 9, 1903 Receipt

This receipt is found in the Civil War Pension file of my third great-grandfather.  It is dated May 9, 1903 and is for some work that was done at a couple different addresses, neither of which was his home at 1416 South 15th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania .

On January 15 there is a $1.25 charge for thawing of pipes and repairing leaks in the cellar of 1445 South 16th Street.  On February 14 there was some clearing of a pipe done at his home at the cost of 50 cents.  The last charge was for $4.32 for work done on 1532 South 8th Street.  It was for repairing a fire plate and a front grate and for setting fire bricks.  The total on the account was $6.07, which would be about $175 today.

There were two payments made on the account - $1 on March 19 and $2 on May 7th.  This left a balance of $3.07.

This receipt leaves me really curious as to what my third great-grandfather's connection was to the other two addresses.  I guess I will have to dig a little deeper into this one.

U.S. Pension Office September 15, 1904

This paper is from the Civil War Pension File of my third great-grandfather.  It is dated over four months after his death.  He had qualified for a Civil War Pension by serving in the Union Army in Company I of the 215 Pennsylvania Infantry for a short time at the end of the war.

Following his death, my third great-grandmother had to legally file to receive his pension.  Her attorney was W. V. Sickel, an attorney in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who specialized in pensions.

General Affidavit of July 18, 1904

This General Affidavit is found in the Civil War Pension File of my third great-grandfather.  It was filed over two months after his death as my third great-grandmother was trying to file for a Widow's Pension.  He had qualified for the pension because he had served as a Union Soldier in Company I of the 215 Regiment of the Pennsylvania Infantry of Volunteers for a short time at the end of the war.

To receive a Widow's Pension, she had to prove that she actually had been married.  As she was unable to provide a marriage certificate, she needed to provide other means of proof.  This General Affidavit from Thomas S. White tries to do that.

Mr. White was 87 years old and a resident of Ocean City, New Jersey.  He testified that he had known my third great-grandparents since they were youths.  He said that they had gotten married in December 1854 and it was the only marriage for either of them.

Deposition of Rowland C. Evans July 10, 1904

This deposition is found in the Civil War Pension File of my third great-grandfather.  He had qualified for a pension by serving in the Union Army for a short time at the end of the Civil War.  This deposition was taken over two months after his death, when my third great-grandmother was filing to get a Widow's Pension.

She had hired an attorney, Rowland C. Evans, to search public and church records for proof of her marriage.  He had an office at 14 South Broad Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

He first requested the marriage record from the Registration Bureau for Births and Marriages of the Bureau of Heath.  He was informed that the bureau began in 1862.  That was no help since my third great-grandparents had been married in 1854.

He then reached out to Jacob J. Hatcher, the clerk of the North Tenth Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.  This church was the successor of the Penn Presbyterian Church, where my third great-grandparents had been married.  According to Mr. Hatcher, the church kept no record of marriages.  Another dead end.

Mr. Evans testified that he believed that my third great-grandparents were married on December 31, 1854  by the pastor of the Penn Presbyterian Church, Francis D. Ladd.  Unfortunately, the pastor could not verify this since he had died on July 7, 1862.

After a careful search, Mr. Evans was unable to find any record of marriage, nor could he find anyone who was present at the time of the marriage ceremony.

Deposition of Robert E. Henderson July 7, 1904

This deposition is found in the Civil War Pension File of my third great-grandfather.  It was taken over two months after his death when my third great-grandmother was trying to receive a Widow's Pension.  My third great-grandfather qualified for the pension by serving as a Union Soldier for a short time at the end of the Civil War.

My third great-grandmother was unable to provide a marriage certificate, so she had to provide other proof that she had a valid marriage and was qualified to receive the pension as a widow of a Union Soldier.

Robert E. Henderson of 1428 South Broad Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was an acquaintance of my third great-grandparents.  He stated he had lived with them from about 1866 to 1876.  When I looked at the 1870 census, there was no mention of him living with them, so maybe his timing is a little off.

He testified that as far as he knew, they were married on December 31, 1854 and had cohabited as husband and wife until December 31, 1903, when my third great-grandfather was committed to the State Hospital for the Insane at Norristown, Pennsylvania by order of the Court of Common Pleas for the County of Philadelphia.

Deposition of Thomas S. White June 21, 1904

This deposition is found in the Civil War Pension File of my third great-grandfather.  It was taken nearly two months after his death.  Without a marriage certificate, my third great-grandmother had to find other proof of their marriage so that she could continue to receive his pension.  A pension he had earned by serving in the Union Army for a short time at the end of the war.

Thomas S. White was 87 years old and lived at 14th and Pine Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He testified that he knew my third great-grandparents and other people in their neighborhood that knew the couple.  It was his knowledge that the two were married on or about December 31, 1854 and it was the only marriage for both of them.

Deposition of Margaret Stewart June 21, 1904

This deposition is found in the Civil War Pension File of my third great-grandfather.  He had earned the pension by serving as a Union soldier for a short time at the end of the war.  After his death, my third great-grandmother had to legally file to continue getting his pension.

Since she was unable to provide a marriage certificate, she had to find other ways of proving her marriage.  This deposition from Margaret Stewart was an attempt at doing just that.

Ms. Stewart was 70 years old and lived at Andrews and Clifton Avenues in Collingdale, Pennsylvania.  She was an acquaintance of my third great-grandparents and testified that she believed that they had been married on December 31, 1854 and it was the only marriage for the both of them.

Department of the Interior May 4, 1898

This document is from the Civil War Pension file of my third great-grandfather.  It has an amazing amount of family tree information on it.

My third great-grandparents were married on December 31, 1854 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  It was the first marriage for both of them.

I would be happy with that information, but the names and dates of birth for all of their children are also listed.  Now that's like winning the family historian jackpot!