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.

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.

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.

Certificate of Death

This Death Certificate is found in the Civil War Pension file of my paternal third great-grandfather.  He died on April 30, 1904 at the age of 77 in the State Hospital in Norristown, Pennsylvania, where he had been a patient since December 8, 1903.

His cause of death is listed as ill health and a hernia.  He had been sick for more than five months.

It describes him as a married white male, but it does not list my third great-grandmother's name.  Both of his parents' names are also left blank.  His birth place is listed, Ireland, and it states that he was a machinist.  He was buried in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the undertaker was an R. P. Morton.