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.