An aunt was born in the late 1780s. It never dawned on me that she could have married someone old enough to have served in American Revolution and would qualify to get a pension under his service. They actually married in the 1820s-1830s and had several children. The veteran was approximately twenty-five years older than she.
And the pension is full of great information.
Another example showing again the many years of costs to the nation of war veterans.
ReplyDelete"LAST WAR WIDOW OF 1812 IS DEAD:
Mrs. Carolyn P. King, Who Wed New York Militia Veteran, Succumbs." [28 Jun 1938]
The obituary reads as follows:
"The death of Mrs. Carolyn Poulder King, 89, Tuesday in the Evangelical Church home, Broadway near Union road, Cheektowaga, removed the last widow of a veteran of the War of 1812.
Mrs. King was the widow of Darius King who fought with New York militia at Ft. Niagara 126 years ago. She was 18 years old when she married. Mr. King was 71. He lived 22 years after the wedding, which was his second.
Mrs. King was one of two women in this country drawing a pension from the United States government on account of her relationship to a veteran of the War of 1812. The other woman pensioner is Mrs. Esther Ann Hill Morgan, Independence, Ore., a daughter of a veteran. Mrs. King's pension was $46.50 a month.
Born in Germany, Mrs. King came to this country as a Child and lived in Holland before her marriage to Darius King, a South Wales farmer.
One stepson and five stepdaughters survive. They are Mrs. Clara Buffingham, Mrs, Augusta Parker, Mrs. Fannie Smith, Ralph A. King, all of Buffalo; Mrs Carl Wesp, Armor, and Mrs. Jennie Wood, East Aurora.
The funeral will be held Friday morning at 10 o'clock in the Frantz funeral home, East Aurora. Burial will be in Oakwood cemetery."
"Another example showing again the many years of costs to the nation of war veterans."
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you typed that. How much do you think her husband was worth?
I took this to mean that the length of time pensions were paid out might surprise people since the example mentioned someone living well after the War.
DeleteAnd even if that wasn't how it was meant the obit does make that point that someone might have a War of 1812 widow long after the War had passed.