Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-02-05

paying that woman pension Up to the
year 1850. There are now seven widows of
Evolutionary soldiers Oh the pension rolls
The Oldest of these is Lovey Aldridge, and
her age is ninety-seven. She lives in Los
Angeles, Cal. The other widows are Nancy
Cloud of Virginia, aged eighty-four; Esther
3. Damon OF Vermont, aged eighty-three;
Nancy Jones of Tennessee, aged eighty
three; Rebecca Mayo of Virginia, aged
eighty-four; Mary Snead Of Virginia, aged
eighty-one, and Nancy Weatherman of
Tennessee. aged eighty-seven. 1t has been
estimated that widows of the veterans of
the late civil war may be living in the year
200 AID.
Some Big Pensions.
The Presidents widows get, you know.
5000 a year by special act of Congress. Mrs.
Gen. Grant and Mrs. Garfield and Mrs. Ty-
Ter, think, are still drawing pensions. Mrs.
President Lincoln received 5000 a year
frcm 1870 to 1882, when the amount was
il creased to 5000. Mrs John A. Logan
gets $40 a week. and the widow of Admiral
Farragut received 5000 year. A n1m-
Der of widows of noted generals of the
late war have received or are receiving
pensions. Among these were the widows
of E. d. Baker, George H. Custer, the
Indian fighter, of Robert Anderson. the
hero of Fort Sumter, of Daniel McCook
and Frank P. Blair.
Among the biggest single pension
amounts now granted are those given 10
widows on account of a clause In the pen
sion act Of 1896, which makes the widows
pension date back to the death of her hus
band. The other day widow who mad
BEEN married in 1858, and whose husband
had died in 1851, applied for A pension.
She claims the right 10 be paid s. month
for every month back to the death of her
husband period of thirty years The
law, 1 am toll. will give her the persion.
Another widow from Ohio, whose husband
died in 1871, married again about fifteen
years later. She now claims pension on
Of tha doc h hnr fret hr1gl md
fer her fifteen years of widowhood, and
wants it in lump
Famous Autographs.
There are many rare old papers among
these pension records. Among the widows,
for instance, 1 ind an autograph showing
that Blaines great-grandmother drew a
pension for a long time as a revolutionary
widow. This woman was the wife of Col
Ephraim Blaine. He was a rich man, a
great frierd of Washington, and he did
good service during the revolution. He died
in 1874. and the application for pension
was not made until 1913. Mrs. Blaine's
autograph was evidently made with a
trembling hand, but the letters are almost
as Plain as those which her famous grand
son used to make. There are papers here
from Benedict Arnold, there are autograph
letters of George Washington, and there
are applications for land warrants from
Abraham Lincoln. L. S. Grant, W. T Sher-
man. Winfield Scott and Jefferson Davis
1 have traced the autographs of these men
as they were made in applying for war
rants when they were young. Sherman
al ked fo- two quarter sections of land one
for his Florida services, and the other for
his record in the Mexican war Gen. Scot.
got his bounty for his bravery in the war
OF 49, and Jefferson Davis was granted
his for his services an officer in our war
with Mexico. President Lincoln's grant
was given for his services in the Black
Hawk Indian war, and John A. Logan re-
celved 16O acres for his Mexican war
record.
During my walk through the Office with
the commissioner l referred to the petition
winch IS being circulated in INDIANAPOLIS
among the old veterans. This petition re-
quests Congress to pay the pensions in q
lump on the basis that every soldier now
living will last for twenty years These
men want the twenty years pension given
at once, and IL their request is granted
they are willing to release Uncle Sam from
all pension in the future. 1 asked the COM
missioner what would be the effect of such
law. He said: 1T would necessitate the
paying of at least $1,000, 600 600, and the
probability is that within three weeks a
large number of the pensioners would have
LOST all they got from the government, and
something else would have to be done for
them There is. of course, no possibility
OF such movement succeeding. 1t would
not be seriously considered for an instant
by Congress-"
FRANK G. CARPENTER