Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-02-05

sions for the service which themselves
| or their deceased husbands gave Uncle
| Sam at that time. You would think
that the revolutionary widows would
have long since passed away. The
| last pension soldier Of the revolution
died April 6, 1869. His name was
| Daniel Frederick Brakeman, and he
was one hundred and seven years OF
age before he asked for pension.
| He then resided at Freedom, NJ Y.
| Congress took up his case and gave
| him n pension of five hundred dollars
! per annum. Had this man been on the
ordinary pension list and married a
year before his death a girl of eighteen,
| and she. in turn. had lived as long as
| her aged husband, viz, to the age of
| one hundred and nine. Uncle Sam
would be paying that woman a pension
| up to the year 1850. There are now
| seven widows of revolutionary soldiers
| on the pension rolls. The Oldest of
these is Lovey Aldridge, and her age
| Is ninety-seven. She lives in Los An
! geles. Cal. The other widows are
| Nancy Cloud of Virginia. aged eighty
| four: Esther s. 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 Ten
nessee. aged eighty-seven. 1t has been
estimated that widows OF the veterans
OF the late civil war may be living in
the year 1000 A. d.
SOME BIG PENSIONS.
The Presidents widows get Won
know, $4,000 a year by special act of
Congress. Mrs. Gen. Grant and Mrs.
Garfield and Mrs. Tyler, l think, are
still drawing pensions. Mrs. President
Lincoln received $4,000 year from 1870
to 1882. when the amount was increased
to $4,000. Mrs. John A. Logan gets $40
week. and the widow of Admiral Far
ragut receives $1,000 year. A number
of widows of noted generals of the late
war have received or are receiving
pensions. Among these are the widows
of o. ID. Baker, George II. Custer, the
Indian fighter of Robert Anderson the
hero Of Fort Sumter, of Daniel Nc
Cook and Frank p Blair.
Among the biggest single pension
amounts now granted are those given
to widows on account of the clause in
the pension act OF 1896. which makes
the Widows pension date back TO the
death of her husband The other day
widow who had been married In 1865.
and whose husband had died in 1867.
applied for pension. She claims the
right to be paid IS IA month for every
month back to the death of her hus-
band, a period OF thirty years. The
law, j am told, Will give her the pen
sion. Another widow from Ohio. whose
husband died in 1871, married again
about fifteen years later. She now
claims pension on account of the death
of her first husband for the fifteen
years of widowhood and wants 1t In
lump.
FAMOUS AUTOGRAPHS.
There are many rare old papers
among these pension records. Among
the widows, for instance, / find an
autograph showing that Blaine's great |
t.ra "A t,,.Ath .at. 1,.att %,
long time as a revolutionary widow. |
This woman was the wife of Col. Eph-
rain Blaine. He was a rich man,
great friend of Washington, and he did |
good service during the revolution. He
died In 1904, and the application for
pension was not made until 1s4s Mrs.
Blaine's autograph was evidently made /
with trembling hand, but the letters I
are almost as plain as those which her |
famous grandson 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 Lin |
coin, U. s. Grant, w. T. Sherman,
Winfield Scott and Jefferson Davis. |
have traced the autographs of these
men as they were made In applying for |
warrants when they We're young. Sher- |
man asked for two quarter sections of /
land, one or his Florida services. and
the other for his record In the Mexican
war. Gen. scott got his bounty fo- his
bravery in the war of 1872, and Jeffer-
son Davis was granted his for his SER
vices as 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
received 100 acres for his Mexican war
IF PENSIONS WERE JUMPED.
During my walk through the Office
with the commissioner referred to the
petition which Is being circulated in
indianapolis among the old veterans. !
lhis petition requests Congress to pay
he pensions In n lump on the basis
hat every soldier now living will last
or twenty years. These men want the
twenty years pension given at once. |
md If their request is granted they are
Wiling to release Uncle Sam from all
,ension in the future. asked the com
missioner what would be the effect of
uch a law. He said: "It would neces-
itate the paying of least 49, 000, 900 900.
md the probability is that within three
weeks n large number of the pension
RS would have lost all they got from
he government, and somethin,, else
would have to be done for them. There
s, of course. no possibility of such |
movement succeeding. 1t would not be
eriously considered for an instant by
congress.
IN THE ROGUE'S GALLERY.
1t is not generally known that the |
tension office has rogue's gallery.
The commissioner gave me my first in