On Veteran’s Day we honor and remember all who have served over the past 250 years, including our very first soldiers who fought for our independence.
On June 7, 1832, Congress enacted pension legislation that provided for full pay for life for all officers and enlisted men who served at least 2 years in the Continental Army, a state or local militia, the navy or the marines. Men who served less than 2 years but at least 6 months were granted pro-rated pensions based on the pay for their rank at the time of their discharge. Benefits were payable effective March 4, 1831, but, unlike earlier pensions, without regard to financial need or disability, and widows or children were entitled to collect any unpaid benefits due the veteran at the time of his death.
But applying for and then qualifying for that pension was often a complicated and tedious process. Widows needed to provide extensive documentation, including muster rolls and military discharge papers, which had often been lost or destroyed. Many earlier pension applications had been destroyed by two separate fires, one in 1800 and the other in 1814.
Without supporting official military documents, widows were required to find surviving soldiers who had served with their husband and who could provide sworn affidavits attesting to their husband’s military service. Given that many local militia men were called up for short periods of time on multiple occasions throughout the multi-year conflict, that often meant collecting affidavits from several surviving veterans who could attest to their husband’s service at different locations and times. If a widow couldn’t prove a cumulative service by her late husband that added up to at least 6 months, she would collect nothing.
Under the 1832 pension act, widows often had to appear before a judge to give oral testimony. This testimony was given under oath and needed at least one credible corroborating witness. These records were recorded by the court and often included detailed and interesting personal recollections that today give us a more well-defined glimpse into what must have been a trying time in our nation’s history.
Records resulting from the legislation of the 1830’s are held by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in an online catalog are the result of scanning 2,670 microfilm reels of the Case Files of Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Applications based on Revolutionary War service. Those microfilms were created in the 1970s by photographing more than 2.3 million documents in more than 83,000 files. Each file is associated with a surviving soldier, his widow, or children, who applied for a pension based on that veteran’s service during America’s War for Independence.
The Historical Society of Easton is proud to partner with its sister organization, the Weston Historical Society, in a project that will highlight the journey of Sarah Wheeler Hoyt Treadwell and her successful efforts to obtain, not one, but two widow’s pensions in the late 1830’s for her first and second husbands who both served in the militia of the parish of North Fairfield. Her first husband, Daniel Hoyt, gave his life after being mortally wounded at the Battle of Ridgefield in 1777, while her second husband, Daniel Treadwell, survived the war after being held prisoner by the British in late 1776 in New York. Treadwell died in 1822.
The records we have found thus far are incredibly detailed and absolutely fascinating to read. Stay tuned for the entire story and our upcoming joint exhibit during the 250th year of our country.
