It is hard to describe all the information that may be found in a pension packet.  Therefore, several copies of representative samples from various pension files will be provided.  The first are examples from a soldier who applied for an invalid pension.

There were over 60 pages in this file which is a pretty common size.  You have seen examples of "drop notices" meaning that the person died and was dropped from the pension rolls.  On that notice, the death date of 16 January 1921 in a State Soldiers Home in Roseburg, Oregon was provided.

You have also seen an example of an actual "Survivor's Certificate," which allowed the soldier to be given admittance into a soldier's home.

The soldier, Marshall C. Awbrey, listed his date of birth as 16 January 1829 in Ray County, Missouri.  He indicated he enlisted in 1855 in Eugene, Oregon and that he was 5 feet 6 inches tall with blue eyes, and light brown hair and gave places such as Nine Eagles, Iowa; Eugene, Oregon; and Prinveville, Oregon as places he had lived.

The next file is an example of a widow's pension for Eliza A. Brady, wife of Alexander M. Brady who had served in the 1st Texas Rangers of the Mexican War.  A nice colored image of the pension jacket is provided.

Did you notice images of the Widow's claim for the pension including a statement of the soldier's death on 5 Mar 1872 in Richland, TN, and the marriage date of the two on 3 May 1849 in Sumner County, TN?  Finally we learn of the drop notice for the widow who died in 1897 in Tennessee.

Pension applications for a child are not illustrated here but they provide proof of the birth of the child and who his parents are in the folder.  Often there are depositions referencing the service and marriage of the soldier as well.

The mother's pension includes proof of her maternity to her son such as a Bible record, and proof that she is not being supported by others.  So you can see why we are so thrilled to find a pension file on an ancestor.