United States, Civil War Widows and Other Dependents Pension Files, 1861-1934
Approved pension case files of widows and other dependents of soldiers submitted between 1861 and 1934 and sailors between 1910 and 1934. Some files may be for service in the War with Spain. The files are arranged numerically by certificate number. Original files are located at the National Archives in Record Group 15, Records of the Veterans Administration. Index courtesy of Fold3. Additional records will be added to this collection as they become available. In August of 2013, the National Archives replaced the ARC – Archival Research Catalog - with the OPA – Online Public Access. ARC identifiers will still work to access the collections in OPA.
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United States, Civil War Widows and Other Dependents Pension Files
What is in This Collection?
This database on FamilySearch.org is a copy of an index provided by www.fold3.com. The index is to images in pension application files uploaded to the fold3 site. The index on FamilySearch.org is only to the files that have been uploaded. These files can be viewed only on the fold3 site.
Since the FamilySearch database is strictly an index to material on another site, the citation format given below is incorrect. Only this index can be cited from this site. Fold3.com provides complete citation information for the actual files, when a researcher accesses that site to view the documents.
The FamilySearch copy of the fold3.com index to the collection will eventually encompass applications for pension beginning from 1861 to 1934.
This collection consists of approved pension case files of widows and other dependents of soldiers submitted between 1861 and 1934 and sailors between 1910 and 1934. Some files may be for service in the War with Spain. The files are arranged numerically by certificate number. Original files are located at the National Archives in Record Group 15, Records of the Veterans Administration. Index courtesy of Fold3.com (previously Footnote.com). Additional records will be added to this collection as they become available.
From the onset of the Civil War, the US government granted pensions to widows of men who died in service to the Union Army. Then the Pension Dependent Act of 1890 extended benefits to those who could prove that they were the widows of honorably discharged veterans serving the Union for at least ninety days during the Civil War. A widow also had to provide proof of the soldier’s death, unless it resulted from his military service. An applicant could not have any means of support other than her day labor, and her marriage to the soldier had to occur before 17 June 1890, the date of the act.
These records are generally accurate. However, some soldiers used aliases and some lied about their names and ages.
Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.
To Browse This Collection
| Tip: This collection contains searchable content in the NARA Catalog. They can be accessed by clicking on the National Archives identifier in the Record Description. Once inside the Catalog, click on the "Search Within This Series". |
What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
- Soldier's full name
- Name of widow
- Rank
- Company
- Regiment
- Infantry unit
- When soldier was commissioned
- Where soldier was commissioned
- Amount of pension
- Date pension started
- Miscellaneous information about the soldier such as death date and cause of death
Collection Content
Sample of indexed information:
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Collection Details
Location of Original Records
National Archives and Records Administration
"United States, Civil War Widows and Other Dependents Pension Files, 1861-1934." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 24 October 2025. From "Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Dependents of Civil War Veterans, ca. 1861- ca. 1934." Database. Fold3.com. http://www.fold3.com : 2008. Citing NARA NAID 300020. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
