#166--Andrew McKee's Pension File

This week’s theme is surprise.  I was surprised last week when I by chance found information about a family in a cluster of families that I have been researching.  So for this week, I had to think about how I could be surprised this week.  Last year I went to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  One of the things that I did was download the pension file of Andrew McKee, my 4th great grandfather.  A fellow researcher had been kind enough to send me what she had, but I was interested in seeing the entire file.  I have not looked at the file since I downloaded it. 

So I decided to read the entire file and see if there were any surprises in it.  The entire file is 60 pages—I believe I had about 20 to 30 pages that contained the documentation to get the pension for Andrew so there was more to read.  Unfortunately a number of the pages were not legible so I do not know what information I missed.  But there was lot of information.  Some of it I knew.  I was aware that Andrew McKee in 1776 enlisted in Captain Robert’s Company, Colonel Irwin’s Regiment. He was discharged in April 1777.  He re-enlisted in 1780 or 81 for 18 months and served with Captain Zigler’s regiment.  He was at the battle of Three Rivers, and at Saratoga where British General Burgoyne surrendered.   Further, he was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, a battle that ended the Revolutionary War.  For serving to the end of the war, he received a bonus of $80.  He was granted a pension of $8.00 per month.  What I did not realized is that upon his death on June 18, 1835, his children applied for a pension for Andrew’s wife, Mary.  I was amazed at the amount of paper work getting the pension for her required.  Evidently proving two people were married was difficult. 

However, there was much more information in the file that did not relate to his war records and was useful in moving my genealogy forward.  Most of the information came from statements made on his behalf by his neighbors.  So what was I surprised to learn?  First, Andrew Mckee and Mary Bamford were married in 1770 near New London Cross Roads in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  Now I know where to begin to look for marriage records.   Second, he settled in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania
in 1799 with his wife and his nine children.  His oldest son, William, moved with his father, but bought his own farm, and did not live with his parents.  Third, my third great grandparents James and Nancy McKee Hannah and their children also moved with Andrew.  I have been looking for the birth records of their son, James Hannah, in Armstrong County so now I know I should look in the Chester County area of Pennsylvania.

The file contains not only the documents related to Andrew and Mary’s pensions, but also  number of letters requesting information about his war record.  I was surprised to find a letter from my great aunt, Cora Hannah Parke (Aunt Tim), inquiring about his war record. 

#41--John Wesley Hannah--Applying for a Pension

This is the last installment in my entries about John Wesley Hannah and his service in the Civil War.  After John‘s resignation in 1865 as Captain of Company D of the Illinois 62,  he returned home  to Edgar County, Illinois to take care of his business.  I am not sure when he moved, but by the following year, he was in Butler Missouri.  There, he married Jennie Willie( # 20 Romance in Real Life--Jennie Sophia Willey and John Wesley Hannah), and raised five children.  John built and was the proprietor of the Palace Hotel (# 5—Build Me a Palace—John Wesley Hannah)

Since he was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Butler, I assumed that he lived there until his death.  However, once I received his application for a pension, I discovered that that assumption was not true. His pension request was filed in November of 1897 in St. Sterling, Kentucky where he was living with his oldest daughter, Gertrude Hannah Turner.  On his application, he said that he suffered from rheumatism, heart trouble, paralysis, and general disability.  Those conditions were confirmed, under oath, by his son-in-law and the individual who was taking care of him.  Both individuals indicated that these difficulties were not due to "vicious living."

Initially, the Bureau of Pensions ordered John to appear for a physical exam in Butler, Missouri. That order was appealed because Butler was no longer his home.  Hence, he was examined by three physicians in St. Sterling who concluded that he was “permanently disabled in a degree requiring the regular aid and attention of another attention and is entitled to a pension of $72 a month.”  Further, they concluded that his illness during the Civil War was the cause of his present illnesses.  John lived several more months and died on March 10, 1898 in Mt Sterling.