George Mentzer's Civil War Pension

A Story of Service, Illness, and Disability

When researching a Civil War ancestor, have you looked at their pension file? While military service records document a soldier's time in the army, pension files often reveal what happened after the war.

I've been working with the Civil War pension file of my ancestor George Mentzer, who served in Company C of the 24th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.

The file contains information about his military service, but it also documents his struggles with illness, his efforts to support his family, and his attempts to obtain a government pension.

What I found particularly interesting was that George initially applied for a pension based on illnesses he believed were caused by his military service. However, he eventually received a pension under a law that did not require him to prove that connection.

George Mentzer's Military Service

George Mentzer was born on June 12, 1838, in Stow, Massachusetts.

On September 25, 1861, at the age of twenty-three, he enlisted in the Union Army. He served as a private in Company C of the 24th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.

During his three years of service, George experienced military life in a variety of locations.

According to his pension application, he contracted measles while stationed at Annapolis, Maryland, around January 1862.

While measles might not sound particularly serious today, it could be a dangerous illness during the Civil War. Soldiers lived in crowded conditions, and infectious diseases spread rapidly through military camps.

George believed that his illness had lasting consequences.

He was discharged from military service in September 1864.

Although his military service had ended, his health problems apparently had not.

Life After the War

Following his discharge, George returned to civilian life.

He lived for a time in Northborough, Massachusetts, before moving to Kewanee, Illinois.

On January 1, 1868, he married Emiline Minnick in Kewanee. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Applebee.

The couple eventually moved to Woodson County, Kansas, where George worked as a farmer.

According to a later pension report, George and Emiline had eight children.

Farming required considerable physical labor. Yet the pension documents suggest that George struggled with chronic health problems throughout much of his adult life.

Those problems eventually led him to seek financial assistance through a military pension.

George's First Pension Application

On January 3, 1889, George filed a Declaration for Original Invalid Pension in Woodson County, Kansas.

In his application, he claimed that he had contracted measles while serving at Annapolis, Maryland, in January 1862.

He believed that this illness had resulted in several chronic conditions, including:

• Disease of the lungs

• Heart disease

• Kidney disease

• Problems with his eyes

George stated that he had been healthy when he entered military service but that his subsequent illnesses had left him unable to support himself through manual labor.

His claim was based on the belief that his disabilities originated during his military service.

At the time, proving that connection was important. Under the general pension laws, veterans seeking disability pensions generally needed to demonstrate that their disabilities resulted from their military service.

For George, that meant establishing a connection between an illness he experienced in 1862 and the health problems he continued to experience more than twenty-five years later.

That would not have been an easy task.

A Change in Pension Laws

In 1890, Congress passed legislation that significantly changed pension eligibility for Union veterans.

The Pension Act of June 27, 1890, allowed qualifying veterans to receive pensions for permanent disabilities that interfered with their ability to earn a living, even when those disabilities were not directly caused by military service.

This was an important change for George.

On July 22, 1890, he submitted another pension application, this time under the new law.

Instead of having to prove that his illnesses originated during the Civil War, George needed to establish that he suffered from disabilities that affected his ability to perform manual labor.

His pension file contains several affidavits supporting that claim.

What Did His Neighbors Say?

One of the witnesses supporting George's pension application was Abraham Smith, a resident of Yates Center, Kansas.

In an affidavit dated July 23, 1890, Smith stated that he had known George for approximately eighteen years.

He had also worked with George on various occasions.

Smith described George as physically weak and reported that he frequently complained of problems with his lungs and kidneys.

He also recalled occasions when George had been confined to his home because of illness.

In May 1891, Smith provided additional information in response to an inquiry from the Pension Bureau.

He described George's hearing difficulties, watering eyes, and symptoms associated with kidney problems.

Smith's testimony is particularly interesting because it provides an outsider's perspective on George's health.

Rather than relying entirely on George's own statements, the pension file includes observations from someone who had known him for many years.

For a genealogist, that type of testimony can be extremely valuable.

What Did His Doctors Report?

George's pension file also contains statements from physicians who had treated him.

Dr. O. J. Skinner reported that he had known George for approximately fifteen years and had treated members of the Mentzer family for more than twelve years.

Skinner described George as suffering from a chronic cough, bronchial congestion, and longstanding kidney and liver problems.

He also indicated that George was physically weak and should avoid strenuous labor.

Another physician, Dr. S. G. Bacon, reported treating George for pneumonia in February 1882.

Bacon also described George's complaints concerning kidney and liver problems.

These medical statements help document the health problems George experienced during his years in Kansas.

They also demonstrate how pension files can provide information about an ancestor's health that might not appear in any other surviving record.

Of course, these statements reflect the medical observations and understanding of the time. They do not necessarily establish the precise causes of George's illnesses.

George Finally Receives a Pension

George's application under the 1890 pension law was successful.

His pension certificate was issued on June 16, 1891.

Pension Certificate No. 598867

He was awarded a pension of $12 per month, effective July 25, 1890.

The pension records identify disease of the chest and disease of the eyes among the disabilities associated with his award.

While $12 per month might not seem like much today, it represented a regular source of income for George and his family.

For someone whose physical condition limited his ability to perform farm labor, that income could have been important.

What I find particularly interesting is that George's successful pension claim did not necessarily mean the government accepted his belief that measles had caused all his later health problems.

Under the 1890 law, that connection was no longer required.

Instead, his pension recognized that he was a qualifying veteran with disabilities that interfered with his ability to earn a living.

Another Pension Application in 1908

George's pension file contains another application dated June 24, 1908.

By this time, George had reached his seventieth birthday.

Congress had passed another pension law on February 6, 1907, providing pensions based on a veteran's age and qualifying military service.

Under this law, eligible veterans could receive:

Age	Monthly Pension
62–69	$12
70–74	$15
75 and older	$20

Since George turned seventy on June 12, 1908, he qualified for an increase.

His pension was raised to $15 per month, effective June 27, 1908.

Unlike his earlier applications, this claim was based primarily on his age and military service rather than his medical condition.

George continued receiving his pension until his death.

The End of George's Pension

George Mentzer died on January 19, 1912, in Yates Center, Woodson County, Kansas.

He was seventy-three years old.

According to his widow's pension declaration, the cause of death was paralysis.

His pension payments ended with his death.

However, that was not the end of the pension records associated with the Mentzer family.

On February 13, 1912, his widow, Emiline, applied for a widow's pension.

Her application required documentation of George's military service, their marriage, and his death.

It also resulted in additional affidavits from relatives and acquaintances who could verify their marriage.

Among those providing testimony were Emiline's sister, Barbara E. (Minnick) Frink, and Barbara's husband, Oliver H. Frink.

Those affidavits helped establish the marriage while also providing valuable clues about the extended Minnick family.

Emiline eventually received a widow's pension, which was increased over time.

By 1926, she was receiving $30 per month.

A congressional pension report from that year described Emiline as seventy-seven years old, without property, and requiring constant care.

Congress subsequently approved a special pension of $50 per month.

Thus, the pension records continued documenting the family's circumstances long after George's death.

What Does the Pension File Tell Us About George's Life?

When I look at the timeline of George's pension applications, I see more than a series of government forms.

I see a man who served his country during the Civil War, returned to civilian life, married, raised a family, and worked as a farmer.

I also see evidence that chronic illness may have made that life difficult.

George was only fifty years old when he submitted his first pension application in 1889.

He had been out of the army for nearly twenty-five years.

Yet he was still reporting health problems that he believed began during his military service.

His neighbors and physicians described a man who experienced physical weakness, respiratory problems, and other chronic conditions.

While we cannot know exactly how those illnesses affected his daily life, the records suggest that they interfered with his ability to perform the physical work required of a farmer.

The pension also provides insight into the family's financial circumstances.

George received $12 per month beginning in 1890 and $15 per month beginning in 1908.

After his death, Emiline received a widow's pension.

By 1926, her circumstances were serious enough that a special pension increase was approved.

These records provide a glimpse into the economic challenges that could follow a Civil War veteran and his family for decades.

Why Pension Files Are Worth Exploring

George Mentzer's pension file illustrates why I consider Civil War pension records such valuable genealogical resources.

The file contains information about his military service, but it also documents events that occurred long after the war.

It identifies places where George lived, describes his occupation, provides details about his health, and includes testimony from people who knew him.

It also reveals information about his wife, children, and extended family.

In an earlier post, I explored how George's pension file helped document the structure of the Mentzer family.

This time, I wanted to focus on the pension itself—why George applied, what evidence supported his claim, and why he eventually received benefits.

George's pension wasn't simply a reward for having served in the Civil War. His original award was based on disabilities that affected his ability to work, while a later increase reflected his age and qualifying military service.

His pension file helps tell the story of a veteran whose struggles did not necessarily end when he returned home from the war.

And that is a story worth preserving.

Have you researched a Civil War ancestor's pension file? Did you discover information about their life after the war that you hadn't found elsewhere?