March 2, 2008 - William Heath's Pension Records

The records have been ordered for William Heath, Co. F, 210th PA. (1864-1865). National Archives stated that it would take 42 to 120 days to arrive.

Silas Shay served in Co. B, 111th PA (1861-1862). He was discharged for wounds on 6 Oct 1862. His widow Delila R. Shay received a widow's pension in 1903. In 1892, he was receiving a pension as an invalid.

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I've ordered Silas Shay's records. I checked the record for James Shay - it took about 3 weeks for the first half of his record another 2 weeks for the rest. Hopefully, we will only have 1 shipment.

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I hope it only takes 3 weeks and in one shipment. I cannot imagine there will be as much for William Heath. He started receiving his pension while he was still alive. I think the pension records will have William's first hand accounts on his war experiences and about him nearly dying from fever that he had for 10 weeks. I think that will be pretty neat. I think James Shay's records were long because he was already deceased and there was a lot of info about his widow and her other marriages. I wouldn't be surprised if William's records are half if not less than what James records were.

I wonder what Silas Shay's records will say. If he is indeed James' brother, then I wonder if they will mention that he had a brother who also fought in the war. It should most likely discuss Silas' war injury.

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I'm curious as to what they will contained. I'm a little surprise that it took so long for Silas to get his pension. However, I have read where a lot of the requests were denied several times before they were eventually approved. Also, I was discussing with my sister last night - I don't understand why Nancy, Jane didn't get something for James Shay. You would have thought they would have been entitled to something as his children.

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I think the reason that James Shay's children didn't get his pension is because they were already grown adults when Civil War Pensions first became available. In 1890 Congress enacted a new law that paid pensions to any Union veteran of the Civil War who served for at least ninety days, was honorably discharged, and suffered from a disability, even if not war-related. This extended to widows and minor children if the soldier was deceased. They received more money if the injury, illness or death was war-related. This is probably why Rebecca was determined to prove that the War had caused James' sickness and death. She would have received more money if that was the case.

Nancy & Jane were not minors by 1890 but Rebecca Withrow was a civil war widow. Although back in the day when widows remarried they forfeited their widows rights to government pensions...kinda the same way nowadays ex-spouses have alimony cut off upon remarriage. The government twice denied Rebecca, once because she had remarried and second because they suspected that she had committed bigamy making her marriage to James Shay invalid.