Week 2: Favorite Find (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

 

This week's prompt could be a discovery that you made from breaking down a brick wall or something that just made you smile.

I have chosen my 3^rd great grandmother, Harriet Elizabeth Nedry Booth.  Elizabeth, as she was known as a girl, was born 24 Aug 1836 most likely in Ohio. She is the oldest of 5 daughters of John W Nedry (1814-1890) and his wife Elizabeth Sponable (1816-1899).

By 1840, her family moved to Illinois where her three youngest siblings were born. Her father died in Cedar Run, Benzie, Michigan in 1890 however her mother died in Marengo, McHenry, Illinois in 1899.

Harriet married Amos H Booth (1827-1899) on 9 Aug 1851 in West Point, Lee County, Iowa. They had three children, Martha Jane (1851-?), Wilina Ellen (1854-1898) and Edwin Booth (1869-?).  In the 1900 US Census, it listed that Harriet had 4 children, and three were still living.

In 1860 Harriet, her husband Amos and her two oldest daughters are living in Ripon, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. In 1870, they are still living in Ripon however they have added their one year old son, Edwin. In 1880, Harriet listed as married and son Edwin are living in Marengo, McHenry, Illinois. While her husband, Amos is living in a Veterans home in Wauwatosa, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Now for my favorite find. I found a Civil War Pension Index card that led me to request Amos’s Civil War Pension record. The Pension record I received was about 100 legal size pages. The pension applied for was based on the Act of June 27, 1890.

The Dependent and Disability Pension Act was passed by the United States Congress (26 Stat. 182) and signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison on June 27, 1890. The act provided pensions for all veterans who had served at least ninety days in the Union military or naval forces, were honorably discharged from service and were unable to perform manual labor, regardless of their financial situation or when the disability was suffered.

So it appears that both Harriet and Amos started applying for a pension in 1890. Harriet applied under the premise she was the widow of Amos and per Claim no 473769 was started as of 18 Aug 1890.

Amos applied under the premise of disability, and per Claim no 796922 was started as of 11 Jul 1890.

During this time, Harriet for some reason married on 23 Nov 1893 to her 2^nd cousin John Sponable (1825-1906) who lived in Kent County, Michigan.  It doesn’t appear they ever lived together, that Harriet returned to her home in Illinois that she shared with her deaf sister, Lois. John Sponable was also a Civil War Veteran.  I don’t know if she tried applying under him.

Harriet’s Widow’s Pension was approved on Aug 7, 1894 and quickly rejected on Sep 1, 1894 because solider is still living and has an application claim of 796922.

Whether Harriet collected any money or not is uncertain since reading all the paperwork is confusing.

On 14 Aug 1899, Amos’s Invalid Pension was approved with $12 monthly payments to be backed paid from Oct 28, 1895.

Amos finally passed away 27 Oct 1899 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is buried in the Wood National Cemetery, located in Milwaukee.

Harriet reapplied for Amos’s death pension on Nov 15, 1899 and was awarded $8 per month.  She had to answer some very interesting questions such as:

She swore that she has not remarried since the death of the Amos Booth. This is true because she remarried before his death.

She also swore that she has not applied previously for a benefit; however we know that is not true, but it seems this didn’t affect her benefit in 1899.

In 1908, her benefit was increased to $12 per month.

Between 1900 and 1910, Harriet sold the home that her sister Lois and she lived in. This might had been the family home of their parents, because in the pension, Edwin (Harriet’s son) stated that his mother sold the home for $1500 but it was in a living trust for Lois. She paid off the $600-$700 mortgage and then gave Lois $600 and kept the remaining funds for herself.

By 1910, Harriet was living with her son Edwin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and passed away on 2 Mar 1916. Her body was transported via train to be buried in Ripon, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. I have been unable to locate a “Find A Grave” record and I am not sure which cemetery she might be buried in.

In Edwin’s correspondence to the state department to be reimbursed for funeral and final death cost for his mother, he swore that his parents never divorced. Which leads me to wonder how she was able to marry her 2^nd cousin back in 1893?

This pension file took me several times to read and re-read to gather all the facts correctly.

Currently, I am requesting a copy of the death certificate for Harriet in hopes that it might list her final resting place.