65 Years After the War - Confederate Pension Denied
Jane Haston Ritter’s Memory of the Family Story About Her Great-Grandfather, David Montgomery Haston
The only thing I remember my mother saying was that he never ate biscuits after the war because of worms or bugs, something was in them. He always ate and enjoyed cornbread.
David Montgomery Haston was born and grew up in Van Buren County, TN, but in 1930 he was living in Stephens County, Oklahoma.Â
Oklahoma’s Confederate Pension Act of 1915 provided pensions for disabled or indigent Confederate veterans and their widows who were residents of the state. Applications were handled by the state’s Board of Pension Commissioners, and records can be found through the Oklahoma Historical Society or its digital archives, which preserve the index cards for these pensions. It’s important to note that this was a state-level program, as the federal government did not issue pensions for Confederate veterans.
https://digitalprairie.ok.gov/digital/collection/pensions
In 1915, the Oklahoma Legislature approved the Confederate Soldiers’ Pension Bill. The Board of Pension Commissioners received applications and allowed, or refused, pensions based on established criteria, including the applicant’s residence in Oklahoma for 12 months prior to the passage and approval of the Act. -Oklahoma Department of Libraries
At the age of 84 and living in Marlow, OK, David Montgomery Haston file an application for a pension, 65 years after the war ended and he was discharged. Â
It’s so sad!
After serving for three full years, fighting in such an active outfit for a cause so dear to him, 84-year-old David Montgomery Haston’s petition for a pension was rejected. Why? Because all of his known soldier friends had died, and no one remained to vouch for him. He lived three years and died in 1933. Â
Why Could the Pension Commissioner Not Find a Confederate Record for Him?
Many Confederate soldier records are missing due to poor record-keeping, the destruction of Confederate archives after the war, and a lack of a centralized personnel system. Additionally, many records were lost, misplaced, or never created in the first place.
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