Pension Application File for S. H. Williams
submitted by
Page 1.
ACCEPTED
11451
State of Tennessee
Soldier's Application for Pension
Under Class "5"
S. H. Williams
August 9, 1909
Read Specifications on Back
Sent Nov. 9, 11909
Humboldt
Gibson
Page 2
To Applicants for Pension
The material facts to be proven in a pension
claim, under the laws of the Stae of Tennessee,
are as follows:
1. Service in
Army. 1, May be
proven by officers or comrades.
2. Present
Disability. 2. May be
proven by physician's certificate
3. Indigency.
3. May be proven by neighbors and by certificate of
4. How you got out of the
Army. County Trustee
5. Character as a Soldier and
Citizen. 4. May be proven by filing parole or
discharge, or in case these have
have
been lost or destroyed, by officers or comrades who know the
facts.
5. May be proven by comrades and citizens.
Page 3
Soldier's Application for Pension
Under the Class
"5"
I S. H. Williams a native of the State of
Tennessee and now a citizen of Tennessee, resident at Humboldt in the County
of Gibson
in said State of Tennessee, and who was a soldier
from the State of Tennessee in the war between the United States and the
Confederate States, do hereby apply for said under
the Act of the General Assembly of Tennessee entitled "An Act for the benefit
of the indigent and disabled soldiers of the late
war between the States, and to fix the fees of attorneys or agents for
procuring such
pensions, and fixing a penalty for the violation
of the same." And I do solemnly swear that I was a member of Bennett's
Battalion"
& Capt. Massey's Company in the service of the
Confederate United States, and that be reason of disability and indigence I
am now entitled to receive the benefits of this
Act. I further swear that I do not hold any National, State, or County office,
no do I receive aid or pension from any other State, or from the United
States, and that I am not an inmate of any soldiers' home, and that I am
unable to earn a reasonable support for myself and family. I do further
solemnly swear that the answers given to the following questions are true:
In what County, State, and year were you born?
Answer----Wake County, North Carolina, April
2, 1843.
When did you enlist and in what command? Give the
names of the regimental and company officers under whom you served.
Answer----April, 1863 in G.W. Bennett
Battalion & Capt John Massey's Company.
In what battle or battles were you engaged, and ,
if not wounded, state what disabilities did you receive, if any?
Answer----Brices X Road. Harrisburgh.
Memphis & a number of others.-----Not wounded
What was the precise nature of you wound or
disability, If any?
Answer-- Left Blank
Were you incapacitated for service by reason of
said wound or disability incurred?
Answer----Left Blank
Were you discharged from the army, where were you
and what did you do until the close of the war?
Answer----Left Blank
If discharged from army, where were yuou and what
did uyou do until the close of the war?
Answer----Left Blank
What was the name of the surgeon who attended you?
Answer----Left Blank
How did you get out of the army, when and where?
Answer----Had a long spell of fever which
left me unable towalk & unable to do military service & was given an unlimited
furlow & was not able at nay time during the remainder of the war to do
military duty. Place of sickness: Jackson, Mississippi; Nov. 1864.
Did you take the oath of allegiance to the United
States Government?
Answer----No
Page 4
If so when and under what circumstances?
Answer----Left Blank
Are you married, or have you been married?
Answer----I am married.
If so, what is the size of your family living
together?
Answer----I have no family except my wife
living with me.
What are the respective ages of your wife and the
children living with you?
Answer----My wife is 63.
To what sex do you children belong?
Answer----Left Blank
Are not some of children able to support you?
Answer----No.
In what business are you now engaged, if any, and
what do you earn?
Answer----I am trying to farm a little, but
am not able to make a living for myself and wife.
What estate have you in your own right, real and
personal, and what is its value?
Answer----None at all.
What estate has your wife in her own right, real
and personal, and what is its value
Answer----None.
How have you derived support for yourself and
family for the last five years?
Answer----Farming as best I could.
Do you use intoxicants to any extent?
Answer----No.
How long have you been an actual resident of the
State of Tennessee?
Answer----64 years. Came to the State when
3 years old.
Have you an attorney to look after this
application?
Answer----None.
If so, give his name and address.
Answer----Left Blank.
Witness my hand, the 3rd day of August, 1909
Signed: S. H. Williams
Witnesses:
Sidney Thompson----Physician
G. W. Bennett---------Witness
A. L. McLeary---------Witness
State of Tennessee I, N. A. Cresap,
Trustee of said County, certify that S. H. Williams and his wife________ are
assessed
Gibson County with no acres valued
at $nothing, and $220 of personal property.
Witness my hand tnis 7th day of Aug. 11909
Signed: N. A. Cresap--Trustee.
Page 5
State of Tennessee
___________County Personally appeared before
me ___________ if said County, the above named ______________
the applicant, with whom I am personally
acquainted, andhaving the application read and fully explained to him, as well
as the
statements and answers therein made, made oath
that the said statments and answers are true.
Witness my hand and seal of office, this 5th day
of August, 1909.
Signed. W.M. Dunlap, Clerk of the Chancery Court.
State of Tennessee
Gibson County
Personally appeared before me W.M. Dunlap in
Humboldt Tenn of said County, the above named Sidney Thompson one of the
subscribing witnesses to the forgoing application, and who is a physician of
good standing, and being duly sworn says that he has
carefully and thoroughly examined S. H. Williams,
the applicant and finds him laboring under the following disabilities;
Hydrocele; Chronic Asura.
Signed----Sidney Thompson
Witness my and and seal of office, the 5th day
August, 1909.
Signed----W.M. Dunlap----Clerk of the Chancery
Court.
State of Tennessee Personally appeared
before me, W.M. Dunlap, Clerk of the Chancery Court of Humboldt of said
County
Gibson County the above named
Sidney Thompson, G.W. Bennett and A.C. McLeary, two of the subscribing
witnesses
to the
forgoing application with whom I am personally acquainted, and known to me
to be men of
veracity and
standing in this community, and who made in the application are correct and
true, to the
best of
their knowledge and belief, and that hey have no interest in this claim, and
that said applicant's
habits are
good and free from dishonor. Any they futher make oath to the following facts
toughing the
applicant's
service in the Confederate Army.
I mustered
Mr. Williams into the army a member of my command About Apr 1863 & know him to
have
made a good
soldier until he was unfited for service by a long spell of fever. As I
remember Mr. Williams
made a good
soldier.
Signed-----A.C.
McLeary
Witness my hand and seal of office this 5th day of
August, 1909
Signed----W.M. Dunlap, Clerk of the Chancery
Court, Humboldt.
Page 6
A hand written letter from G.W. Bennett:
Humboldt, Tenn.
12-2-1909
Mr. John P. Hickman
Nashville, Tenn.
Dear Sir: Mr. S. H. Williams of this place who
applied for a pension before your board was a member of my battalion. I
mustered
him into the service myself & has made a very good
soldier as long as he was able. About the last of Nov. I think it was 1864 he
was
taken sick near Jackson, Miss & was not able to
get home until some weeks after the surrender. You will find no record of
Bennett's battalion as it was consolidated with
the 12th Cavalry & afterwards the 12th Cavalry was consolidated with
McDonald's
battalion & all surrendered as McDonalds
battalion.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this Dec. 2,
1909. Signed---G.W. Bennett, Maj.
Signed----W.M.
Dunlap
Commander of Bennetts Bat.
There is a second shorter letter from another
witness that states all the facts in the above letter or true, but the hand
writing is very
difficult to make out. One of the signers of the
second letter is Willie McFarland.
Page 7
A letter from S.H. Williams:
I certify that I was a member of Bennett's
battalion from May, 1863 as long as I was able. About Nov 1864 I was taken
sick & was
not able to get back to the command any more. I
had a very long spell of the typhoid fever & was not able to get home until
some weeks after the surrender. I had written
permission from my officers to leave the command until able from July.
Signed----S. H. Williams
Subscribed and sworn to before me this Dec 2,
1909-----W.M. Dunlap---Notary Public
Page 8
S. H. Williams-------------No. 11451
Humboldt
Nashville, Tenn---------Nov 9, 1909
Dear Sir:
The Board of Pension Examiners have
considred your application and it stands disallowed, the the endorsements by
the Board in the specifications following:
Service in the Army
Endorsed---Proven
Wound received injury sustained, or disease
contracted while in service and in line of duty.
Endorsed---Proven
Indigency:
Endorsed---Proven
How applicant got out of the army.
Not satisfactory. War records report no record of
your serice in G.W. Bennett's Batallion, nor any record of how you got out
of the army.
Character as a soldier and citizen.
Endorsed----Proven
Page 9
A short letter from S. H. Williams dated Nov 9,
1909
# 11451------Received Nov 8, 1909
Office of the Chancery Court
Hon. Frank Sibrell
Nashville, Tenn.
Dear Sir:
I filed my application for pension about the first
week in August and have heard nothing from it. Will you please let me know
what the trouble is and oblige. Yours
Truly.----------Signed----S. H. Williams
Page 10
Tennessee Board of Pension Examiners
Nashville, Tenn. Sept, 1909
Gen. F. C. Ainsworth
Adjuant General
Washington. D.C.
Dear Sir.
S. H. Williams who is an applicant for Pension
under the Tennessee Pension law claims to have been a member of G.W. Bennett
command of the calvary. This was a different
command from the Bennett of the 7th Tenn.
Page 11
War Department
The Adjutant General's Office
Washington, September 26, 1909
Respectfully returned to the
President,
Tennessee Board of Pension Examinders
Nashville
The records show that S. H. Williams, Company B,
5th (McKenzie's) Tennessee Cavalry. (not found as of G.W. Bennett's
Battalion of Tennessee Cavalry), Confederate
States Army, enlisted August 22, 1864, and that he was surrendered
April 26, 1865, and was paroled at Charlotte,
North Carolina, May 3, 1865.
End of Record
You may post your Gibson County
TN pensions to
Gibson Message Boards.
and/or
Send any transcribed
Gibson pensions to for posting to this
board
