Hall County 1914-1920 Disable or Invalid Soldiers

Article VII, Section 1, of the 1877 Georgia Constitution authorized the state to pay for artificial limbs for Confederate veterans. The Act of September 20, 1879, provided that such claimants could submit proof of eligibility to the governor who, on receipt of the claim, was authorized to draw a warrant on the state treasurer. Later acts and constitutional amendments expanded the list of disabilities for which confederate veterans could claim state benefits, such as the loss of eyes and hearing (1886) and the disabilities of age and poverty (1894). The Act of December 23, 1890, allowed for pensions to be paid to widows who were married during the war to Confederate soldiers who died in service of afterwards from wounds or diseases contracted in service. The Act of December 29, 1899, extended this coverage to include widows who, by reason of poverty, age infirmity, or blindness, were unable to provide a living for themselves. The Act of December 15, 1896, created the position of commissioner of pensions. Prior to this time, the comptroller general and the governor administered the claims. Between 1896 and 1939 the responsibility for administering the Pensions and Records Department within the state of Georgia. The Act of March 17, 1960, abolished this department and transferred its records to Georgia Archives. Georgia paid pensions to Confederate soldiers and their widows who were residents of Georgia at the time of the application, providing they met existing application requirements. Eligibility requirements changed from year to year. Military service or wartime residence could have been in another state. Soldiers and widows who left Georgia after the war were not eligible for a Georgia pension, but they may have applied in their subsequent states of residence. (Description from Ga Archives)

Transcribed from Microfilm, Ga Archives