Amanuesis Monday - Affidavit from Amos Conner

Amanuesis Monday is a daily blogging prompt from geneabloggers.com which encourages the family historian to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Amanuensis Monday is a popular ongoing series created by John Newmark at Transylvania Dutch.

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General Affidavit 
State of Pennsylvania
County of Allegheny
In the matter of claim for Orig. ? of Chas. Schwank #694362
Personally came before me Clerk of Court in and for aforesaid County and State, Amos Conner of McKeesport Allegheny County Pennsylvania.
a person of lawful age, who, being duly sworn, declare in relation to the aforesaid case as follows:

Mr lemon sir is appears that you and the government wishes to know a bout mr swenks condishion. i will tell you what i know – i have noing him for sixteen years. We are brotherinlaws By maring sisters in the first place he is a badley used up man with rheumatism he has been botherd with rheumatism ever since i know him in his back he hesent been able to do a hard days work for sixteen years  that is as far back as i know if he dos work hard or run or lift he is of [?] for days with the panes in his back the first hard work i ever new him to do was last winter and he had to give up his job on acount of his back  he wood set up for nights and bath and saltes then he wood go to [?] this wood releave him for a time but that\ cant cure him  he is that bad be times that he cant tie his own shoes and when down he has hard work rising to a strate position  it wood be imposibel for me to give date or year for he has been that way every year and the older he gets the wors he is  i have lived too hundreds from him and have worked with him and for him  he dos contract work i am working for mr swenk now and that gives me all the better chance to no his case thorley with out eney dout.

Further declare that i havnt no interest in said case, and am not concerned for its protection.
                                                                                          [Amos Conner]

Sworn and subscribed 17 September 1889.
                                                                                          [DK. McGunnegle]
                                                                                          [Clerk of Courts]

This affidavit is from the pension file of my second great-grandfather, Charles G. Schwenk. I have been re-reading and analyzing the records of this 85+ page packet and have gleaned an amazing amount of information about Charles ... his service in the Civil War, injuries and life after the war, his wife (and marriage) and their children.

This affidavit was submitted a few months after Charles' initial filing for an invalid pension. Amos Conner was married to Jane "Jennie" Burd, sister of Charles' wife Marian Burd. This particular affidavit gave a clear picture of how much the rheumatism had affected Charles' life, and his difficulty performing even simple tasks such as tying his shoes.

I will post more of my finds from Charles' pension records ... records that tell about the life of Charles Schwenk, as well as the new information that I found in the packet.

___________________________________________________________________________ 

SOURCE:

Affidavit of Amos Conner; Charles G. Schwenk (Pvt. Co. A and 1^st Sgt. Co. C, 82^nd Pennsylvania Inf., Civil War) Civil War pension file, no. 694362, certificate no. 454879; Case Files of Approved Pension Applications ...,1861-1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Tombstone Tuesday - Charles G. Schwenk

This is the tombstone for my 2nd great grandfather, Charles G. Schwenk, at Braddock Cemetery in North Braddock, PA. It was also known as Old Braddock Cemetery and Russell Cemetery. He died on 12 November 1893 and is buried in the G.A.R. Plot.

Charles was born in or near Norristown, PA and enlisted in the Civil War in July of 1861. He served in the 82nd Pennsylvania Infantry in both Companies A and C and mustered out in July of 1865. But this tombstone doesn't seem to be him, right?

After looking at many records, I do believe that this is my ancestor Charles. First, the stone is newer, definitely not from 1893, as are many of the stones in the G.A.R. Plot. Below is Charles' Pennsylvania Veteran Burial Card, which was dated 1935.

The information found in this record confirms what I learned from Charles' Civil War muster rolls and pension records. He mustered out of Company C on 13 July 1865 as a First Sergeant and died on 12 November 1893.

I have been unable to find Charles' death in a Pittsburgh death register nor an obituary in the newspaper, but all of his military pension records as well as his wife's widow's pensions list the same death date. In the 1890 Pittsburgh City Directory, Charles is living in Swissvale, right next to Braddock. In the 1895 Pittsburgh City Directory, his wife Mary is listed as the widow of Charles G.

In addition, Charles' wife Mary was buried at Braddock Cemetery as well (according to her obituary as there is no tombstone). Many of Mary's family are also buried at Braddock, including her daughters, niece and nephew.

Lastly, I checked the roster of Company D of the PA 82nd Infantry, just in case there happened to be a "Schwek" veteran who died on the same date and was buried at Braddock. There is no Schwek on the roster.

So with the information that I have compiled from his military records, as well as census records and city directories, I do believe that this is the tombstone for my ancestor and that a mistake was made at a time long after his death.

There is much more to write about Charles's time in the Civil War and afterwards when he lived in the Braddock area, but those will have to wait for future posts.