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I can cite a widow's pension. But in this case, she was awarded the pension, and I have both the application number and the certificate number. The widow remarried, and was dropped. After her second husband died, she reapplied under a new act. Her second application was also successful, and carried new application and certificate numbers. Should I cite the later numbers, with the earlier numbers in brackets? I know the soldier's service will always be a part of the citation, but how many and which of those numbers should remain in the citation?
A colleague suggested that for my working citation I would want all of the numbers in there, anyway. Another colleague suggested that the record would be located under the later set of numbers. But isn't the record always located under the soldier's identity?
Janis Walker Gilmore
Pawleys Island, SC
Janis,
Janis,
You have been given good counsel. The discussion that introduces EE 11.40 covers this problem also. Of course, every rule has its exception, but when pensioned widows remarried to another veteran and eventually filed under the later husband, the paper work for the first husband will likely be carried forward with her papers, where they are all filed under the last husband's name. The same situation existed when pensioned orphans had a mother who remarried another veteran; the paperwork for the orphaned children may be under the stepfather's name.
As for brackets, square editorial brackets are a silent way of saying "this is not in the original; I'm adding this on the basis of knowledge from elsewhere." The Scoville example at 11.40 (although it doesn't involve a new husband) demonstrates how to handle multiple file numbers for a widow who has multiple application files.
I should have realized that
I should have realized that about the brackets. Thanks, Elizabeth.
However, I wasn't clear on one point. In this case, the widow did not make a secod filing on the service of her second husband. She renewed her original pension on the first husband after the secod husband died--which was possible under the act of 3 March 1901.
I this case, where there is only one husband, one service record filed on, but two application numbers and two certificate numbers, which is cited?
Janis
Janis, that does simplify
Janis, that does simplify your task. You would cite both sets of numbers. If you're citing the whole file, then you would cite, say, " ....pension application no. 123,456/certificate no. 654,321 and application no. 234,567/certificate no. 765,432 ... . When you cite an individual document, and its date, you would cite the file to which it actually belongs.