counsellor at law, and Jonas Barton, of Bemis Heights, in said county, a farmer, persons whom I certify to be respectable and entitled to credit, who, being by me duly sworn according to law, depose' and say:

That they well knew the late Captain Edward Jackson, of the 169th regiment New York volunteers, and have known him from his childhood, that he always resided in Ballston, in said county, and leaves no wife or child surviving him. That his father and mother are dead. The father died on the 2d day of June, 1858, and his mother on the 1st day of March, 1860. That Emeline Jackson is his only surviving sister under the age of sixteen years. That she was wholly or in part dependent on her said brother for support. That her said brother did support her, by sending her money from time to time, and by paying her board.*

That deponents' means of knowledge of all these facts are derived as follows: that they have been intimate with the family for over twenty-five years, the deponent Edward Jackson is a first cousin of deceased Captain Edward Jackson, and deponent Jonas Barton is a relative of the said captain on his mother's side. That deponents were present at the funerals of the father and mother of said captain. That since he entered the army the said captain has paid deponent Jonas Barton for the board of his said infant sister, and has sent money on several occasions for her use to the deponent Jackson. They further swear that they do reside as aforesaid, and have no interest in this claim.

EDWARD JACKSON.
JONAS BARTON.

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 19th day of July, 1863; and I certify that I have no interest in the prosecution of this claim, direct or indirect.

EDWARD ST. PIERRE, Justice of the Peace.

*It would appear that a mere claim by the ties of nature will not sustain an application; the deceased, in his lifetime, must have acknowledged the claim.

FORM No. 33.

Application of Mother of deceased Soldier, for a Pension during Life of her Husband.

On this 10th day of November, A. D. one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, personally appeared before me, Robert Gilchrist, clerk of said county and of the Court of Common Pleas thereof, a court of record, Ruth Roe, a resident of Circleville, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, aged 50 years, who, being first duly sworn according to law, doth on her oath make the following declaration, in order to obtain the benefits of the provision made by act of Congress approved July 14th, 1862. That she is the wife of John Roe, and mother of James Roe,* who was a private in Company C, commanded by Captain Low,

The language of the act of July 14th, 1862, in relation to mothers' pensions, is as follows: "Sec. 3. That where any officer or other person named in the first section of this act shall have died subsequently to the fourth day of March, 1861, or shall hereafter die, by reason of any wound received or disease contracted while in the service of the United States, and in the line of his duty, and has not left or shall not leave a widow or legitimate child, but has left or shall leave a mother who was dependent upon him for support in whole or in part, the mother shall be entitled to receive the same pension as such officer or other person would have been entitled to had he been totally disabled." There is nothing in this language which necessarily implies that a mother must be a widow in order to entitle her to a pension, although that is the generally received opinion, countenanced by the circular of the Commissioner of Pensions, which says the mother being a widow is entitled. The language of the act is singularly free from ambiguity, and there can be no doubt about its proper construction. It grants the pension to such mothers as were dependent on their deceased sons, being soldiers, in whole or in part, totally irrespective of the existence of a husband, but providing in the same section, that if she marries again, after the death of the son, the pension shall cease. The law would he a harsh one did it exclude from its benefits the mother of a gallant soldier who had supported her, because she had a husband living, as he might be an inmate of a State's prison or a lunatic asylum, or who might have deserted her and abandoned her support. Of course, if the husband be dead, it makes the case the stronger, as it is easier in such cases to show the dependence on the son for support.

in the 21st regiment of New Jersey volunteers, in the war of 1861, who was killed in action at Fredericksburg, Va., on the 4th day of May, 1863, while in said service, and in the line of his duty as a soldier. She further declares that her said son, upon whom she was wholly or in part dependent for support, having left no widow or minor child under sixteen years of age surviving him, declarant makes this application for a pension under the above-mentioned act, and refers to the evidence filed herewith, and that in the proper department, to establish her claim.

She also declares that she has not in any way been engaged in, or aided or abetted, the rebellion in the United States; that she is not in the receipt of a pension * under the second section of the act before mentioned, or under any other act, nor has she again married since the death of her son, the said James Roe; † and she hereby appoints Robert Sewell, of the city of New York, her attorney, with full power of substitution, to prosecute this her claim for a pension, and to receive such certificate as may be issued for the same.+ RUTH ROE. Circleville, N. J.

Post-office address,

Also personally appeared Thomas Roe and Cornelius Doe, residents of Circleville, in the State of New Jersey, persons

* A person is entitled to but one pension at one time. The third section of the act provides that should the claimant be in receipt of a pension as the widow of an officer or soldier, no pension shall be granted for the services of her son, "unless she gives up the other pension." From this it would appear that the widow of a soldier, who has a son an officer, may, on the death of the latter, surrender her widow's pension and take the higher one to which she is entitled for the services of her son.

The

It is necessary to make this allegation, although in this case it seems superfluous, but see Instructions of Commissioner of Pensions herein. pension to a widow or to the mother of a soldier ceases when they remarry. Where the widow has children under sixteen years of age, the children succeed to the pension until they attain sixteen. The children, as they respectively attain the age of sixteen, lose the pension, and when the youngest child reaches that age it ceases altogether.

See notes to forms 21 and 23.

whom I certify to be respectable, and entitled to credit, and who, being by me duly sworn, say that they were present, and saw Ruth Roe sign her name to the foregoing declaration; and they further swear that they have every reason to believe, from the appearance of the applicant and their acquaintance with her, that she is the identical person she represents herself to be.

THOMAS ROE.
CORNELIUS DOE.

Sworn to, subscribed, and acknowledged before me, this 10th day of November, A. D. 1863; and I hereby certify that I have no interest, direct or indirect, in the prosecution of said claim.

[Seal of Court.]

R. GILCHRIST, Clerk of Hudson County.

This declaration must be supported by proof of relationship to deceased, that he left no wife or child, and that he contributed to the support of his mother. The case is one that requires strong proof, especially on the point of the inability of the husband to provide support for the wife; the case from which the forms are taken has only recently been filed, and has not been acted upon. The following affidavit will, it is thought, be found to contain all the necessary proof.

FORM No. 34.

Proof to substantiate the Averments contained in preceding Declaration, to enable a Mother whose Husband is living to obtain a Pension for Services of a Deceased Son.

On the 10th day of November, A. D. 1863, before me personally appeared Thomas Doe, residing at Bergen, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, and Cornelius

Roe, residing at Communipaw in said county and State, persons whom I certify to be respectable and entitled to full faith and credit, who, being by me first duly sworn according to law, depose and say: That they well know Ruth Roe of Circleville, in said county, who now applies for a pension. That she is the mother of James Roe, who was a private in Captain Low's company of the 21st regiment New Jersey volunteers, in the war of 1861. That they well knew the said James Roe in his lifetime; that he leaves no wife or child surviving him, having never been married.*

That they also well know John Roe, the father of said deceased James Roe and the husband of said Ruth; that he is a habitual drunkard, totally incapable of earning a living for his family. That he works at no regular calling, but idles away his time, and is habitually under the influence of alcoholic stimulants to an extent which renders him unfit for labor. That he, the said John Roe, does not provide for the support of the said Ruth, his wife, and does not furnish her with even the bare necessaries of life. That James Roe, in his lifetime, was the chief support of his said mother, the aforesaid Ruth. That before he enlisted in the service of the United States he was by trade an oysterman, and out of his earnings in said calling, he, wholly, or in great part, supported his mother. That he regularly gave her money, and purchased, and furnished to her, necessary

*Where such is the fact, it is as well to state in addition to the words, "left no wife or child surviving him," the words "having never been married." Where the son was married and leaves a child over sixteen, the proper words to insert are, "left no wife or child under sixteen years of age surviving him." It is not necessary to prove or assert the marriage of the mother to entitle her to a pension. The act makes a distinction between the children of a soldier and the mother of such soldier. The children must be legitimate, and in their case it is of course necessary to prove the parents' marriage. In the case of the mother, however, the law does not require that the son for whose services she claims should be legitimate, and the Attorney-General has recently given this construction to the act. The pension laws being beneficial and humane in their nature, ought not to be strictly construed; but, being framed in a spirit of benevolence and charity, should be construed in a similar spirit.