Military pension files may contain transcribed record copies of documents that you cannot find elsewhere–perhaps because the courthouse burned, the records are unindexed or you simply do not know were to look. Pension files for widows should contain proof of marriage. If the soldier was survived by minor children (usually for pension purposes under the age of 16), information about their birth may be in the file.
And you just never know what may be in a pension file–you may even find an 1860 census record.
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