[Genealogy] Grandsons in Pension, Correcting All Errors, Brick Walls, and More

Mon Apr 27 06:53:19 CDT 2026

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** Grandsons in the Pension File
** Brick Wall Busters 2026--Intro rate!
** Correcting All the Errors--Is It My Job?
** Keep Getting the Blog Update

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Grandsons in the Pension File
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The unexpected treasures in military pension files can be worth the time it
takes to find them–most times the best finds don’t just jump out at the
researcher. Details about family can be buried in what originally seems to
be page after page of financial tedium.

That’s what happened in the pension application file for Gardner Ramsey.
The Mexican War veteran served in a unit from Illinois, but by the 1880s
had moved to the Southwest where for a time he operated a mail route in
Fort Huachuca in Arizona.

Ramsey’s application for an increase in his pension was denied and a
special examiner was sent to take testimony regarding Ramsey’s financial
status and physical condition. In December of 1903 in Los Angeles, Mrs.
Quince White made out an affidavit in support of Ramsey’s claim. Apparently
Ramsey was not always to operate the mail route in Arizona by himself and
two of his grandsons, Charlie McClune/McClure and George Hand, would help
him. White incorrectly names the Hand who helped Ramsey. That error, made
and corrected in the testimony, initially named John E. Hand as the
grandson. White corrected herself and indicated that John E. Hand was
George Hand’s father–thus giving the name of Ramsey’s son-in-law.

White goes on to state that Ramsey moved to Putnam County, Tennessee. She’s
not certain of the year in her testimony, but believed that it was 1893.
Her testimony documented Ramsey’s live in the late 1890s through the date
of her testimony in 1903.

But it’s not often that affidavits in a pension file mention names of the
veteran’s grandchildren. That was an unexpected find. It suggests that the
boys were old enough to help with the route when their grandfather was
unable to and that they lived in the same area as their grandfather Ramsey
during the unstated time frame.

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Brick Wall Busters 2026--New!

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Handout included. Presentation made by Michael John Neill.

Michael has forty years of research experience in families throughout the
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Correcting All the Errors--Is It My Job?
---------------------

It really isn’t.

And by “errors,” I’m talking about statements that are clearly
incorrect–biological events that violate the laws of space, time, and
biology and other details that fly in the face of every single document
ever recorded and for which the compiler has offered absolutely no refuting
evidence that those documents are incorrect.

My “job” in my genealogical research is to document my ancestors to the
best of my ability, accurately citing the sources I find, transcribing
documents as accurately as possible, locating as many records as possible,
and making an honest effort to accurately document my ancestors’ existence.
I should learn as much as I can about the records that I use so that they
can be interpreted correctly and that I will know what those records say
and what those records do not say.

I should also make a conscious effort to understand the time period in
which my ancestors lived so that I can understand the records as correctly
as possible.

The summaries I create about my ancestors should be as accurate as I can
make them. Where I choose to share and publish that compiled information is
my own business. The records that I access I do not own. The compilation
that I create is something that I do–although I *do not* claim ownership to
any “fact” or specific statement about an ancestor. Facts are not
copyrightable no matter how much money I spend to discover them or how much
time I devote to that discovery. I do share my discoveries and
compilations–I don’t believe in hiding discoveries that have been made.

If I see errors in someone else’s tree about one of my ancestors, I’m under
no obligation to correct them or tell them what they have compiled is
wrong. I can do so if I wish, but I don’t feel that I’m compelled to
contact every person who has an error in their tree.

I don’t feel that I’m under any obligation to correct every error in public
global trees if I encounter them. Just because the trees are there does not
mean that I’m responsible for the errors that others have put in these
trees. I’m also not under any obligation to correct transcriptions of
original records on free or fee-based sites–although I frequently do. It’s
not my job to correct the mistakes of others.

That takes time away from correcting my own errors and working on
long-neglected ancestors–and I have enough of both to keep me occupied for
some time.

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------------------------------------
Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
PO Box 17, Henderson, IL 61439
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com
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