The following information on U.S. Pension Acts is a brief over-view of legislation which provided benefits to Veterans of Military service in the Colonies, and later in the United States. A wealth of information can be found in these applications, considered Primary or Original documents.
I. U.S. Pension Records:
More than 100 years before the Revolutionary War the British Colonies had pensions for disabled soldiers and sailors:
- Disability or Invalid Pensions for those injured in the line of duty.
- Service Pensions for those who rendered service for a specified period of time.
- Widows Pensions for those whose husbands were killed in wartime.
26 Aug 1776: Pension Legislation for American Colonies as a group authorized one-half pay for disabled to continue for the duration of the disability.
15 May 1778: one-half pay for seven years after conclusion of the war to all officers who remained in service to the war's end; enlisted men received $80.00 gratuity.
24 Aug 1780: One-half pay for seven years to the widows and orphans who met the requirements of the previous enactment.
- 21 Oct 1780: Amendment to Act of 15 May 1778 to provide one-half pay for life. This was amended again on 22 Mar 1783 to five years full pay.
- 29 Sep 1789: Newly established FEDERAL GOVERNMENT continued the previous acts for period of 1 year.
23 Mar 1792: [1 STAT.243] Vets not already getting Invalid Pensions could apply directly to the Federal Government. The stipulated war service was to be for 9 months or to the end of the war. Pensions granted under this act were for life.
- Act of 1818: Required those after 1818 to submit certified schedule of income and estate.
29 Jul 1848: [9 STAT.265] Life pensions for widows married before 2 Jan 1800. Subsequent acts removed all marriage restrictions, and allowed for vets serving as little as 14 days time.
II. Bounty-Land Warrant Legislation:
Rights to free land held in Public Domain to the heirs of Revolutionary War Vets and heirs if they met eligibility standards of the Acts passed between 1776-1856. Records to be provided as proof included Marriage before 1910. Revolutionary War Pension application papers were placed in 3 series:
- Survivors: Name of state; S [Indicates Survivor] and # [File number].
- Widows: State; Name; Wife; File #; and
- Rejected Applications: Both of the above that were rejected; includes State, Soldier and Widow's name.
III. Federal Service Records: Military service records, which may give:
- Rank
- Dates of service
- Age
- Place of residence prior to enlistment
- Physical description
- Date and place of discharege or death
In addition to the records listed above, additional compiled records include:
Loyalist Sources: There are many published books and manuscripts listing Loyalists or Tories, who opposed the rebellion remaining loyal to England. They may be found under the subject "American Loyalists" or "United Empire Loyalists" in the Family History Library Catalog.
- Compiled Records : Secondary sources contain information about Revolutionary War soldiers that was compiled from original sources long after the war, often by lineage societies:
DAR Patriot Index: The Daughters of the American Revolution require that members submit proof of descent from a revolutionary soldier. The names of all of the soldiers whose service has been used to prove eligibility for the DAR have been indexed in this DAR Patriot Index, vol. 1-2 and the 1982 supplement; FHL book, 973, C42da.
DAR Lineage Books: If a soldier's name is listed in the DAR Patriot Index, an abstract of the application may be published in the DAR Lineaage Books, which are indexed in the Index of the Rolls of Honor in the Lineage Books of the NSDAR. There are 160 volumes which provide brief biographical information with the names and years of birth, marriage and death of direct-line descendants: FHL book, 973, D2d.
Another great source for Wars and Conflicts is found at The War Generations.
The following is list of Pension records obtained from the National Archives on Morrison men who served during the Revolutionary War. I will add the pensions as time allows. Thank you for your patience.
| Andrew Morrison |
Edward Morrison |
| Ephraim Morrison |
James Morrison |
| James Morrison |
John Morrison |
| John Morrison |
Samuel Morrison |
Any additional information on Morrison's who served in this, or subsequent wars would be greatly appreciated. To submit, please send to DEHarley@yahoo.com.
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