James Hall Pension Application R4478

James Hall began filing for his pension on 25 Sep 1832, following the United States government passing of an act on June 7, 1832, which provided that veterans with 6 months service, irrespective of the type of service and irrespective of need, were entitled to apply for pensions. Beginning with an act approved July 4, 1836, widows of veterans with the requisite minimum service were entitled to pensions provided that they had married the veterans before the expiration of the last period of the veteran's service.
Margaret Hall continued to seek pension after James died in March 1836.

After her death in 1840, her surviving children continued the fight. The documents show a battle between laywers and government red tape.

Finally, in 1854, after 22 years - James Hall's family received a pension of $280.00.

Other acts provided pensions for widows who married veterans at later dates. An act approved February 3, 1853, allowed pensions to widows irrespective of the dates of marriage.
Application procedures varied within the act under which a serviceman, widow, or dependent sought benefits. Generally, however, the process (called as “declaration”) required the applicant to appear before his or her residence and to describe under oath the service for which he or she claimed a pension. Applicants often had to prove eligibility by providing supporting documents such as property schedules, marriage records, or affidavits of witnesses or of a comrade in arms, or a leaf from a family Bible with family data.
A veteran or his widow seeking a pension had to appear in court in the state of his or her residence to describe under oath the service for which the pension was being claimed. A widow was required to provide information concerning the date and place of her marriage to the veteran. The application statement, or “declaration” as it was usually called, was certified by the court and then forwarded, along with all supporting documents (this may have included property schedules, marriage records, and affidavits of witnesses) to a federal official, usually the Secretary of War or the Commissioner of Pensions.