Methods
Build a Pension-File Witness Map
This field note is part of the FOBA learning stream. It is meant to orient readers and point toward better source work.
Key points
- A pension file can be read as a witness network, not only a benefits decision.
- Each affidavit may connect service, marriage, disability, residence, neighbors, doctors, attorneys, and family memory.
- The map gets stronger when it separates what each witness said from what the editor believes.
Next steps
- Create one row per witness with date, place, relationship, claim supported, and privacy risk.
- Compare pension claims with service records, marriage records, census, cemetery records, newspapers, and church records.
- Use open wording when testimony conflicts or names shift across records.
Source trail
- FOBA Pension Files and Witness Testimony – Internal pension-file toolkit entry.
- National Archives – Military Records for Genealogy – Official NARA military and pension research gateway.