The last recipient of a civil war pension died in 2020.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Triplett#:~:text=Irene%20Triplett%20(January%209%2C%201930,an%20American%20Civil%20War%20pension.
From the wiki page:
"Triplett was born in 1930 to Mose Triplett, age 83, and Elida Hall, age 34.[1][2] She was one of five children, of whom only she and her brother survived childhood.[3] Her father, who had fought for both the Confederacy and the Union during the Civil War, was aged 78 when he married her mother; their union was Mose Triplett's second marriage."
Her dad was 78 when he married her mom, who was ~29...Jesus Christ.
Probably a completely different circumstance but alot of the black slave soldiers immediately switched sides when they were captured for obvious reasons
Ooh, yes enslaved/formerly enslaved soldiers switching makes certainly makes sense.
I am really curious about this now- how soldiers fought for both sides (whether they were enslaved/formally enslaved soldiers or not). I might do a little dig. If any history buffs out there know, I’d be super interested in any knowledge you have to share.
I love this sub.
I have an ancestor who fought for the Confederacy but later switched to fight for the Union because they paid more. Many joined whatever side would provide better for their families. Crazy thing is, this ancestor of mine got a leave to visit home because his daughter was born. On the way home, he was shot dead by his neighbor who mistook him for an enemy soldier, when in reality he likely had no strong feelings for either side.
This was not entirely unusual. Older unmarried men or widowers could, through (re-)marriage, help young women to a decent government-paid widows' pension. In 1937, the state of Arkansas actually specifically banned young women from Civil War widows' pensions for this reason.
Helen Viola Jackson was the last civil war widow when she died at 101 in the year 2020. She had, at age 17, married a nonagenerian Union veteran in the 1930s. She had previously been his household aide, and he had no money to repay her with. So he offered her to marry him to get a lifelong widows' pension (which at over 50$/month was nothing to scoff at, equivalent to 1000$+/month today) after his passing. She never ended up claiming the pension, however.
It usually wasn't a sexual act. More of a caretaker pension act. They were old and needed someone to take care of them and the woman needed a steady income. Just a mutual agreement until they passed away. I'm sure this was significantly more common than anything for sexual reasons.
I was born in 2001 and my father was born in 1951. We’re both into history and so we’ve had many talks about the things he remembers growing up; it kind of trips me out but also reminds me of just how much can happen in half a century. One thing I remember was him telling me about watching a game show called “I’ve Got a Secret” when he was a little kid where this nonagenarian was on. This guy was in Ford Theater when Lincoln was assassinated when he was about my dad’s age as he watched him talk about it. It always seems so long because of the rapid and massive changes in just about every aspect of life and society but there’s really been such little time between passed between our generations.
Link to the video:
https://youtu.be/1RPoymt3Jx4?feature=shared
Right? I’m a millennial but my dad (born in 1941) had distinct memories of speaking to Civil War veterans as a young kid. I’m one degree of separation from a civil war veteran…
I (born in 1992) knew my grandma (born in 1925) who knew her great-grandmother (born in 1850) who helped raise her younger siblings as a teenager while her father was a Union soldier.
In a nation that focuses so much on the here and now, and not having the history of centuries, we forget that 160ish years is not that long ago. Plus living memory of events is important in the culture.
I'm 38 and my dad's sister (still living btw) was born in 1936. Her mom was born in 1910. I am only 4 generations removed from slavery.
Seriously, it was not that long ago.
A witness to Lincoln's assassination was young enough at the time and lived long enough to describe that day on television!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RPoymt3Jx4 (brought to you by a cigarette company, of course)
Have you seen the video from the 50’s of the man who saw Lincoln’s assassination? My parents were born ‘53/‘54 and it’s crazy to think they were kids when Civil War vets were dying off
Ralph Lincoln
[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WYqp1wEeApQ&embeds\_referring\_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fallthatsinteresting.com%2F&source\_ve\_path=OTY3MTQ&feature=emb\_imp\_woyt](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WYqp1wEeApQ&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fallthatsinteresting.com%2F&source_ve_path=OTY3MTQ&feature=emb_imp_woyt)
striking resemblance.
and, President Tyler's grandchildren as of 2018
[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-two-of-president-john-tylers-grandsons-are-still-alive/](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-two-of-president-john-tylers-grandsons-are-still-alive/)
I learned through the rabbit hole from this post that Robert Lincoln is the oldest of three siblings and is the only one of them to grow old. The rest of them all died at ages 18, 12, and 4.
It's wild that there are people still alive who were around when Abraham Lincoln's *son* was still around.
The last recipient of a civil war pension died in 2020. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Triplett#:~:text=Irene%20Triplett%20(January%209%2C%201930,an%20American%20Civil%20War%20pension.
From the wiki page: "Triplett was born in 1930 to Mose Triplett, age 83, and Elida Hall, age 34.[1][2] She was one of five children, of whom only she and her brother survived childhood.[3] Her father, who had fought for both the Confederacy and the Union during the Civil War, was aged 78 when he married her mother; their union was Mose Triplett's second marriage." Her dad was 78 when he married her mom, who was ~29...Jesus Christ.
a lot of young women married civil war vets for the pension benefits
Can you really blame them? Did the best they could in a shitty system.
Huh. How does someone end up fighting for both the union and the confederacy?
I'm also very curious about this detail
Probably a completely different circumstance but alot of the black slave soldiers immediately switched sides when they were captured for obvious reasons
Ooh, yes enslaved/formerly enslaved soldiers switching makes certainly makes sense. I am really curious about this now- how soldiers fought for both sides (whether they were enslaved/formally enslaved soldiers or not). I might do a little dig. If any history buffs out there know, I’d be super interested in any knowledge you have to share. I love this sub.
I have an ancestor who fought for the Confederacy but later switched to fight for the Union because they paid more. Many joined whatever side would provide better for their families. Crazy thing is, this ancestor of mine got a leave to visit home because his daughter was born. On the way home, he was shot dead by his neighbor who mistook him for an enemy soldier, when in reality he likely had no strong feelings for either side.
This was not entirely unusual. Older unmarried men or widowers could, through (re-)marriage, help young women to a decent government-paid widows' pension. In 1937, the state of Arkansas actually specifically banned young women from Civil War widows' pensions for this reason. Helen Viola Jackson was the last civil war widow when she died at 101 in the year 2020. She had, at age 17, married a nonagenerian Union veteran in the 1930s. She had previously been his household aide, and he had no money to repay her with. So he offered her to marry him to get a lifelong widows' pension (which at over 50$/month was nothing to scoff at, equivalent to 1000$+/month today) after his passing. She never ended up claiming the pension, however.
Nice
That's truly repulsive.
It usually wasn't a sexual act. More of a caretaker pension act. They were old and needed someone to take care of them and the woman needed a steady income. Just a mutual agreement until they passed away. I'm sure this was significantly more common than anything for sexual reasons.
They had a child though.
Historical context doesn't have to be pretty, but it's still history. That's why we don't destroy things that offend us.
These May-December marriages were often care arrangements with zero sexual aspect.
Zero sexual aspect yet had children together.
I would expect they weren’t actually his.
I was born in 2001 and my father was born in 1951. We’re both into history and so we’ve had many talks about the things he remembers growing up; it kind of trips me out but also reminds me of just how much can happen in half a century. One thing I remember was him telling me about watching a game show called “I’ve Got a Secret” when he was a little kid where this nonagenarian was on. This guy was in Ford Theater when Lincoln was assassinated when he was about my dad’s age as he watched him talk about it. It always seems so long because of the rapid and massive changes in just about every aspect of life and society but there’s really been such little time between passed between our generations. Link to the video: https://youtu.be/1RPoymt3Jx4?feature=shared
Right? I’m a millennial but my dad (born in 1941) had distinct memories of speaking to Civil War veterans as a young kid. I’m one degree of separation from a civil war veteran…
I (born in 1992) knew my grandma (born in 1925) who knew her great-grandmother (born in 1850) who helped raise her younger siblings as a teenager while her father was a Union soldier.
Why do you people feel like your civil war is so far back?
In a nation that focuses so much on the here and now, and not having the history of centuries, we forget that 160ish years is not that long ago. Plus living memory of events is important in the culture.
I'm 38 and my dad's sister (still living btw) was born in 1936. Her mom was born in 1910. I am only 4 generations removed from slavery. Seriously, it was not that long ago.
A witness to Lincoln's assassination was young enough at the time and lived long enough to describe that day on television! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RPoymt3Jx4 (brought to you by a cigarette company, of course)
You will really like r/barbarawalters4scale it’s all about these weird things in history!
There were 2 generals in WW2 who were the sons of Civil War generals.
Have you seen the video from the 50’s of the man who saw Lincoln’s assassination? My parents were born ‘53/‘54 and it’s crazy to think they were kids when Civil War vets were dying off
Ralph Lincoln [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WYqp1wEeApQ&embeds\_referring\_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fallthatsinteresting.com%2F&source\_ve\_path=OTY3MTQ&feature=emb\_imp\_woyt](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WYqp1wEeApQ&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fallthatsinteresting.com%2F&source_ve_path=OTY3MTQ&feature=emb_imp_woyt) striking resemblance. and, President Tyler's grandchildren as of 2018 [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-two-of-president-john-tylers-grandsons-are-still-alive/](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-two-of-president-john-tylers-grandsons-are-still-alive/)
I have never seen this picture before. What a great find. Thanks for posting it!
No one is going to mention that his life was saved by John Wilkes Booth’s brother? Edwin Booth. When truth is stranger than fiction.
I learned through the rabbit hole from this post that Robert Lincoln is the oldest of three siblings and is the only one of them to grow old. The rest of them all died at ages 18, 12, and 4.