Pension Documents (WO 42/59-63) : 1776 - 1881.

The volumes in this Class contain certificates of birth, baptism, marriage, death, and other records of British officers, including officers of Provincial Corps, which were extracted from "Very Old Series" and "Old Series" Papers and other sources by the British Public Record Office. Also found among the documents are wills, administrations, statements of service, and other personal papers of officers and their families. In all cases, a pension

application was submitted by the widow of an officer who died on half-pay, or an application was made for a child's compassionate allowance when an officer died in service or on half-pay. The application and the extensive documentation that accompanied it were forwarded to the British Secretary-at-War. The applications are arranged alphabetically by surname throughout the six reels. In many of the petitions a standard form was used by the applicant. It is entitled, Required for Placing on the Pension List, the Widow of an Officer who died on Half-Pay. In all the pension requests, the applicant appeared before a magistrate and made oath that she was lawfully married to an officer on half-pay now deceased and was requesting the pension or allowance for widows of such officers. The documentation a widow was required to provide was extensive, and in most cases even a certificate of proof was not sufficient in itself and was verified by a third party. Frequently, the name and position of the individual who provided a certificate was authenticated by a person with an official position in the community. The resulting collection of documents hold a wealth of information about British and Provincial officers serving in America with many details of their service and family relationships.