Henry Newton Mahanay, Letters 1898
June 12, 1898
Kirkwood, MO
Commissioner of Pensions
Dear Sir, Will write you again in regard to our Pension Claim. Children M. 575889. Co I, 50 Reg Mo Inf Vol.
Is the Evidence I sent you sufficient proof of Rosetta J. birth. It was the best I could do. there was no attending physician and the midwife has been dead some five years and the Church records have bin destroyed. My sister Rosetta J. was never Christened in to any Church. And I hope the evidence I sent you are sufficient. I had a hard time trying to find evidence of a higher class. I was all round in the neighborhood where Rosetta was born and I found out I couldent get the higher evidence so I found Mrs. Martha E. Hethcock that was present at Rosetta J. birth. I also got a statement from the county clerk showing that there was no birth kept in that county.
You will please write me by return mail whether the evidence is sufficient or not. I have been looking for a letter from you since I sent the blanks back. Nothing would please me better than to hear our claim was allowed for times are hard here and everything is so high. I have been sick and almost on starvation. If you knew the situation we are in you would not delay our claim. I know you have to have sufficient evidence and think you will do the best you can for me. Please let me know by return mail whether the evidence were sufficient or not. Hoping to hear from you soon.
I remain Yours Truly
Henry N. Mahanay Kirkwood. St Louis Co, MO
Henry Mahanay Letters March 30, 1898 | June 12, 1898 | July 8, 1898 | Aug. 1, 1898 | Oct. 12, 1898
Name: Sharon Lamkin
E- mail: nannysilver@excite.com
Notes: Henry Newton Mahanay born 2 Feb 1872 in Bourbon, MO. He was the son of Jobe M. Mahanay (A Civil War soldier) and Manerva Stites Mahanay. Henry was three years old when his father died from an “affliction of the kidneys” he developed while in the Mo Vol. The original pension claim was filed in 1893 and denied one year later because the children did not file for benefits until after they reached the age of 16. No notification was sent to the family when the original claim was denied. The attorney, J.W. Morris, wrote an appeal and the decision was reversed and the claim was sent for reconsideration. The claim was eventually denied but the process took over ten years before the children “gave up” on any help from the Government. Henry’s mother, Manerva Stites Mahanay, died in 1877 just two years after her husband’s death. Francis M, Rosetta J. and Henry N. Mananay were orphaned after their mother’s death and were raised by their sister, Martha, and her husband Rev. John F. Hethcock.