Anatomy of a Military Pension File, Part 25

Previously, I reported on the acquisition of my great-great-great grandfather's military pension file. The documents contained within paint a picture of a man and his family about which I knew very little. I've decided to share this 103-page treasure with you a few pages at a time.

Page 42: Notification to Pension Commissioner of Amalia Baerecke's death

This is a copy of the letter sent to the Commissioner of Pensions notifying him of the death of Amalia Baerecke. It says the following:

Tuesday, Jan. 16th 1912.


Hon. Commissioner of Pensions.


Dear Sir:


I herewith inform you of the death of Mrs. Amalie Baerecke, widow of Max Baerecke Priv. & Sgt I 26 Wis. under certificate No. 615496.


She died on the 4th day of Jan. 1912.


Kindly send me necessary blanks & information.


Very respectfully


Mrs. C. J. Smith
670 33st Mil. Wis.

After studying the copy of the document, I think it was written on a folded notecard with good penmanship. The writer, Mrs. C. J. Smith, is Lena Baerecke Smith, daughter of Max and Amalia Baerecke. The "necessary blanks" she is asking for are the forms necessary to ensure the widow's pension pays for Amalia's funeral services. Perhaps there were forms that needed to be filled out in order to discontinue the pension process as well.

Stamps on the document confirm that is was received by the finance division of the Bureau of Pensions on 20 January 1912.

I tried to look up the address of Mrs. C. J. Smith on Google maps, but there are north and south versions of 33rd street. Based in the 1910 census, I think they lived on what is now North 33rd. In the future, when I go more into depth with the Baerecke siblings, I will determine exactly where she lived.

On to part 26.