This database indexes the names of the approximately 1,600 pensioners living outside of the United States whose names appear in Part V of a special 1883 Pension Bureau report to Congress, entitled The List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883: Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Which Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension per Month, and the Date of the Original Allowance. As Called for by Senate Resolution of December 8, 1882.   The information for each pensioner is arranged in columns.  Moving from left to right on the page the column headings are: No. of the Certificate; Name of Pensioner; Post-Office Address; Cause for Which Pensioned; Monthly Rate; Date of Original Allowance. 

 

Abbreviations:  The report abbreviates a veteran’s injury (the cause for which pensioned); e.g.

 

g.s.w. – Gun Shot Wound                              wd. - Wound

chr. diarrh – Chronic Diarrhea                        inj. - Injury

dis – Disease                                                   rheu. (or rheum.) - Rheumatism

 

The search results provide you with all of the report’s data on each person, including the page number on which the pensioner’s name appears.

 

 

The government published the report as a separate document and as part of the Congressional Serial Set; your nearest Federal depository library might have one both not both versions.

You can look for depository libraries near you by accessing the home page of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) at www.fdlp.gov.  At the bottom of the page is a list of additional resources.  Find the column entitled “About the FDLP.” Listed under that column is a line “Federal Depository Libraries.” Click on that link and it will take you to a page where you can locate a regional federal depository library near you.

 

For more information see Kenneth W. Heger, “A Massive List: A Guide to Using the 1883 Special Pension Bureau List of All Pensioners on the Roll,” Der Kurier December 2017 (Vol. 34, No. 4): 91 – 97.