The implementation of this online service is the result of work by the Archives Research Library staff and Secretary of State Information Services personnel, but is largely due to the efforts of Mrs. Joyce Nichols of Baton Rouge. The index contains over 49,000 names that were included in pension applications submitted to the Board of Pension Commissioners. The records were later transferred to the Archives after the last pension was paid in the 1950's. More than 18,000 applications were microfilmed and are available to researchers at the Archives Library.

Volunteers Sandra Crawford (L) & Joyce Nichols (R) visit with Secretary of State Information Services Programmer Cathy Matherne who adapted the database for the web.

Materials that may have been included with applications are notes, copies of checks, newspaper clippings, court papers of various types, obituaries, and other miscellaneous papers.

An index to the microfilm was compiled over the last several years, in part, through the dedication and efforts of Mrs.Nichols who coordinated the project and worked closely with volunteers to extract the data, and with staff members to develop the computer application and to oversee data entry and verification.

The Confederate Pension Applications Collection consists of alphabetically arranged pension applications for pensions that were granted to veterans and widows beginning in 1898, and are recorded on 152 reels of microfilm. The pension applications may include service information, occupation, place of residence, and number of children. Other materials that may have been included with applications are letters, notes, copies of checks, newspaper clippings, court papers of various types, obituaries, and other miscellaneous papers. The collection also contains a few applications for individuals other than veterans or widows that were not granted.

The first phase of the project consisted of extracting the names, parish of residence and number of pages, and was completed with the assistance of a group of volunteers from the Junior League of Baton Rouge and others. Next, the military information was extracted. Mrs. Sandra Crawford of Baton Rouge assisted Mrs. Nichols with a large portion of this phase. The book, Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units 1861-1865, by Arthur W. Bergeron,Jr., published by Louisiana State Press, Baton Rouge and London, copyright 1989 Louisiana State University Press, was used with permission of the author, as a reference in the preparation of the military data.

SEARCH THE DATABASE

The index was compiled in the following format that corresponds to our Request Form Use this form to request printouts from the applications microfilm files on file at the Archives

Line 1 -- INDEX NAME - The soldier or applicant name variation that appears in the file.
Line 2 -- REEL - The microfilm reel number the where the file is located.
Line 3 -- MICRODEX - A marker on the film that divides it into four (4) sections.
Line 4 -- SEQUENCE - The relative position of the file from the microdex section marker. This number is not on the film but is given to assist in locating the file.
Line 5 -- PAGES - The number of pages within the file.
Line 6 -- TARGET CARD - The name given on the film used to locate the beginning of the file. This name is sometimes misspelled and does not always reflect a name in the application.

$15.00 per individual.