William Key Civil War Pension File

Scott County Arkansas
Civil War Pension Application
WILLIAM KEY, CSA
Transcribed & Contributed by Delaine Edwards

#851
Scott County
William Key
Co. "A" 2nd La. Infty.
[Several lines faded & illegible]
Filed Sept. 15, 1891
T.M. Duncan, County Clerk
Filed Oct. 30th 1891
W.S. Dunlop, Aud.
Examined & approved
Aug. 15th 1892 for $50.00
C.C. Hawly Gov.
[Blank] Atty. Genl.
W.S. Dunlop, Aud.

APPLICATION FOR PENSION

To the Honorable County Court of Scott Count
Sitting as a Pension Board:
The undersigned, as an ex-Confederate soldier, hereby applies for a pension under the provisions of an act of the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas, entitled "An Act for the Relief of Certain Soldiers of the late War between the States," approved April 1, 1891, upon the following grounds:
That he is a bona fide citizen of the State of Arkansas, and has resided within this State for more than twelve months next before the filing of this application;
That he enlisted as a soldier in the State of Louisiana during the War between the States in Company "A" of the 2nd Regiment of La. Infty. Vols.
That while in the discharge of his duty as a soldier of said company and regiment in the service of the State of Arkansas or of the Confederate States of America he received a wound, from the effects of which he lost almost entirely the use of his left arm, the ball striking left arm about half way between wrist joint and elbow, breaking the bone and severing main artery - causing stiffness of left arm and hand and fingers which greatly disables him from performing manual labor and that he also received a gun shot wound in right shoulder which however does not interfere very much with his work.
That by reason of said wound and disability he is now indigent and incapacitated for manual labor;
That he is not receiving any aid from this State or from the United States for such injuries, under any other statute, and that therefore he makes application for relief under the act aforesaid.
[Signed] Wm. Key
Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 15th day of September 1891
[Signed] Thomas M. Duncan
Clerk Circuit Court
Scott County, Arkansas

STATE OF ARKANSAS}
County of Scott}
Personally came before me C.J. Henson and M. Shelton, two credible witnesses, who make oath and say that they verily believe the applicant to be the identical person named in the application, and that the facts stated in the application are true.
Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 15th day of Sept. 1891
[Signed] Thomas M. Duncan
Clerk Circuit Court
Scott Co., Arkansas
Witnesses:
[Signed] C.J. Henson
[Signed] M. Shelton

[Handwritten document]
State of Arkansas}
County of Scott}
On this 15th day of September 1891 personally appeared before the undersigned Clerk of the Circuit Court Wm. Key who being first duly sworn says: That his age is 51 years. That he is the identical person who served as a private of Co. "A" 2nd Reg't. La. Infty. Vols. as an Ex Confederate soldier. That by reason of the wounds received as stated in his application he is indigent and incapacitated for manual labor. That his arm pains him a great deal at times to such an extent that he has no use whatever of his arm and hand. That the wound received in his right shoulder in said service does not trouble him much. That he has no comrades in this part of the county to his knowledge.
Subscribed and sworn to before me on this 15th day of Sept. 1891.
[Signed] Thomas M. Duncan
Clerk of Court

[Handwritten document]

Affidavit

State of Arkansas}
County of Scott}
In matter of pension claim of William Key ex Confederate soldier Co. "A" 2nd Reg't. La. Infty. Vols. On this 25th day of September 1891 personally appeared before the undersigned Clerk of the Circuit Court, C.J. Henson, whose age is 56 years and M. Shelton, age 26 years, who each being duly sworn say: That they each first became acquainted with the above named soldier about the year 1879, and have been well acquainted with him during the whole time since to the present time. That said soldier is wounded in left arm and hand. That his arm is almost stiff and his fingers are stiff. We have often heard soldier say that said wounds were received in the aforesaid service and have frequently heard him complaining of said wounds paining him. Said soldier is also wounded in right shoulder received in the aforesaid service which wound he says does not trouble him very much. We have seen him often when he could not use his left arm to do anything whatever and complaining of it giving him great pain. That by reason of said injuries said soldier is indigent and incapacitated for manual labor. That we have no interest direct or indirect in this claim.
[Signed] C.J. Henson
[Signed] M. Shelton
Sworn to and subscribed before me on this 25th day of September 1891.
[Signed] Thomas M. Duncan
Clerk Circuit Court

Office of Scott County Pension Board

State of Arkansas)
County of Scott)
We, James M. Harvey, Judge of the County Court, and L.P. Fuller, Sheriff, and Thomas M. Duncan, County Clerk of Scott County, consituting the Pension Board of the County, by an Act of the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas, approved April 1, 1891, entitled, "An Act for the relief of Certain soldiers of the late War Between the States," do hereby certify to the Auditor of the State of Arkansas, that [the remainder of this document is faded and illegible]

[Handwritten sections of this form are extremely faded]

APPLICATION FOR PENSION

STATE OF ARKANSAS}
County of Polk}
I, William Key, do solemnly swear that I served as a soldier in the army (or sailor in the navy) of the Confederate States, being a member of Co. A, 2nd Regiment of infantry from the State of Louisiana; that I was honorably released from such service on or about the [illegible] day of April 1865 and did not desert the same; that I am now and for the past twelve months have been, a bona fide resident of this State; that I do not myself, nor does my wife, nor do we both together, own property, real or personal, or both, or money or choses in action in excess of the value of $400.00 (exclusive of household goods and wearing apparel) nor has either of us conveyed title to any property to enable me to draw a pension, and that neither I nor my wife is in recept of any income, annuity, pension or wages for any services, the emoluments of an office in excess of $150.000 per year; that I am incapacitated to perform manual labor in any of the ordinary avocations of life (or am totally blind) and that such incapacity (or disability) is the result of wounds received in the service, being [handwritten description of his wounds is illegible] of age, accirdent or disease, and that such disability is not the result of my own vicious habits still persisted in, so help me God.
(Signature) William Key
Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 6th day of [Illegible] 1903.
[Signature of Polk County Clerk is faded and illegible.]

STATE OF ARKANSAS}
County of Polk} ss.
We, the undersigned, sitting as a Pension Board for Polk County, do certify that we have examined the application of the within named Wm. Key for pension, under Act of General Assemly of the State of Arkansas, as approved March 11, 1901, and the proof in support of same, and find that said applicant is a wounded Confederate soldier, is in indigent circumstances, and wholly or partially incapacitated for manual labor, and that his claim is just, and that he should be allowed $50.00 pension.
[Signed] R.G. Shaver(Seal)
[Signed] J.B. Littlejohn (Seal)
[Signed] [Illegible] (Seal)

[Evidence of Physician, Polk County, Arkansas - most of it is faded and illegible.]

PROOF OF SERVICE
(By Comrades if Possible)

STATE OF ARKANSAS}
County of Nevada}
On this day personally came before the undersigned, a County Clerk within and for the County of Nevada and State of Arkansas, [most of the remainder of this document, including the name of the person swearing the affidavit, is faded beyond reading.]

EVIDENCE OF PHYSICIAN

[Only the printed form is legible - all of the handwritten part is faded beyond reading.]

In the Matter of the
Application of W.M. Key
For an Increase of Con-
federate Pension

Now comes William M. Key who being duly sworn on his oath states that he is now a pensioner, and that said pension was allowed to him by the Pension Board of Polk County, in the year 1903 in the sum of $50 per year, that since making said application for said pension, he has become totally incapacitated for manual labor, that such incapacity is the result of old age, wounds received during his service as such soldier, and general ill health, he therefor petitions the Board of Pension Commissioners to grant him an increase of pension in such amount as the Board may deem just and proper.
[Signature is faded out.]
Subscribed and sworn to before me this [faded] day of July 1906
[Signed] [Illegible] Martin, Clerk

State of Arkansas
Polk County
It is the judgment of the Board that the application of above named William M. Key for increase of pension to $100.00 be granted.
[Signed] R.G. Shaver, Chairman
[Two other signatures faded and illegible.]

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