After watching “The Great War” on PBS this week, I realized the significance of some notes in one of Great-Grandmother Lola’s ledger books, involving both the Frasier and the Pearson families.
Cynthia Black’s application for Widow’s Pension
Cynthia Black, Benjamin’s third wife, wasn’t a branch on the family tree that I’d paid much attention to before now. I wasn’t aware of much documentation about her, other than my great-grandmother Lola’s handwritten notes.
Benjamin Black’s final years
If you read to the bottom of my last post, you found the big plot twist: Benjamin Black did not serve in the Mexican-American War at all, yet he fraudulently filed for and received pension benefits as a Mexican War veteran!
The Mexican War pension file for Benjamin F. Black
I came across quite a gold mine of information today concerning my great-great-great-grandfather Benjamin Franklin Black. He’s been a bit of an enigma and until recently, I had not known about his military service. I ordered the pension file. It arrived today and…well, WOW.
A.G. Brodd’s lasting legacy of kindness
I can’t walk away from the story of A.G. Brodd’s desertion from the Swedish army without a follow-up story about the great kindness this man showed to his kids and which they, in turn, showed to each other. Get your hankies ready.
