309Z Fall 2025 “Loathsome Diseases and Adulterous Women”: The Saga of the Simmons Family

Over two million Civil War veterans and widows applied for pensions during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Eligibility rules became more liberal over the years, resulting in enormous increases in the number of claims filed with the United States Bureau of Pensions. At one point during the late 1890s, as much as one fourth of the federal budget was devoted to paying veterans’ pensions. For many claimants however, the process was often cumbersome and sometimes took years to obtain a decision. This lecture will provide a brief history of the Civil War pension system and how it became a model for other governmental programs, such as Social Security in the 1930s.The lecture will highlight a case study of one veteran, Clark Simmons and his widow, Penniah Simmons, and their almost twenty-year effort to obtain a Civil War pension. The couple faced enormous obstacles due to poverty, governmental inefficiencies, and the moral standards of the times.

Michael Mason retired from the federal government after over 30 years of service. He has an MA in American History and is a member of the Fairfax Genealogical Society. Michael is also co-chair of the OLLI Genealogy/Family History Club.