his signatures from 1898, 1904, and 1907 show his advancing age
To receive benefits under the Pension Act of June 27, 1890, the veteran must have served at least 90 days in the Union military during the Civil War and have received an honorable discharge. He must also be physically disabled and unable to work. The disability did not need to be service-related.
James Timmons, of Dayton, applied for a pension July 24, 1890. His name appears in the records as both Timons and Timmons. He appears to have preferred Timons. He submitted that he was unable to earn his support because of the loss of his right arm and rheumatism. His right arm was amputated about 4 inches from shoulder as a result of a railway accident.
He provided the following information to the pension office:
He enlisted February 21, 1865 in Company C, 53rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, and was discharged July 22, 1865 in Louisville, KY.
He was married to Zilpha Welton, in Jefferson, New York, December 25, 1852
He has a son, James Henry Timons, born March 21, 1857.
Based on this, he got a pension of $12 per month.
The Pension Act of February 6, 1907, again required 90 days service and an honorable discharge, but there was no disability requirement. Instead the pension was based on age: 62–69: $12 per month; 70–74: $15 per month; 75 and older: $20 per month. Many men who had received pensions under the 1890 Act reapplied in 1907 if they qualified for the larger amount.
From James’s application we learn that he was a stone mason, born in County Armagh, Ireland, on April 9th, 1832. His claim to be at least 70 years old was accepted, but the claim to be over 75 was not accepted, so he was awarded a pension of $15 per month.
To support the over 75 years old claim, he says that his sister, Mary McCune, fifty years ago gave him a Bible that contains the record of his birth, the only record he knows of. He brought this record to the local JP who wrote, testifying to its authenticity. The pension office then said, that’s nice, but send us the Bible. He replied that he couldn’t as he had sent the Bible to Ireland to find more information on his birth. His pension stayed at $15/month.
He was removed from the pension rolls when he died, April 15, 1911.
Dayton and the Greens 