Pension #XC 2517516 (alternate numbers 1016380, 1080382)

	Enrolled:	Nov 1863, Salem Co, NJ
	Enlisted:	07/08 Dec 1863
	Honorably Discharged:	16 Oct 1865, Brownsville, Cameron Co, TX

 

James Munson:

	Date of birth:	10 Mar 1841
	Place of birth:	Salem County, NJ
	Date of death:	28 Aug 1905
	Place of death:	Camden, Camden Co, NJ
	Place of burial:	Bridgeton, Cumberland Co, NJ [actually buried at Gouldtown, which is just outside Bridgeton]
	Married 1st to:	Elizabeth Bond
	1 Marriage Date:	before 07 Dec 1863
	1 Marriage Place:	[not given]
	1 Wife's DOB:	[not given]
	1 Wife's POB:	[not given]
	1 Wife's DOD:	ca. 01 Jan 1876
	1 Wife's POD:	Bridgeton, Cumberland Co, NJ (funeral held: 04 Jan 1876)
	1 Children:	James H. Munson, b. 1864, Salem, Salem Co, NJ
	Married 2nd to:	Adelia Lloyd [spelled "Loyard" or "Loyord" on one document, but this document had other misspellings]
	2 Marriage Date:	after Jan 1876
	2 Marriage Place:	[not given]
	2 Wife's DOB:	ca. 1843
	2 Wife's POB:	[not given]
	2 Wife's DOD:	07 Jan 1890
	2 Wife's POD:	Camden, Camden Co, NJ
	2 Children:	None
	Married 3rd to:	Louisa Ricco Syers (widow of Alfred Syers, who d. 09 Nov 1882)
	3 Marriage Date:	19 Feb 1891
	3 Marriage Place:	Camden, Camden Co, NJ
	3 Wife's DOB:	ca. 1851
	3 Wife's POB:	[not given]
	3 Wife's DOD:	(after Feb 1908)
	3 Wife's POD:	[not given]
	3 Children:	None

Louisa's residences during the pension period: Camden, Camden Co, NJ (as of Feb 1908)

Among the affiants / witnesses for James and/or Louisa:

Isaac W. Ricco, Jr. of Camden, NJ, [likely a relative of James' 3rd wife, Louisa].
Philip Johnson of Camden, Camden Co, NJ.
Draper Jackson* of Woodlawn, Salem Co, NJ, age 65 as of 29 Jan 1908.

OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE:

James' death certificate is contained in the pension records, and it lists his parents as follows:
Father's name: "Philip"
Mother's name: "Hannah"

 

Adelia Lloyd Munson's (James' 2nd wife) death certificate is contained in the pension records.

*In Draper Jackson's affidavit, he stated that his father had raised James. His full statement, dated 29 Jan 1908 when he was 65 years old, is as follows:

"I, Draper Jackson, do swear that I was acquainted with James Munson for fifty years [.] knew him since boyhood[.] knew that he married Elizabeth Bond his first wife before he went to war Dec 7, 1863 and knew that she died in 1876 and was acquainted with his second wife[.] I was acquainted with her and knew that she also was dead before he married Louisa Munson. The reason that I know about Mr. Munson was my father raised him[.] lived with us until he married and we also went to war together and can swear that he was a widower each time before he remarried again."

James is listed at various times as 5' 2 & 1/2" tall, 5' 3" tall, or 5' 4" tall, with "black," "colored," or "dark" complexion, "black" or "brown" eyes, and "black" or "gray" hair.

When asked in an affidavit dated 06 Jan 1902 if he had ever been a slave, James responded, "Never was in slavery."

James claimed to have suffered hearing loss as a result of being near the firing of artillery while in the war (as well as other ailments).

James was in the field hospital near Petersburg, VA from approx. Nov 1864 - Mar 1865.

James' residences as noted in the pension records:
Camden, Camden Co, NJ (as of 1891 - 1905).
In an affidavit dated 28 Jun 1899 he listed his previous residences (following his discharge) as:
[Banktown?] [Bushtown?], Salem Co, NJ
Woodbury, Gloucester Co, NJ
Bridgeton, Cumberland Co, NJ
Camden, Camden Co, NJ

Occupations listed:
Farm hand.
Night watchman.
Grocery porter.

OTHER ITEMS PERTAINING TO JAMES MUNSON, NOT FROM THE PENSION RECORDS:

On the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington DC, James' name is displayed on Plaque B-39.

Regimental history:

To go to the official National Park Service's "Soldiers and Sailors" website, use this link (http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/regiments.cfm)

and in the boxes do the following:

under Union or Confederate select "Union,"
under State (or Origin) select "US Colored Troops,"
under Unit Number enter "22"
and under Function select "Infantry."
Then click on the 22nd Regiment US Colored Infantry.
(Scroll down under the Regimental History for the links to the specific soldiers):

 

QUERY ITEMS:

1. Does anyone know how James' family may connect to the Munsons / Munces / Muntzs / Munceys of "Mitsawokett-related" lines?

2. Does anyone have any further info on the son of James & his first wife Elizabeth (James H. Munson, b. 1864)?

3. In reading through the pension documents it appears James was finally (after multiple attempts) granted a pension on 25 May 1904, a little over a year prior to his death. James' 3rd wife Louisa Ricco Syers Munson then attempted to receive a widow's pension and there is much documentation included through her efforts to acquire it. Although it appears her claim for a pension was "allowed" (granted?) as of 18 Mar 1908, it also appears that it was subsequently denied on the grounds of "the widow has no title to pension under the act of April 19, 1908, as she married the soldier subsequent to June 27, 1890." Therefore, since she herself was apparently not pensioned at the time of her own death, the pension records do not contain a record of her death date. The last document bearing her signature is dated 18 Feb 1908. Does anyone know her date of death?

4. Does anyone know of a photograph of James?

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For those who may be new to the list, I have posted a few of these Civil War pension extractions previously, as has Paul Johnson and
Joseph Romeo.

To view some of the other Civil War pension extractions, as well as an explanatory note, please see the following page of the Mitsawokett site:

http://www.mitsawokett.com/MilitaryService/DelmarvaAreaCivilWarPensions.htm