The Southern Claims Commission

The Southern Claims Commission

from Southern Loyalists in the Civil War: The Southern Claims Commission by Gary B. Mills,

Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1994

Not everyone who lived within the boundaries of the Confederate States of America was in favor of secession. Throughout the Civil War there were Southerners who supported the Union. These supporters usually fell into one of three categories: those who kept their views to themselves, those who openly supported the Union, and those who fled the South leaving family and property behind. Some religious groups, such as the Quakers, remained neutral during the conflict due to their pacifist beliefs. However, when the Union troops arrived in the South everyone suffered.

On March 3, 1871, Congress created a way for pro-Union Southerners to request reimbursement for some of their losses. The Southern Claims Commission established guidelines by which they would accept claims:

1. the applicant must hold American citizenship

2. the applicant must reside in a state that seceded

3. the applicant could document loyalty to the federal government throughout the conflict

4. the applicant suffered official confiscation of goods.

The three-man Commission reviewed the application and evidence, accepted additional testimony, and determined the loyalty of the claimant and recommended an amount for reimbursement. The Commission filed a report at the start of each congressional session with the House of Representatives who had final approval for each claim. If the representatives approved the claim they then determined the amount to be reimbursed.

The Commission received approximately 22,298 claims from individuals, family groups, churches, and businesses for $60,258,150. Between 1871 and March 1880, the date the Commission finally closed, only 7,092 (approximately one-third) of the claimants received any reimbursement. The approved claims totaled $4,636,929.69 and nearly all applicants received an amount greatly reduced from their initial request.

Basically each case file, now maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC, includes the following:

1. the claim petition and supporting papers

2. the deposition of relevant witnesses (neighbors, ex-slaves, relatives, etc.)

3. comments by the agent assigned to investigate the claim

4. a Treasury Department report regarding its search of captured Confederate records for evidence of Union disloyalty or Southern sympathy on the part of the claimant

5. the final report and recommendation by the Commission

Not all case files still exist. Additional resources within the National Archives may help reconstruct some claims as well as provide supplemental information. Some of the resources include

1. personal accounts of how the loss occurred and associated events

2. military records for claimants or male relatives

3. family letters and/or Bible records

4. personal descriptions

5. property inventories

6. travelogs

7. wills and probate records

Witness depositions show answers to over 130 questions including relationship to the claimant, place(s) of residence during the war, military service, and knowledge of the claimant's wartime activities and alleged losses. It is recommended that researchers review all the files from a particular community due to the extensive information they contain.

Johnston County claimants listed in Southern Loyalist in the Civil War: The Southern Claims Commission, a directory of case files created by the U. S. Commissioner of Claims, 1871-1880

Claimant	Commission No.	Office No.	Report No.	Year	Status	Fiche #
Adams, Quinton	13193	NA	NA	NA	B	4275
Altman, Alfred	4225	490	2	1872	D	251
Banks, William G. (W. Gaston)	15706	NA	NA	NA	B	4299
Barber, Simeon	4457	NA	NA	NA	B	4300
Beasley, Fredrick M. C.	5302	501	2	1872	D	255
Coats, John R.	19949	NA	NA	NA	B	4373
Durham, Harry	17277	558	4	1874	D	1045
Eason, John	4226	NA	NA	NA	B	4418
Eldridge, Abigail	4227	NA	8	1878	A	*
Eldridge, Elizabeth	4229	529	2	1872	D	263
Eldridge, John	4228	530	2	1872	D	263
Eldridge, Susannah	4230	NA	NA	NA	B	4422
Gulley, John G.	17647	771	3	1873	D	780
Gully, Needham G.	9162	772	3	1873	D	780
Hay, James	1930	NA	2	1872	A	*
Hinnant, George W.	8322	578	4	1874	D	1253
Holland, Exum	16581	NA	8	1878	A	*
Hood, John C., Sr.	5303	562	2	1872	D	277
Jernigan, William	7630	NA	NA	NA	B	4531
Knox, Penelope	140	532	7	1887	D	2507
Laurence, T. R. ?	19948	NA	NA	NA	B	4565
Lee, John, 1^st	5305	583	2	1872	D	284
Lee, Thomas	5304	584	2	1872	D	284
Morgan, Thomas	504	NA	7	1877	A	*
Parish, Mordecai	5922	NA	7	1877	A	*
Peacock, Nancy	5306	606	2	1872	D	294
Pierce, Arthur	14748	860	3	1873	D	823
Rains, Henry	22024	NA	4	1874	A	*
Shaw, Francis	9165	878	3	1873	D	833
Snipes, Bridgers	12583	892	3	1873	D	840
Snipes, David	12584	893	3	1873	D	840
Stephenson, Alfred	4658	NA	NA	NA	B	4746
Wells, Isaac	2328	NA	5	1875	A	*
Williams, Bryant	11894	936	3	1873	D	858
Worley, Levi	11207	NA	3	1873	A	*

Status Codes: *A—Allowed Claim (wholly or partly)

If allowed, 1) provided full index citation to: Civil Reference Branch (NNRC), National Archive, 8^th & Pennsylvania, NW, Washington, DC 20408. 2) If the case file is missing it may have been reviewed under the 1883 Bowman Act or the 1887 Tucker Act. To check, Request congressional case number from: U.S. Court of Claims, Index Section, 717 Madison Place, NW, Washington, DC 20005. If a number is found provide this information to: Suitland Reference Branch (NNRR), National Archives, 8^th & Pennsylvania, NW, Washington, DC 20409. 3) If the missing case file did not appear in the Court of Claims Records and if a notation was found indicating a referral to the War Claims Committee, provide all information to: Center of Legislative Archives, National Archives, 8^th and Pennsylvania, NW, Washington, DC 20408

B—Barred Claim D—Disallowed Claim Dm—Dismissed Claim

Individual fiche can be purchased. Disallowed claims are arranged according to “office number” and appear as fiche 1-4272. Barred claims are arranged in alphabetical order on fiche 4273-4829. If appealed, the case file will be removed and a filmed note with identify the appeals venue.

Claimant

Year

Status

Fiche #