Part 782p – Smith Groh Genealogy – When is a 1904 Civil War Pension Index Not? – GGG-Grandfather Leo Pariza – Wisconsin

Good Day,

At times the search and research into the genealogy of a family line and into the background of an ancestor does become a wee bit confusing.

Most recently I discovered two Index Cards relating to ggg-grandfather Leo Pariza. Both are labeled of the Civil War Pension Index which is a collection of The National Archives in Washington, DC. The two cards are dated 8 March 1904. Except for a few minor differences, it could be stated that both cards were completed on behalf of the same person, Leo Pariza.

But here’s where there I stumbled into a bit of confusion.

The confusion is that these cards are a part of the collection entitled the Civil War Pension Index. The cards are registered in the “Name of Soldier: Parisaya, Leo (alias) Pariza Leo.” This is the first piece of a puzzle. Was ggg-grandfather Leo’s surname Pariza or was it actually Parisaya?

My second misunderstanding is just what gives with the dates? The American Civil War from my knowledge was from 1861 through 1865… and ggg-grandfather Leo Pariza was born either in 1878 or 1879, based on two different sources. Therefore he could never have participated in the Civil War. Another possibility is that this entry may have been referenced to his Father.

After a bit of investigation and research, it appears that entries included in the Civil War Pension Index includes, not only the Civil War but other wars and conflicts. These, for the lack of segregation into a separate Index are included in the Civil War Pension Index. GGG-Grandfather Leo was involved in the Spanish American War. I will be presenting my concluding evidence in my next Posting.

Here are the images two Index Cards from the Civil War Pension Index as downloaded from The National Archives via Ancestry.com.

And here are my two summary Clooz reports: CWPIWI000001 and CWPIWI000002.

Enjoy,

Jim