I just found the ultimate rabbit hole. Fortunately, someone had created a profile for him. Just put categorized it and added to the bio. I left the mess for some other day.
A soldier died at Andersonville. A woman #1 files a claim for widow pension. Woman #2 files a claim for widow pension. He has 2 children from a former marriage. Woman #1 says she has the younger of the 2 living with her and that the older child has died. However, she does not know his when he was born. Woman #2 says he had children from an former marriage, but she does not know anything about them.
At this point I was hooked. I had to read both files (one was 70 pages). The story only starts there.
The guy had 4 wives.
Wife #1 was mother of 2 children. Supposedly dead, possible she abandoned them. No record of death or divorce.
Wife #2 was someone he married sometime after Wife #1. No one knows where she went. No divorce.
Now comes Woman #1. She became wife #3. He was 25 and she was 14 at the time of the marriage. Supposedly, she was still living with the guy when he went into the army. No divorce from wife #3.
Woman #2 becomes wife #4 about a year after he married wife #3. She was 16 at the time they were married and he told her he was 28. (he told wife #3 he as 25 about a year earlier at that marriage). Wife #4 is supposedly living with him when he went into the army, but she does not know where his kids are.
But wait. . . there's more. A lady who said she is his mother gets guardianship for both of his children in probate court. Yep. That other child was not dead after all. Looks like Mom has the children. Mom has a different last name from son. He carries his father's last name, and not hers. Mom thinks the wife #1 is dead, but does not know and details. Mom says no divorce from wife #1. Mom says son married wife #2, but she thinks that wife abandoned her son, but no divorce. Moms says son then married wife #3, but thinks that wife abandoned son also. But son did not get a divorce. Mom says son then married wife #4, but does not say anything about that wife. Government pays Mom as guardian for the 2 minors all the deceased soldier's back pay and his signing bonus.
The government is paying pensions to both Woman #1 (wife #3) and Woman #2 (wife #4). Mom tells them wife #3 had remarried. Government stopped the monthly pension payments to her.
Never hear of wife #4. Government stopped the monthly pension payments. Not clear why.
There are petitions for increase in the monthly pensions for the children, filed by Mom.
Government stops monthly pension payments to the children stating the claim had been abandoned.
A Congressman writes to inquire about the status of the pension claim saying he has been asked for assistance from Woman #3 who is allegedly the mother of the younger son (but now he has a different first name and middle initial). Woman #3 is a new name in the case. Congressman and pension office exchange letters. Finally the pension office tells the Congressman that the claim had been abandoned. If the child wishes to pursue the claim to submit is address and they will provide him details of what he has to proof to get the claim reinstated. Oh, by the way, the tell the Congressman, the mother of that child is dead. Someone writes back to pension office (I think an investigator) that this child the Congressman had mentioned is a grandchild of the deceased soldier. No details of how the minor children of the deceased soldier have a child.
But the story does not end there. Remember dear old Mom who was appointed guardian and collected their money. Over 20 years later, an attorney representing son #2 contacts the pension office. Son #2 never got any money. He is now seeking all those back payments up to when he would have turned 16!
I had to spend a few hours reading and digesting all the documents. I even tracked down almost every one of the parties. Yep, I even found wife #3 with her new husband (married in 1866). The story had too many twists and turns, I compelled to follow it to the end.
But all I did was slap a couple stickers on the profile and leave that mess alone.
