Gen 1: Mary Jane Beal - Southern Claims Commission for James Henry

What are the origins of Johann Nicholas Biehl?

We continued our Biehl research project with the end goal of identifying the German origins of Johann Nicholas Biehl. I continued research on the first generation, which is Mary Jane Beal. You can find that post here.

 

Southern Claims Commission

 

Researching the females in our family require that we research the males they are associated with. James Henry and Mary Jane Beal married in 1849 and were living in Arkansas during the Civil War. While I have found no military service for James Henry, though he was a Mexican War veteran, they may be other records available.

 

One set of records was created by the Southern Claims Commission. “An Act of Congress approved on March 3, 1871, provided that the President nominate three commissioners of claims to receive, examine, and consider the claims of ‘those citizens who remained loyal adherents to the cause and the government of the United States during the [Civil]War, for stores and supplies taken or furnished during the rebellion for the use of the army of the United States proclaimed as an insurrection against the United States,’”[1] Of the 22,298 claims filed, only about 32% were approved. The claims had to pass the “rigid tests of sworn statement and cross-examination in proving both the sustained Unionism of the claimant throughout the war and the validity of his claim.”[2]

 

Only those in the twelve covered states, of which Arkansas was one, could file a claim. Claims had to be filed between 3 March 1871 and 3 March 1873.  This was potentially 10 to 12 years after they incurred the losses. 

 

Ancestry has the following databases:

 

·      “U.S., Southern Claims Commission Master Index, 1871–1880” (includes images)

·      “U.S., Southern Claims Commission Allowed Claims, 1871–1880”

·      “U.S., Southern Claims Commission, Disallowed and Barred Claims, 1871–1880”

·      “Southern Loyalists in the Civil War”

 

I conducted a search for James Henry in Arkansas in each database with the following results:

 

·      “U.S., Southern Claims Commission Master Index, 1871–1880”

o   Henry, James; Washington, AR; Commission No. 20504; Office No. 129; Report No. 5; Year: 1875; D [Denied][3]

·      “U.S., Southern Claims Commission Allowed Claims, 1871–1880”: No Findings

·      “U.S., Southern Claims Commission, Disallowed and Barred Claims, 1871–1880”

o   James Henry; Arkansas, USA; 19 Feb 1873; Claimant[4]

·      “Southern Loyalists in the Civil War”: No Findings

 

James Henry filed a claim in 1873, which was denied.  Ancestry has the digitized claim. Next week, we will dig into this claim in detail.

 

While your ancestor may not have filed a claim, they may have been a witness for a claim. On Ancestry you must search across the databases as the master index only indexes claimants, not witnesses.

 

Future Research

 

Future research will include:

·      Search for additional marriage records for James Henry. He married Alphurnia Peerson in 1894.

·      Continue search for all real estate, both local and Federal, that James Henry owned in Washington County, Arkansas. He owned $300 in 1850 and $1,000 in 1870. Start a table showing the land transactions, both in and out, to ensure all transactions are captured.

·      Find maps for the time and place.

·      Determine if there are records for Friendship Baptist Church in Springdale, Arkansas. Determine if there are extant records for First Baptist Church of Springdale.

·      Locate the extant applicable agricultural censuses for Arkansas.

·      Identify all of James Henry’s ten children.

·      James Henry served in the Mexican War and his widow, Alphurnia, received a pension. He may have had a pension too since he was feeble and helpless prior to his death. His tombstone notes his service from 1847–1848 in the Ark. Mounted Inf. Vol.

·      Who were the parents of Harvey Webb, nephew, in 1880?

·      Was Luke Henry in 1900 the stepson of James Henry?

 

Next up: Continuing the research on Mary Jane Henry and her husband, James, as noted in “Future Research” above.

 

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[1] “United States, National Archives, Southern Claims Commission,” FamilySearch Wiki (https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/United_States,_National_Archives,_Southern_Claims_Commission : accessed 8 February 2025).

[2] “United States, National Archives, Southern Claims Commission,” FamilySearch Wiki (https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/United_States,_National_Archives,_Southern_Claims_Commission : accessed 8 February 2025).

[3] “U.S., Southern Claims Commission Master Index, 1871–1880,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 February 2026), p. 271, image 289 of 684.

[4] “U.S., Southern Claims Commission, Disallowed and Barred Claims, 1871–1880,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 February 2026), entry for James Henry, 19 February 1873.