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Southern Loyalists (those who were Union sympathizers) made 22,298 claims for property losses totaling $60,258,150.44. However, only 7,092 claims (32%) were approved for settlements totaling $4,636,920.69. Each claimant sought to prove their loyalty and loss through the testimony of others. The paper trail created by the claimants and the people who came forward to testify, for or against a claimant, provide a wealth of information about individuals living in the South during the Civil War. | Southern Loyalists (those who were Union sympathizers) made 22,298 claims for property losses totaling $60,258,150.44. However, only 7,092 claims (32%) were approved for settlements totaling $4,636,920.69. Each claimant sought to prove their loyalty and loss through the testimony of others. The paper trail created by the claimants and the people who came forward to testify, for or against a claimant, provide a wealth of information about individuals living in the South during the Civil War. | ||
=== Strategy for Finding Ancestors in These Records === | === Strategy for Finding Ancestors in These Records === | ||
The most effective strategy is to search '''all''' the Southern Claims Commission records for '''everyone''' living in the same Southern county as an ancestor. | The most effective strategy is to search '''all''' the Southern Claims Commission records for '''everyone''' living in the same Southern county as an ancestor. Any particular ancestor is unlikely to have actually applied to the Commission, but he or she is more likely to have testified in behalf of an applicant, and is even more likely to be discussed in the hundreds of answers to questions in other people's testimony. This is an advanced, time-consuming strategy with a less than 50 percent chance of locating information about your ancestor. But you will learn about the way of life in the county where your ancestor lived. | ||
=== Resources === | === Resources === |
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