Mary Jane Scott Deposition

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On this 6 day of August, 1896 at Brown Twp, County of Martin, State of Ind before N H Proctor, a Special Examiner of the Pension Office, personally appeared Mary Jane Scott, who, being by me first duly sworn to answer truly all interrogatories propounded to her during this Special Examination of aforesaid pension claim, deposes and says:

Aged 54 years. Residence as above. P.O. Burns City. Occupation Housekeeper. The claimant is my mother. I live about a fourth of a mile from her farm. My father William Bowman - died in March three years ago last March. He left a will.

Q: What provisions did he make for his widow?

A: He left her the use of 176 acres of land and fifty dollars and his bed and a little household furniture. She has no property except this. The fifty dollars was paid out for help to pay a hand to make the first crop. After the first year after her husband's death she rented her farm for two years to her sons. This year she has re-rented it to a Mr Crane. I think when the sons rented the place they were to take care of the claimant and fix up the place and pay the taxes.

Q: Did the sons during the two years they occupied the place care for the claimant as they agreed to do - board and clothe her suitably and nurse her in sickness and pay her doctor bills?

A: The first one who went there moved out about three months after he went there and left the claimant sick and I went there and nursed her. He still worked the place. I recon the doctor bill was paid out of what was made on the place. They claimed to me that her expenses were paid out of what was made.

The other son William stayed with her during his years and cared for her. Father had been sick a long time and the farm had been down before his death and is not in good condition to rent.

It seems like the farm might be managed better than it has been since my father's death. Claimant comes and stays with us two and three weeks at a time and then wants to go back for a while to her old home. She does not pay me anything for board and I have never been paid anything for nursing her. I do for her what I do because she is my mother. I do not know what has been raised on the farm.

Mary J Scott