Soldier Information
Name: Benjamin Birch
Alias: Burch
Place of Birth: Nelson KY Year of Birth: 1828
Occupation: Farmer
Eyes: Brown Hair: Black Complexion: Yellow
Height in Feet: 5 Inches: 10.5
Enlistment Information
Enlistment Date: August 15, 1864
Enlistment Place: Lebanon
Enlistment State: KY
Compiled Military Service Record
Document: View
Congressional District:
Company: D Regiment(s): 5th USCC
Mustered Where:
Mustered Out Date: March 16, 1866
Rank at Muster Out: Private
Notes:
Former enslaver, John R. Burch filed compensation award documents that are included in Benjamin Birch’s CMSR file. No dollar amount was completed on Certificate of Award document, and U.S. Slave Commission records for Kentucky did not confirm the award was granted to the former enslaver.
Soldier Death Information
Died in war? No
Military Death Date:
Military Death Location:
Military Cause of Death:
Death Date:
Cause of Death:
Soldier Pension Information
Pension Card Link: Pension Card
Pension Application Date: March 20, 1884
Application No.: 508736 Certificate No.: 374285
Alternate First Name: Alternate Last Name:
No widow pension card found
No other family pension card found
Pension File Information
Pension File:
Pensioners:
Pensioner County: Pensioner State:
Number of Pages:
Pension Notes:
No evidence of a VA Pension Payment card was retrieved for Benjamin Birch. Since he filed in 1884, he may have received his pension benefits prior to the earliest, documented year of 1907, in that database.
Freedman’s Bank/Freedmen’s Bureau Information
No Freedman’s Bank information found
Notes from Freedmen’s Bureau Documents:
Benjamin Burch filed a claim in 1866 with the Louisville branch office for payment of work he and a partner performed for a Capt. Turnam. They had not been paid the $24 that was agreed before completion of the work. The claim documented that he was advised to obtain a white witness, and present the claim again. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9G2-2GR4?i=85&cc=2492627
Family Information
Mother First Name: Mother Maiden Name:
Father First Name: Father Last Name:
Siblings:
Wife #1 First Name: Matilda Maiden Name:
Wife #2 First Name: Maiden Name:
Wife #3 First Name: Maiden Name:
Children: William L Birch 1863
Grant Birch 1869
Family Notes:
This search did not yield a death certificate/register or burial source (civilian and military) for Benjamin Birch/Burch who served in the 5th USCC. City directory listings infer he lived as late as 1887 in Louisville.
Family Tree: View
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1870 Census
1870 Census Link: View
1870 Profession: Bricklayer
1870 Live with/near former enslaver? No
1870 Real Estate Value: 1870 Personal Estate Value:
1870 Ability to Read? Can read Ability to Write? Can write
1870 Census Notes:
1880 Census
1880 Census Link: View
1880 Profession: None
1880 Live with/near former enslaver? No
1880 Ability to Read? Can read Ability to Write? Can write
1880 Census Notes:
1890 Census
1890 Census information not found
1900 Census
1900 Census information not found
1910 Census
1910 Census information not found
1920 Census
1920 Census information not found
Enslaver Information
Name: John B. Burch Location: Nelson County, KY
Previous Enslaver: James Lasley
Enslaver Notes:
No federal census or slave schedule has been retrieved for John R. Burch in 1850. Soldier’s CMSR stated that John R. Burch acquired him in 1856 from James Lasley’s heirs.
The Lemons database documented that John B. Burch became enslaver to Benjamin Birch by way of an 1856 purchase from James Lasley’s heirs. Benjamin Birch’s CMSR file and federal census records document the enslaver’s name as John R Burch.
Samuel P. Laslie, age 77, was enumerated in the John R. Burch 1880 household, listed as John’s father in law. Laslie was the surname, inferring that the maiden name of John’s wife was Laslie.
1850 Enslaver Census
1850 Census information not found
1860 Enslaver Census
1860 Census Link: View
1860 Real Estate Value: $750 1860 Personal Estate Value: $2,000
1860 Slave Schedule Link: View
1860 Number of Enslaved: 5
1870 Enslaver Census
1870 Census Link: View
1870 Real Estate Value: $0 1870 Personal Estate Value: $0
1880 Enslaver Census
Compensation Information
Compensation Applied? Yes Compensation Received? No