Bonhomme Township in St. Louis County, his age is 32 and his occupation is "carpenter." She is age 19 and the son is 1 year old.

In the 1880 census, William McKay is 45 years old and his occupation is "engineer." The wife's name is shown as "Jane" and she is age 40. There are several children listed: Betsey, age 4, John, age 3 and Jane, age 1. The family is residing in Bonhomme Township, St. Louis County. At this time, I have no further information or explanations for the variations and discrepancies in the wife's and children's names and ages in the 1870 and 1880 U.S. censuses and the subsequent Civil War pension applications.

Amelia first applied for the Civil War pension in 1889 and again in 1891. Since the "Declaration of Widow's Pension" was based upon "William McKee's" military service, the McKee surname was used by Amelia and the children. The children were listed by name and birth date on the declarations:

John Jennie Louis Daniel William

January 26, 1872 November 15, 1874 (November 19, 1874 on the 1891 Declaration) September 24, 1876 December 16, 1878 November 7, 1882

According to the Widow's Pension Declaration made by Amelia in 1889, William died March 23, 1882 due to lung disease he developed during his military service when he contracted pneumonia while on active duty. There are several affidavits in the file from family friends who affirm that William McKee was in good health before he went into the Army, but had lung problems and poor health when he returned from the Army. This pension request was apparently not approved.

Amelia McKee filed a new Declaration of Widow's Pension in 1891 after the U.S. Congress passed the Act of June 27, 1890 which extended pensions to soldiers or their widows and dependents on the basis of financial need. Prior to this act, pensions were granted to soldiers or their widows and dependents only if the cause of death, injury or illness was directly attributable to Civil War military service.

The new Declaration included the affidavits of Amelia and several family members and friends affirming that her only means of support was provided by her daily labor; that William and Amelia remained husband and wife and were not divorced; as well as confirmation of the birth dates of the children. The pension application was finally approved in 1893, but the document also shows that the effective commencement date for the pension payments was 1891. Amelia received $8.00 per month for herself and $2.00 per month for each child under age 16 (Louis, Daniel & William) for a total of $14.00 per month. The pension payment increased over the years and she was receiving $12.00 per month for herself when the pension ended upon her death in 1916.

As further evidence that the McKee surname was selectively used for the pension and some other official purposes; daughter Jennie wrote to the U.S. Interior department to inform them of her mother's death and request a final payment for funeral expenses. She referred to her mother as Amelia McKee and herself as Jennie McKee. At the same time, when she provided the information for her

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