What is a Mortuary Warrant?

I have researched my families for forty years but never have I encountered a document like the one I found this past week. The document was an Application for a Mortuary Warrant. I had no idea what a mortuary warrant was so my first step was to see exactly what was the purpose of a Mortuary Warrant?

Data on-line was very meager on the Texas Mortuary Warrant so the definition here is my interpretation of it’s purpose based on two documents listed in the footnotes. 

Mortuary Warrant – was a Texas Document used to document the death of Civil War pensioners and to assist in their funeral expenses. 
 
A Texas record Book shows that "The First Mortuary Warrant to Confederate Pensioners was issued on May 10, 1917. Warrant # for $30 was issued on account of the death of J. M. Sharp  File #10606 Cherokee [County]." ¹

In a PDF from the Texas Historical Commission on “How to Use Confederate Pension Records“ they had this comment concerning the Mortuary Warrant: 

"Confederate Mortuary Warrant: This document should contain the veteran’s date of death, place of death (city or county), where the death occurred (home, clinic, etc.), relation of person in whose home the veteran died, relationship of the applicant, and the physician’s and undertaker’s certifications.² Claimants included relatives and undertakers. 

Texas changed their laws and starting in 1917 mortuary warrants were used to help pay for burial expenses.³
 

















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[1] http://austintxgensoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/1972.4.pdf
[2] ttp://www.thc.texas.gov/public/upload/publications/Confederate.pdf
[3] Ibid.