Pension File of Patrick Cain

Last week I had the chance to view the Civil War pension file of Patrick Cain (introduced last Saturday in the post The Irish Soldier). Unfortunately the file did not provide any connection between him and my second-great-grandmother Mary Alice Cain or her brother Harl Cain.

Photo by Patrick Jones. US National Archives, Washington DC.

Patrick Cain's disability was reported in October 1863, which clears up why he was absent from service in November and December 1863 as he was being treated for an eye infection. Soreness in his left eye became a chronic case of sore eyes, eventual blindness in his right eye and partial blindness in the left.

After the Civil War, Cain received treatment from a hospital in Louisville, and later worked on the railroad in Marion County, Kentucky. Before the war, Cain resided for five years in Glasgow, Barren County, working as a common laborer on farms and in gardens. Perhaps this fact will lead to information on Cain's arrival in the US, and other relatives.

The file confirms the marriage of Patrick Cain to Julia (maiden name mispelled as Downing in the file, it was Downey) on 16 June 1891 in Marion County, Kentucky. The ceremony was performed in a public church by Rev. William Buchanan. It also says Cain was not previously married and had no living children.

The 1910 US Census states that Patrick Cain arrived in the US in 1849. There is a Pat Cain who arrived at the Port of Baltimore in May 1849 from Liverpool at the age of 17, with Catherine Cain and Alice Cain (ages 15 and 23). More research to look into!