“A WIDOW’S DUE”
(The Letters Series Book #1)
INSPIRED BY A REAL FAMILY SECRET
“The evidence, including claimant’s own statement on which the adverse action was taken, shows that for many years prior to the date of dropping her name from the pension roll she had lived and cohabited with one Isaac Derr, by whom she had four children, thereby establishing the fact that she had lived in open and notorious adulterous cohabitation with said Isaac Derr after the death of the soldier and subsequent to the passage of said act of August 7, 1882.
The claimant has no title to pension under any existing law as the widow of the soldier, and further correspondence on her part will avail her nothing.”
In June of 1971, my father bestowed upon me a gift so very rare, I’m still in awe of his courage at doing so. This amazing gift was something that belonged in a museum, not the hands of a twelve-year-old boy. The priceless gift given to me were all the letters written home by my great-great grandfather, during his four years of service in the American Civil War. These original letters, complete with stamped envelopes, were a personal treasure of my father and something for which he’d been the caretaker for over twenty years.
What had started as a man’s story soon became a woman’s and forever changed my outlook on life. What began as a family “shame” had changed to one of family “pride.” While I am proud to be the great-great-grandson of a man who spent four years fighting for his country during the Civil War, I’m honored to be the great-great-grandson of his widow, Mary Magdalena Diehl Derr. She was the strong cornerstone in an otherwise harsh and judgmental era. This story is in honor of her, and a statement on the incredible strength and determination of women – for without them, we would all be lost.