The Servicemen’s Dependents Allowance Act of 1942, signed into law by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, provided a much needed allowance to the wives, children, and certain dependent relatives of servicemen in the lower grades (privates, private first class, technician 5th grade, corporal, technician 4th grade, and sergeant) of the Army. Relatives and dependents were divided into two classes. Class A consisted of wives, children and divorced wives to whom alimony was still payable, and Class B consisted of parents, grandparents, siblings, and grandchildren.
My father grew up in the home of his maternal grandparents, Henry and Olivia (Moten) Newsome. When his grandfather’s health deteriorated to the point that he had to be permanently hospitalized (he was admitted to the Austin State Hospital), some of the financial care of his grandmother rested on his shoulders. Therefore when he was drafted into the Army on 4 December 1945, he completed the Application for Dependency Benefits below listing his grandmother as a Class B dependent so that 49% of his financial support went to her each month.
Front
Below is a front and back transcription of my father’s — applicant copy — of the original application:
ARMY SERVICE FORCES
OFFICE OF DEPENDENCY BENEFITS
NEWARK 2, N.J.
APPLICATION FOR DEPENDENCY BENEFITS
(Servicemen’s Dependents Allowance Act of 1942, As Amended)
I. (a) Soldier
(Last name) – Taylor
(First name) – John
(Middle name) – W
(Army serial number) – 38 754 049
(Present Army grade – private, corporal, sergeant, etc.) – Private
(Soldier’s Army mailing address) —
(Single, married, divorce) – Single
(Race) – Colored
(Soldier’s home address: Number and street or R.F.D.) – 422 Gunter St.
(City, town or post office) – Houston
(State) – Texas
I hereby apply for the family allowances authorized by law for the following name relatives and/or dependents who are related to me in the manner stated in paragraphs II and III below.
CLASS A
II. List: Wife (W), child (C), former wife divorced to who alimony is still payable (W.Div). (If there are none in class A, write “None” in the name column.)
NONE
CLASS B OR B – 1 DEPENDENTS
III. List below the father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, stepfather, stepmother, either husband or wife, person in loco parentis (foster parent), brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, adopted brother, adopted sister, who are dependent upon the soldier for substantial or chief portion of their support. (If there are non in class B or B-1, write “None” in name column.)
Name
(Last) – Newsome
(First) – Olivia
(Middle) —
Address
Number and street or R.F.D. – Rt.2, Box 192
City, town, or P.O. and postal zone No. – Brenham
State – Texas
Relationship – GM.
Date of birth of minors —
Degree of dependency (percent) — 49%
IV. Enter on the lines below the full name and address of the person or persons to whom the checks are to be made payable.
Make checks payable to —
Name — Olivia Newsome
Address number and street or R.F.D. — Rt. 2, Box 192
City, town, or P.O. and postal zone No. — Brenham
State – Tex.
W.D., A.G.O. Form No. 625
1 January 1944
This form supersedes W.D., A.G.O. Form No. 625, 21 October 1942, which may be used until existing stocks are exhausted.
Back
Members of immediate family now serving in the military or navel service
V. The following named member of (my) (the soldier’s) immediate family are now serving as soldiers, sailors, marines, or coast guardsmen (not officiers) in the military of naval service.
NONE
VI. I hereby swear or affirm that all the foregoing statements are correct and that every member of class B or B-1 for whom I claim the family allowance is dependent, to the degree indicated, upon the soldier whose name appears in paragraph I above, for support.
(Signature) —
[SEAL]
Subscribed and sworn to before me this — 5 — day of – Dec., 1945 at — 22.00
(Title) — W. E. LOHMAN, 1st LT. WAC.
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Once this application was approved, Momma Olivia would have started receiving a monthly allowance at the end of the next succeeding month from the date on the application. The allowance that would be paid to her came from money that was deducted from my father’s pay and from the government. Even though this application did not state what her monthly allowance would be, I hope my father’s compiled service record I recently requested from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will provide that information and much more!
This military application for dependency benefits was a GREAT genealogy find! Not only did it provide me the Houston address of my father before he was drafted in the Army, but it also helped me to pinpoint which Washington County, Texas town (Brenham) my great-grandmother lived in between the 1940 and 1950 census decades!
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Source Citation:
Marshall, G.C. (1944). Application for dependency benefits. TM 12-223, Reception Center Operations. Washington, D.C.: War Department. Retrieved November 28, 2012 from http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/wwIItms/TM12_223_1944.pdf
Claiming Kin Genealogy 
A very useful post. Serendipitous for me! My father was drafted into the U.S. Army in June of 1942. My mother was then newly pregnant with me. My father must have filled out one of these Applications, which I hope I can find through Nara. Just two nights ago, going through some old papers, I discovered my father’s Army serial number, which I can use for research. Thank you, Liv!
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You are very welcome Mariann! I really got lucky with this document. My brother located this original copy (a bit worn and frayed) in a box that my father had stored away in the garage. I quickly put this document in an acid-free archival envelope to protect it from further damage. Yes indeed . . .having your dad’s Army serial number will definitely make accessing your father’s file go a lot smoother when you submit your request to NARA!
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