Physician's Letter Certifying Death
This brief, informal letter — written on the letterhead of Justice of the Peace W.J. Peil, though Peil himself is not a party to it — records the death of Elias Roberts. Dated August 25, 1896, it was written by O.E. Robertson, M.D., who certified that he had attended Roberts in his final illness and that he died on June 23, 1896 of general dropsy. The letter was received and stamped by the U.S. Pension Office on October 12, 1896, setting in motion Melvina Roberts' claim for the pension accrued to her husband before his death, detailed on the following pages.
Full Transcription
(printed letterhead:)
OFFICE OF
W. J. PEIL,
Justice of the Peace Precint [sic] No. 6,
and Ex-Officio Notary Public.
Hockley, HARRIS CO., Tex., August 25 1896 (small "B" [?] written above the date, unclear)
This is to certify I attended Elias Roberts in his last illness, and that he died on the 23rd day of June 1896, of general dropsy.
O. E. Robertson, M.D.
(round stamp, lower left, appears mirror-reversed on the page:) U.S. PENSION OFFICE. OCT 12 1896.
