Irene Triplett
{{short description|Last recipient of an American Civil War pension}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Irene Triplett
| image =
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|01|09}}
| birth_place = Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|05|31|1930|01|09}}
| death_place = Wilkesboro, North Carolina, United States
| other_names =
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| known_for = Last recipient of an American Civil War pension
| notable_works =
}}
Irene Triplett (January 9, 1930{{spnd}}May 31, 2020) was the last recipient of an American Civil War pension. Her father fought for both the Confederacy and later the Union in the war.
Biography
Triplett was born in 1930 to Mose Triplett, age 83, and Elida Hall, age 34.{{cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=Michael M. |title=Veterans' Benefits Live On Long After Bullets Stop |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/veterans-benefits-live-on-long-after-bullets-stop-1399640525?mod=e2tw&tesla=y |access-date=June 4, 2020 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=May 9, 2014}}{{cite news |last1=Mills |first1=Curt |title=U.S. Still Paying a Civil War Pension |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-08-08/civil-war-vets-pension-still-remains-on-governments-payroll-151-years-after-last-shot-fired |access-date=June 4, 2020 |work=U.S. News & World Report |date=August 8, 2016}} She was one of five children, of whom only she and her brother survived childhood.{{Cite web|last1=Pengelly|first1=Michael|date=June 7, 2020|title=Irene Triplett, last person to collect an American civil war pension, dies at 90|url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/07/irene-triplett-last-person-american-civil-war-pension-dies|access-date=2021-04-22|website=the Guardian|language=en}} Her father, who had fought for both the Confederacy and the Union during the Civil War, was aged 78 when he married her mother; their union was Mose Triplett's second marriage.
Irene Triplett grew up on her father's farm in Wilkes County, North Carolina. According to Triplett, she suffered a difficult childhood and was regularly beaten by both her parents and schoolteachers. Classmates teased her about her father whom they denounced as a "traitor".{{cite news |last1=Shapira |first1=Ian |title=She was the last American to collect a Civil War pension — $73.13 a month. She just died. |url=https://www.boston.com/news/national-news-2/2020/06/05/civil-war-pension |access-date=June 6, 2020 |work=The Boston Globe |date=June 5, 2020}}
Triplett was mentally disabled. Her education ended at the sixth grade and, in 1943, she moved with her mother and brother to a poorhouse, where she remained until 1960. She later lived in private nursing homes until her death.
According to acquaintances, she was a regular user of chewing tobacco and was a fan of gospel music.
Triplett died on May 31, 2020, following complications from surgery.{{cite news |last1=Macias |first1=Amanda |title=North Carolina woman who was the last person to receive a Civil War-era pension dies at age 90, WSJ says |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/03/irene-triplett-last-person-to-receive-civil-war-era-pension-dies-at-age-90.html |access-date=June 4, 2020 |work=CNBC |date=June 3, 2020 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Irene Triplett Obituary |url=https://www.millerfuneralservice.com/obituaries/Irene-Triplett?obId=14945980#/obituaryInfo |website=Miller Funeral Service |access-date=June 6, 2020 |location=North Wilkesboro, NC}}
Pension
Triplett's father died in 1938 at the age of 92, after which she collected his Civil War pension of $73.13 per month from the Department of Veterans Affairs; her cognitive impairments qualified her to inherit the pension as a helpless child of a veteran.{{cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=Michael M. |title=Last Person to Receive Civil War-Era Pension Dies |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/last-person-to-receive-a-civil-war-era-pension-dies-11591141193 |access-date=June 4, 2020 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=June 2, 2020}} The total amount of benefits she received was about $73,000, or $344,000 when adjusted for inflation.{{cite web |last1=Bean |first1=Tim |title=The Last Person Still Collecting a Civil War Pension |url=https://orangebeanindiana.com/2020/03/20/the-last-person-still-collecting-a-civil-war-pension/ |website=OrangeBean Indiana |access-date=June 4, 2020 |date=March 21, 2020}}
Widespread public awareness of Triplett's status occurred in 2013 as the result of a Daily Mail story about her.
After the 2018 death of Fred Upham, the son of William H. Upham, she became the last surviving eligible child of a Civil War veteran.{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Karen |title=Irene Triplett: The Last Surviving Civil War Pension Recipient |url=https://historydaily.org/irene-triplett-last-surviving-civil-war-pension-recipient |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229040937/https://historydaily.org/irene-triplett-last-surviving-civil-war-pension-recipient/4 |archive-date=2024-02-29 |access-date=June 4, 2020 |website=History Daily |language=en}}
See also
- Helen Viola Jackson, the last living wife of a Civil War veteran, who died on December 16, 2020.
References
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Category:People from Wilkes County, North Carolina