Last Civil War Pensioner - Irene Triplett in Wilkes County

Headlines in major newspapers and genealogy blogs shared the obituary of the last person who was collecting a pension from the U.S. Civil War.  She was Irene Triplett (1930 - 2020) of Wilkes County, N.C.

I'm related to many people in Wilkes.  Am I related to Irene?  I added her to my Ancestry.com tree, traced her ancestors, and found that she was the 2nd great-niece of the wife of my 1st cousin 5x removed.  So not a close relative, but still connected. 

You can read more about Irene at Judy G. Russell, “RIP Irene Triplett,” The Legal Genealogist (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : posted 3 June 2020).

Irene's father, Moses Triplett (1846 - 1938), served in several companies in both the Confederate and Union armies.  His pension was for the Union, but he started out in Company K of the 53rd N.C. Infantry, C.S.A. - the same company my great-great-grandfather Thomas C.B. Whittington served in.  So they clearly knew each other.  Many men from Wilkes served in that company.

Reference: Weymouth T. Jordan Jr., editor, North Carolina Troops 1861-1865 A Roster, Vol. XIII  (1993; reprint, Raleigh, N.C.: North Carolina Office of Archives and History, 2004), 168, entry for Moses Triplett.