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From: George Brander <>
Subject: 51st Regiment of Foot
Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 10:46:22 +0000


The death record of my GGGrandfather, David Christie who died in
Aberdeen in 1862 aged 53 gives his father as William Christie a Sergeant
in the 51st Regiment of Foot.
In the 1841 census the same David Christie, Shoemaker is at Merchant
Street (Eastside), Peterhead with his wife and two sons. The intriguing
thing is that David Christie's place of birth is given as Ireland. The
date of birth would be about 1809/10. This came as a surprise as it had
always been assumed that this branch of the family came from Peterhead
and Foveran.
From the initial research that I have done on the 51st Regiment of Foot
it would appear that they had their origins in the 8th Marines and then
changed the name from the 51st to the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
who in the late eighteenth century did service in Ireland, Gibraltar and
Corsica returned to England for a short time before embarking for Spain
in 1807 for the Peninsular War.
Are there any military experts out there who can point me in the right
direction for further research. The names and numbers of the regiments
of the British Army seem to change frequently around this period. Was
there another 51st Regiment of Foot with Scottish connections? I am just
getting over the surprise that my GGGrandfather was born in Ireland but
I want to be sure before I break the news to my family that his father
may have been a Yorkshireman ( I mean that in the nicest possible way!)
Last question, what is the best starting off point to look for a 1809
birth in Ireland apart from the IGI?

George

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