Scotch-Irish-L Archives

From: <>
Subject: ] Was Your Ancestor in the British Army?
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 08:22:10 -0700

Hi folks, even if your ancestors were indiginous Irish, since
one third of the British military was always Irish, it's almost
certain you have ancestors in the British military. Even if
not direct line, a collateral line -- and you can learn a lot
about your family and how they lived by studying military records.

Some men became Chelsea Pensioners-- and researching those records
has long been a way to keep genealogists off the streets and out
of trouble. In Ireland there was another hospital and its records,
though filmed and in LDS, have not been indexed. So those recs
have not been usable. HOWEVER they are being indexed and will
soon be available.

But there's lots of other records. Here's an informative article
that arrived today from Everton. A Daily Genealogy Pill. You can
subscribe (see below) and get these. You can learn a lot at no
expense. PRO (Public Records Office ... of Britain, in England)
has produced an excellent series of very helpful pamplets. Rather
than buying them now, you can download them FREE off the web. They
have ones on the Irish and also on researching American colonial
ancestors. See www.genuki.org.uk for more info or use the URL's
below.

Also I do know a professional genealogist in London, eh, he'll
smack me, Kent, who is trained (actually went to school!!) in
British military. He's in the right place (can take the train to
PRO) and he's not expensive, and he's very thorough. If you need
his name, email me.

Speaking of revolutionary military records, apparently a number of
the wee lads stayed on after the American Revolution ended. Same
thing after the French and Indian War. Transportation back to the
motherland was expensive, so the British didn't mind at all. So
a few of us researching in the DAR are looking in the wrong place!
Luckily there are excellent records on what British army regiments
were in the US colonies, but we Americans don't know how to find
them, much.

(DAR: Daughters of the American Revolution-- American lineage society
requiring proof of descent from one of George W's men).

Article follows.

Linda Merle

---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From:
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 04:38:32 -0400

EVERTON'S FAMILY HISTORY NEWSLINE
Sponsored by: Everton's Genealogical Helper
September 2000 only, just $15.95 for FHN subscribers
http://www.everton.com/subscribe/

Thursday, 21 September 2000

Was Your Ancestor in the British Army?

If you have one or more forefathers who served in the British Army
you probably want to find out as much about their service as
possible. When they enlisted, where they saw action, how well they
served, when they mustered out, and so forth.

Many of the records of this service are in the custody of the Public
Record Office in Kew, Surrey. But access to them is largely by
regiment. The regiment of service is the key to learning about the
military career of almost any Army man.

Fortunately there are several good websites about the regiments of
the British Army. One of the best is T.F. Mills' excellent
regiments.org website: Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and
Commonwealth.

Here you can track regiments by country of service and by individual
regiment. Among the in-depth data available are the official names
and nicknames of each regiment, regimental assignments, battle
honors received, colors, uniforms, badges, and commanding officers.
Not to mention bibliographies of works on the regiment and its
history.

The site covers British Army regiments from the early years of the
eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth, with a depth of
knowledge that was prviously seen only in large printed tomes. For
the family historian with British Army ancestors, it is a godsend.

Resources:

Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth
http://www.regiments.org/milhist/

PRO: Army: Other Ranks: Useful Sources if You are Getting Nowhere
http://www.pro.gov.uk/leaflets/ri2014.htm

* * * * *
THE HANDY BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS
This 9th edition provides maps, source information,
and where to obtain the records you need for your
U.S. family history research.
Just $34.95!
http://everton.com/evertonpublishersinc-67/mck-htdocs/order-handybook.html
* * * * *

September only: Ancestors Guidebook, just $12.95
http://everton.com/ancestor-pre.htm

Copyright 2000, Everton Publishers
All rights reserved
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