29th Foot

[AnneMT]

My great great grandfather's marriage cert in 1862 in Glasgow shows his occupation as "private, 29th Foot, Paisley Barracks. However, I am having difficulty finding the 1861 census on Scotlandspeople because of the variation in spelling of his name. Assume he was living in barracks in 1861.

His name is Peter Denovan,Donovan, Dunnachie etc.., born abt 1834 in Ireland. On Scotlandspeople Forum, prior to TS,a few years ago, someone kindly checked the census in Paisley Library. There was a possible i.e. Patrick Donovan, Peter and Patrick are names which seem to be swapped about. Unfortunately I did not print out this info, before the forum was closed.

(1)Is there anyone who would be able to give me any more info abt the 29th Foot at Paisley Barracks? Had a quick search on web, but did not help me much.
(2)Alternatively, is there anyone likely to be visiting Paisley Library, who could tell me the surname my gg grandfather was registered under on 1861 census? Would the census records be recorded from the army records or verbally by a senior member of army. Excuse my ignorance on this matter.

Have placed booked at Park Circus, but, unfortunately, not until 12th June.

Any help appreciated.

[DavidWW]

Hi Anne

Hmmmmm..... which, for anyone who knows what I mean by that comment is that we could have a bit of a problem here.

The 29th of Foot were the Worcestershire Regiment, but, see - http://www.regiments.org/deploy/uk/reg-inf/029-1.htm , - they don't appear to have been anywhere near Paisley in the early 1860s.

That's not to say that there wasn't a cadre of the regiment in Scotland for recruiting purposes, but long enough for a marriage

Any chance of posting an image of the record so that other sets of eyes can check on your interpretation of the "29th"?, - Scottish regiments of foot at that time with a number in the 20s werethe 21st, 25th and 26th ....

David

[Jack]

Hi Anne and David,
This from Ancestry, but not as the 29th Regt.
Patrick's age makes for a birth around 1839.
--
1861 census 559-1 Ed Government Barracks p 4 (Abbey)
Patrick DONOVAN, 22, Private Soldier 76th Regt., b Ireland
--
Jack

[Pandabean]

If it is the 76th Regt of Foot there is details on the website:
http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/076-787.htm

The 76th was formed for service in India in 1787 and was in service in India the following year where the regiment stayed for the next 20 years until 1806.

It may be possible that it is in fact them as stated on the link to the history of the regiment:
On February 19th, 1861, the Regiment embarked in two divisions for Glasgow, arriving on the 21st; 6 companies and headquarters remained in Glasgow, three companies went to Ayr, and one to Paisley.

Direct link to "H.M. 76th Regiment of Foot 1787-1870, transcribed from Regimental Digest, by Roger Capewell (Family History in India)"
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~clday/76foot.htm


If Jack is right that it is indeed the 76th then perhaps your ancestor was in the company that went to Paisley? Above is the only reference to Paisly in the document and similar for mentions of Glasgow.

It would seem the regiment stayed there for a year and in 1862 they moved to Liverpool and then on to Aldershot.

[DavidWW]

If it is the 76th Regt of Foot there is details on the website:
http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/076-787.htm

The 76th was formed for service in India in 1787 and was in service in India the following year where the regiment stayed for the next 20 years until 1806.

It may be possible that it is in fact them as stated on the link to the history of the regiment:
On February 19th, 1861, the Regiment embarked in two divisions for Glasgow, arriving on the 21st; 6 companies and headquarters remained in Glasgow, three companies went to Ayr, and one to Paisley.

.....snipped......

See also, slightly "deeper" into the www.regiments.org site at http://www.regiments.org/deploy/uk/reg-inf/076-1.htm . As far as I know there's now such a page, or two in case of more than one battalion, for all the Scottish regiments.

David

[AnneMT]

Hi Anne

Any chance of posting an image of the record so that other sets of eyes can check on your interpretation of the "29th"?, - Scottish regiments of foot at that time with a number in the 20s werethe 21st, 25th and 26th ....

David

Thanks everyone for your help. Have uploaded copy of marriage cert. to the Gallery. First time, so hope I've done it right.

http://talkingscot.com/gallery/displayi ... ?pos=-1163

Re his name. Christian name mostly recorded as Peter on the documents I have found. Just mentioned the possibility of Patrick, as this happened with another relative. I was told this was common practice. Possibility of an entry in the 1861 Paisley census, also made me think it likely.

The entry mentioned of Patrick Donovan, born 1839, would make his wife 12 years older than him (I have her birth cert.) Could not find census records for couple and their 2 daughters (Mary Ann b.1863 and Margaret, b 1866, my gt grandmother) until 1871 in Govan, but Mary Ann not mentioned, so assume she died. Margaret Barr not on 1861 census with her parents.

A bit of useless info - gt grandmother used to say that she was related to O'Donovan Rossa, the Irish rebel. Since Peter was married in Church of Scotland, and had joined the British army, assume he would definitely have been considered black sheep of family.

Gallery URL added - AndrewP

[DavidWW]

The first figure is definitely a "2", see elsewhere on the page; and the second figure is just a mess , but is probably a "9", - again see elswhere on the page.........

David

[AnneMT]

The first figure is definitely a "2", see elsewhere on the page; and the second figure is just a mess , but is probably a "9", - again see elswhere on the page.........

David

Hello again David.

My previous reply to this message, seems to have gone AWOL, so here goes again.

Agree with you about how the figures look. The figure 7, on the page, is written in a similar way to the 9, with the downward stroke passing through the line below. As a typist in my dim and distant past, I was used to deciphering bad writing, which helps with the writing on certificates. Ignorant about military matters, though, I never realized that the "29th Foot" might be wrong. Maybe I get to keep my brick wall.

I also have a paternal grandfather, who was in Royal Artillery, not sure of the period, but know he was in Cambridge Barracks in Portsmouth in 1891. Been promising for years, I would checking out his war records, but somehow never get round to it. RA records, I have been told, are confusing.

[DavidWW]

The first figure is definitely a "2", see elsewhere on the page; and the second figure is just a mess , but is probably a "9", - again see elswhere on the page.........

David

Hello again David.

My previous reply to this message, seems to have gone AWOL, so here goes again.

Agree with you about how the figures look. The figure 7, on the page, is written in a similar way to the 9, with the downward stroke passing through the line below. As a typist in my dim and distant past, I was used to deciphering bad writing, which helps with the writing on certificates. Ignorant about military matters, though, I never realized that the "29th Foot" might be wrong. Maybe I get to keep my brick wall.

I also have a paternal grandfather, who was in Royal Artillery, not sure of the period, but know he was in Cambridge Barracks in Portsmouth in 1891. Been promising for years, I would checking out his war records, but somehow never get round to it. RA records, I have been told, are confusing.

I should have commented that it's not impossible that he was initially in the 29th of Foot, and then transferred to the 76th of Foot.

The received wisdom is that soldiers (and officers) didn't transfer from one regiment to another. The reality is that they frequently did !!

David