76th Regiment of Foot in 1850s
Hello ALL,
I'm wondering if there is anywhere I can access service records for the 76th Regiment of Foot?
My ancestor was listed as a private in the 76th on his 1847 Aberdeen marriage record.
I've also found an 1851 record for him serving in Corfu and his service number is listed. Can I access more information for him that might give me his enlistment and discharge date/place?
Thanks, in advance for your help.
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I found this great look up site
British Army muster rolls and pay lists
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@Liz Solomon - the link provided by @sc wozniak is excellent info and important. Just in case it's not totally clear, most soldiers' service papers showing the data that you ask for, do not survive for that era. If a soldier was discharged to pension then those papers (or versions of them) were kept.
If a soldier wasn't discharged to pension then the papers would be scrapped as there was no need for them. In such a case, the Muster Rolls & Pay Lists will therefore be your best bet for any detail about your chap - I have used these for a Napoleonic Wars soldier and if you're very lucky, you can get an astonishing level of detail - mine was marching between 2 places in Ireland - his expense claims are listed so we know where he spent the night… But because each List is compiled 3 monthly, you may have to go forward and back through time - hopefully, as your chap enters or leaves the unit, then sufficient details were recorded to identify their previous or next assignments - such as when they were discharged from the Army.
On the other hand, of course, you may be lucky and your soldier was indeed discharged to pension, in which case records may be online for him. See https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-army-soldiers-up-to-1913/
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Thank you both @sc wozniak and @Adrian Bruce1 for your suggestions.
There are limited records available on FMP but one has been helpful to get me to where I currently am. Patrick McAnulty served in Corfu & Malta in 1851. This record gives the NA record set (series for 76th foot) and the service number 2420/98F?1820. Unfortunately no record to view so I can't get the correct Service number (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBM%2FSOLIDX%2F1851%2F0099054&tab=this).
Unfortunately the NA records (WO 12/8226) are only available to view in person or $order$ and I really have no idea which sub-series to search…and there's lots.
I'm looking at 1837 (the year he arrived in Australia as a convict - if this is in fact the same Patrick McAnulty) through to 1855 when he arrived back in Australia with his wife and three children. He married Agnes Badenoch in Aberdeen, Scotland 1847.
I can't find a ticket of leave in Australia, but he may have just escaped his indenture and jumped on a ship back to Scotland?
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@Liz Solomon - how interesting… And "interesting" isn't necessarily in a good sense for you!
OK - firstly I make no comment on whether the 2420 etc soldier really is yours or just some other guy with the same name - but since yours appears to be in the same regiment (the 76th Foot) in 1847 in Aberdeen, then you must be in with a fighting chance.
The Army record that you describe appears to be that from the British Army, Worldwide Index 1851. You may already know this but that collection is intended as a census substitute - the UK didn't enumerate its overseas army until later. Roger Nixon filled the gap by going through the Muster Rolls & Pay Lists (as mentioned above) for 1851 (presumably for the first quarter?).
The weird aspect is Patrick McNulty's service number of "2420/98F?1820". Without seeing the original it's impossible to be certain what was meant but a number have similar numbers - for instance, Frank McNamara is "4114/16F 2106". I would take a wild guess that Patrick's service number (regimental number is a better term, perhaps, at this time) was 2420 in the 76th and the other part after the "/" indicates that he's just come in from another regiment (unlikely if he was in the 76th in 1847) or that he's just going out into another regiment during the 1st quarter (Q1) of 1851 (the Period is 01/01/1851-31/03/1851 on his record). Maybe we should treat the "?" literally to mean that the indexer wasn't quite sure that he'd gone into the 98th because the handwriting wasn't clear.
My best wild guess is therefore that he was 2420 in the 76th at the start of Q1 1851 and sometime during that quarter he transferred out into the 98th (maybe) Regiment of Foot where he was given the service number of 1820.
(I suspect my best wild guess isn't correct because the 98th already has an 1820 in the British Army, Worldwide Index 1851 implying that it was another regiment he went into because numbers weren't reused that quickly. )
I don't think it would be a good idea for you to start ordering stuff from the National Archives. The relevant piece for that 1851 census substitute is WO 12/8226 - I'm guessing it's a box containing 4 Muster Book & Pay Lists for the 76th. But his career should go backwards through earlier pieces (how many?) for the 76th - and forward into - well, there's the issue - into which regiment? The 98th? Unlikely. It needs someone to look carefully at that 1851 census substitute to see if they can make sense of "2420/98F?1820". You need someone competent and on site, I'm afraid.
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Hello again, @Adrian Bruce1
You make some great suggestions here, just as I was thinking. I was not aware that British Army, Worldwide Index 1851 was a substitute for the 1851 Census but it make logical sense. I've learned something new!
Interestingly I'm struggling to find his wife and three children on the 1851 Scotland census. I'm figuring it has been transcribed incorrectly but usually I'll find it on one of the popular sites. Not yet!
I agree that I really need some feet and eyes on the ground at Kew. I've found a site that offers free lookup help and have sent of a message. Living in Australia, it's just not possible for me. I'm hoping my search is straight forward and the person is willing to look at the Muster Book & Pay Lists for the 76th. 🤞
Thanks again for your help. 😊
Cheers
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Good morning. Hoping you had luck with your On the Ground Look up assistance. Can you possibly send out a link to the community on who you contacted? Might be many more needing help in this manner out there.
Thank you
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Absolutely. When you say 'send out a link', do you mean just create a new post with the info?
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I would just place it in this series, but you could also create a new discussion if you wanted to share to a larger audience.
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RAOGK Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness is a Volunteer Directory of angels prepared to help you. Here's the access link: https://www.familysearch.org/en/library/off-site-books
Scroll down and click on 'Find Someone to Help' and select 'volunteer'.
Under 'How to Request a Lookup?', click on the hyperlink 'Volunteer Listings Directory', then choose your location.
Please read the guidelines for making requests. And if you have capacity, there are details on how you too can become a volunteer.
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