Understand a sentence in a historical sketch about British army service?
I need help with the following sentence.
"My father [Isaac Burnhope] when a young man enlisted in the British army, was bought off, ran away [and] joined the army, served his time ...."
It seems out order and confusing. Why would you "served your time" if you were "bought off"? How would I find his military records and better understand the meaning of this sentence?
Discharge by purchase, also known as buying oneself out of service, refers to the process of obtaining a military discharge by making a payment. This payment effectively functions as a fine for leaving military service before the contractually agreed-upon date when enlisting. The term "exemption by purchase" is a similar concept that applies to conscription. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discharge_by_purchase
Isaac Burnhope, Male, 12 November 1808 Hexham, Northumberland, England – 15 February 1869 Salt Lake Utah, KWJ4-R9N
It seems like they don't pronounce the "H" in Burnhope in England. I have seen his names as Burnop, Burnip and Burnup.
Thank you
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Maybe the clue is in the word "was" in "was bought off". I wonder if it means someone else paid for his discharge - but he didn't want to be discharged, so he ran off and (re-)joined the Army. If he'd bought himself out, wouldn't it have said "bought himself out"?? My best guess...
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@Adrian Bruce1 Do you know what year he served in the military and what branch of the service? Here is a link to the England Military Records. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/England_Military_Records. I am not sure it will answer your question, but it may give you a bit more to search on.
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@Shannon Potter Wilcox asked "@Adrian Bruce1 Do you know what year he served in the military and what branch of the service?"
Not my question but that of the OP @ChrisPetersen
As for finding his military records, I would suggest a read of https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-army-soldiers-up-to-1913/ for starters. In the section on British Army service, pension and discharge records 1703-1913 note the bit that reads
The records do not usually include: ...
documents of soldiers who were discharged by purchase
There are other sources that might contain information about him, such as Muster Lists or the (incomplete) Discharge Papers. However, the vast majority of these are only at the UK's National Archives in Kew and without a regiment to go on, successfully searching them will be next to impossible. 😕
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