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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Topic started by: probertresearch on Tuesday 09 April 13 07:53 BST (UK)

Title: James Probert b. about 1783
Post by: probertresearch on Tuesday 09 April 13 07:53 BST (UK)
Hello everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone has an idea on how to get over my worst brick wall. Here is the information that I have.

James Probert was born c. 1783 in England. He joined the British Navy during the War of 1812 and deserted. He was caught and sentenced to be executed, but escaped and swam the river into New York. There he married Asenath Stover and I have a pretty good history from then on. The question is who was he originally?

I don't have any idea where to go from here, and am not very familiar with research in the UK, so thought I'd ask here.

Thanks for any help you might have.........Hailey
Title: Re: James Probert b. about 1783
Post by: crimea1854 on Tuesday 09 April 13 15:16 BST (UK)
Hailey

You are faced with rather a challange if your unable to get to the National Archives at Kew, however, if you were you should consult ADM12/27F. This is an index and digest of naval Courts Martial verdicts for the period 1812-55 that includes a surname index, date of trial, rank and ships name.

There are other Courts Martial records available, but to find out more you should read 'Tracing Your Naval Ancestors' by Bruno Pappalardo.

Assuming you were to find your man, you could then consult his last ship's Muster Book and begin to piece together his naval career.

Martin
Title: Re: James Probert b. about 1783
Post by: CCRAIL on Tuesday 14 May 13 20:02 BST (UK)
Hi Hailey

In addition to the National Archives route, which i guess is a non runner for you if you are not in England?
You could try searching the likes of:
www.freereg.org.uk
This is a register of all parish records for all counties in the UK.  I hasten to add that it is far from complete but does cover a fair percentage of the UK.

I did a quick search for James Probert with a +/- 5years of the stated birth year and there are only 2 answers - Both of which occur in Monmouthshire (Part of wales).  Not very scientific i know but it may show that that surname is predominantly found in that part of the UK.
If you have any clues in the rest of his history that he may have come from Wales you have a starting point.

Hope this helps
ccrail