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General => Armed Forces => Topic started by: Fifers on Wednesday 21 May 14 10:29 BST (UK)
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I need help identifying my GGrandfathers service in India...
John Mcvey Born 1826 Ayrshire,Scotland,
on marriage certificate 1852 ,serving as Drummer in His Majesty's 29 th Regiment.
Living in Meerut..Is this and India or British Regiment ?
Secondly , would it be possible to find out if his wife...Isabella Mckinlay was anglo indian ?...
Many Thanks
Fifers :)
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I need help identifying my GGrandfathers service in India...
John Mcvey Born 1826 Ayrshire,Scotland,
on marriage certificate 1852 ,serving as Drummer in His Majesty's 29 th Regiment.
Living in Meerut..Is this and India or British Regiment ?
Secondly , would it be possible to find out if his wife...Isabella Mckinlay was anglo indian ?...
Many Thanks
Fifers :)
www.fibis.org has service records. There is a christening record on familysearch.org for Agnes Mcvay 30th July 1860 - Birth date 19th july 1860. Campbellpore Bengal India. Parents John Mcvay & Isabella :)
There is a marriage record for a Agnes Annie Mcvae in Madras India 6th December 1880 to John Webber
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The marriage is also on familysearch website: -
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FGNQ-XV2?cc=1584967
gives Isabella's father as John.
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One of Who Do You Think You Are programmes found a distant ancestor who was Indian. The research involved visiting churches to read the records and even a trip to an overgrown churchyard (with local snakes) to discover a forgotten headstone. Certainly before Victorian times there was more inter-marriages than after Victoria came to the throne.
One common reason for marrying in India was that the bride was either widowed in India, or the daughter of a soldier. Once a daughter reached 16 the army no longer considered her a child. Does the church record give her age, or say if she was a widow?
I have just followed the last link and the fact that the bride was 14 could mean her father was a soldier. And certainly worth looking at first. You can look on Findmypast for the records of John McKinley. FindMyPast also has a list of soldiers serving in 1861.
Regarding HM 29th Regiment the regiments in India was either part of the East India Company's army or HM (or Imperial) ie British regiments sent out to support the EIC. The 29th Foot were the latter. They left Ireland in 1846 and did not return (to Portsmouth) until 1859. They took part in the Mutiny and both males may be on the medal roll which is on Ancestry.
After the Mutiny all EIC regiments who had remained loyal were absorbed into the British Army, the rest were disbanded.
Ken
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Thank you all so much for your help ,mostly confirming my own research on Fibis and
FindMyPast...I will continue searching for medal records for John Mckinlay... ;D