RootsChat.Com

I am very grateful to you KM. I took the subscription to FindMyPast and found HIM. You were also right about infantry being at Waterford. John was not RA but infantry. His marriage to my great-grandmother, Sarah, is recorded in his service papers and, for once, family myths had some substance, he was twice posted to Aldershot. Nine pages of service record with extensive detail will need to be scrutinised carefully.
It was Rootschat that helped locate my other great-grandfather and put me in touch with relatives I did not know I had. As I said then, the grand tradition of dedicated, knowledgeable amateurs thrives and demonstrates that the lovers-of-wisdom don't do it for the money.
Many thanks
E

There are more than 20 James Clark’s listed in the Index to Lloyds Captains Registers. Mostly Scots, but only one from Dumfries and his dob is given as 1838 and 1835. So Jamie’s handwriting might have been a wee bit fluid. He won his master’s Certificate in Shields in 1865. It was common for mariners to be awarded their ticket in their late twenties. He is listed in the registers between the years 1865 and 1872, but I do not have easy access to these – you would need to visit Greenwich. You would then know which ships he captained. But if you make the request ahead of your visit, there is a good chance that they will have his application forms for the mate’s and master’s exams. Then you would have a full list of his service from apprentice to master. Greenwich offer a postal service but there is a charge for that.
The 1841 census offers two James Clarks dob Annan at your date of 1836: the Miller’s son on North Street and Joseph, the cotton-weaver’s son at Hiltown. I have not found any trace in the Annan MIs. There are much sharper hunters who cruise these boards, far better qualified to hook your James, but they would be helped by having as much detail as you can muster.
Happy St Patrick's Day -well evening

I too am trying to find records of the S.A. Railways. Have you made any progress?

Spookie or what? I have been travelling for the past two months. Returned last night after midnight. Today, I have been remonstrating with a sulky dishwasher and a boiler throwing tantrums. So now, shortly before midnight, I dare to face the emails. Deleting all the offers and the chain-jokes (virals), I need to let a lot of people know that I ain’t dead yet. Then zing: up pops a smoke signal from Rootschat, the first wisp in six months and WOW – what a link.
It is just a few weeks short of the first anniversary of my appeal on Rootschat, and during the first six months, I have been linked with cousins in Canada (Merv, have you alerted Kathy to our new cousin?) and Scotland. Vera will be my first close cousin in England: just up the road really ( 200Kms).  May your glass never run dry Brian. You must warn Vera that 5 pages is just a smidgen – there is a lot more.