Seitch Glasgow Help!

[mahatmacoat]

Hi, can anybody help trying to find an Archibald Seitch, last know residence Lanarkshire b circa 1804,
Only record I can find of him is his marriage to Elizabeth Sinclair in 1841 India. Archibald is listed as a private in the 26th foot regiment, then they disappear??
any help would be much appreciated.
regards, Robert

[AMBLY]

My first immediate though was.......LEITCH.
The old writing style of L was oft-mistaken for an S.

Could he be LEITCH? 

[AMBLY]

Distribution of the British Army
26th Regiment of Foot (Cameronians)

Date, location of regiment, location of Depot, Date went into Foreign Service (IFS)

1841: Feb 27 - Bengal 3, depot Canterbury, IFS: May 1828
1841: Oct 2 - China, depot Canterbury, IFS: May 1828
1842: Jan 1 - China, depot Canterbury, IFS: May 1828
1842: Jul - China,  IFS: May 1828
1843: 4 Mar - China, depot Canterbury, IFS: May 1828
1844: 30 Mar - Edinburgh, having returned from Foreign Service Jul 1843, East Indies
1845: 30 Nov - Belfast
1846: 28 Feb - Belfast
1847: 3 Apr - Dublin
1848: 28 Oct - Cork
1849:
1850: 6 Apr - Gibraltar, Depot: Cork, IFS: March 1850
1851:
1852: 26 Jun - Gibraltar, Depot Isle of Wight, IFS March 1850

These records (google: Distribution of the British Army YYYY (the year)
helped me immensely in my own research - my man initially went overseas with the his regiments and came back from overseas but then remained thereafter with the Depots only.

As you can see, the 26th was in China from late October to probably, mid 1843 - then in Scotland for a brief period, before going to Ireland.

It would be good to try find out when your man signed up for the Army, that way you can hazard a guess as to when he might have come out (if he survived that long).

Cheers
AMBLY

[mahatmacoat]

Hi Ambly, what a star! it's people like you that truly make this site work. Thank you so very much for your time and really good advise.

I think you're right about the Leitch thing! although Seitch name does exist on other census, but still, I think you could well be right.

It's actually Archibald Seitch's wife I'm trying to trace. She had a daughter to her previous husband who is my relative (George Sinclair) QMS 26 Foot reg. George was killed in 1841 and his wife married Archibald 4 months later! just a mystery what happened to them all.

Thanks again Amby!     regards, Rob

[sancti]

Found this on Anc*



Name:   Archibald Leitch
Campaign or Service:   Crimean War
Service Date:   1854-1855
Service Location:   Crimea
Regiment or Unit Name:   50th Regiment of Foot
Regimental Number:   3608

[AMBLY]

Thanks Rob,

Happy to help where I can  - everyone's stories intrigue me :-)

My soldier, referred to above - he died 1864 on foreign soil of pneumonia  just as he was about to be disbanded and discharged, leaving a wife and daughter. Wife remarried just 5 months later to another soldier in the same company (30th Foot). It was often a harsh life for all of them. The remarriages were a necessity for many of these women with their children, who are essentially left without much support or means in foreign countries, regardless of them being, as they were, attached to the Army.  She died 3 years later of "apoplexy brought on by intemperance"  but that's another story….

If Archie was in the same regiment as George, and George was killed in 1841….when did that happen, and when in 1841 did Archie & Elizabeth marry. If there were injuries and casualties whilst in India, would they come home to hospital etc - I'm wondering out loud? There is this man in 1841 - no details of his regiment, though:

HO107 / Piece 535 / Book 9 / Page 1
1841: Military Hospital in Great Bolton, Lancashire
Alexander LEITCH 40, P Soldier, b Scotland
(as a case in point, he's been transcribed as SEITCH  ; it's clearly LEITCH)
Edit: My Bad....ignore this ... this guy is Alexander. Not Archibald.... was so excited to see the SEITCH was really a LEITCH, I overlooked the obvious

I'm presuming the daughter SINCLAIR also disappeared from your radar? What was her name and details (birth etc)? Also details for Elizabeth, in-case she might pop-up somewhere?

Cheers
AMBLY

[scotmum]

May be red herring, but, 1851 Lanarkshire census has a c1802 Irish born Alexander Leitch with children born England, Ireland, Canada (wonder if this was mis -transcribed and should be India?) and Glasgow.

This Alexander is a Chelsea Pensioner. No sign of wife, albeit says married rather than widowed.


Ignore above, just read Ambly's post at #9 and see I searched on Alexander rather than Archibald.

[scotmum]

If, as I think, your George and Elizabeth's daughter was the Christina born in Dec 1839, then it would seem she possibly died young, if following is her:


Christiana Sinclair Birth year 1840 , aged 2yrs and 6 months was buried  at Berhampore on 14/5/1842.

[AMBLY]

Hi Rob, I now see the marriage on Family Search - 26 Nov 1841, Berhampore, Bengal:
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FGNS-4XQ

(Good find on the death, Scotmum!)

Rob  guess you must have seen the original marriage document though, to know his regiment and approximate birth year. When you say, "last known residence Lanarkshire", what did that mean?

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FGNS-4XQ

Hi Sancti, in that record for Archibald of the 50th in Crimea, there's an overwrite on the image, like H /R or something - do you have any idea what that might be about?

Cheers
AMBLY