Baptism John Dobbins Born c 1760 or 1764 in Moy, County Tyrone

[Cavanaghs]

I have just found out an approximate birthdate and place of my long lost Great x 4 grandfather, who spent 22 years in the 30th Regiment of Foot in the British Army and married and lived out the rest of his life in Whitehaven, Cumberland. On enlistment and for part of his time in Whitehaven, he calls himself a "Weaver". He could also sign his name. This is all I know of him.

Can anyone point me in the direction of where he may have been baptised in Moy? Are there records of any other Dobbins family members in Moy?

What was the economic situation in Moy in 1780, when he enlists in the British Army? What might have motivated his departure at c 16 years old?

Any tips and thoughts welcome!

Thank you.

[KimberleyW]

John is my 6x Gt Grandfather

Also interested in finding out any information if anyone has anything!

[hallmark]

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C8887483

[Cavanaghs]

Thanks for that Hallmark! That's actually the document that alerted me to John's approx. DOB and place of birth! His muster rolls are all available at The National Archives but there are so many documents it's a bit pricey to check them all on the off-chance there are also more details about his parentage etc..

Thanks again 

[Elwyn Soutter]

What was the economic situation in Moy in 1780, when he enlists in the British Army? What might have motivated his departure at c 16 years old?

Young men joined the army in 1780 for much the same reasons they still do today, to learn a trade, to get a steady income and to see a bit of the world.

You say John described himself as a weaver. The average weaver in Ireland in the 1700s and first half of the 1800s was a labourer who often lived in a small cottage on someone else’s farm, and would have a few perches of land to grow some vegetables and some flax (the raw material for linen). Rent would generally be paid by an agreed number of days labour on the farm, though occasionally it was paid in cash. The labourer was otherwise free to undertake any additional work that might be available, possibly on another farm or on government schemes such as road improvements.

Weaving was top up income for small farmers and labourers in Ulster.  It was originally undertaken at home using hand powered looms (such as are still in use in the Outer Hebrides for making Harris Tweed). The looms were portable and could be packed up when not needed or when moving house.  Men and women both did the weaving, with women and children spinning thread and other related work. It provided a bit of extra income, and cash (in a society that was largely run on the barter system). As well as purchasing the things that barter can’t buy eg a ticket to Canada or America, the cash ensured that their lot was slightly better than people in other parts of Ireland where linen was not made. (Most Irish linen was made in Ulster). Given John's age when he left home, he was probably living with his parents who would also have likely been labourers and weavers.

[Cavanaghs]

Many thanks Elwyn. That helps put things in context. 

On balance, do you think John would have been literate before he joined the Army or would he have learned to read and write during army service? I know that over 20 years he was promoted from a private to corporal to sergeant.

[Elwyn Soutter]

My guess would be that he learned to write in the army but couldn't be certain. There wasn't a lot of schooling in Ireland in the late 1700s.

[KimberleyW]

My guess would be that he learned to write in the army but couldn't be certain. There wasn't a lot of schooling in Ireland in the late 1700s.

The one thing we do know is that if he had any education within the army, it must have been before, or as he was stationed in Whitehaven, Cumberland, as he signed his name on his marriage certificate in St Bee's Whitehaven, and Whitehaven is where he met his wife.
He was stationed there in 1791, and had been in the army for 10 years already by that point.
My cousin, who is a soldier and a bit of an army encyclopedia has told me that he may have been educated within the army, especially if he had gone up the ranks and been promoted, which he had been, but only for a short while.

It would be great to find out more about his life before he joined the army.

[Cavanaghs]

Thanks to both of you for your input!