75th Regiment recruitment area 1825

[Boere]

Hi All,
My 5x Gfather John Warren’s marriage was recorded as 75th Regiment of Foot Stirlingshire in 1827.
Where would the Regiment recruiting area be at that time?
I am trying to find where he was born.
Thanks Will

[Andy J2022]

Background The 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot (later the Gordon Highlanders) was a single battalion regiment. It had previously been in India, but when it was due to come home in 1806, so many men elected to leave the Regiment and settle in India, that the regiment was little more than a cadre on its return to Britain. In view of this, on 7 April 1809 it lost its highland status, meaning that the men no longer wore the kilt or other accouterments of highland dress. At that point it was officially retitled as the 75th Regiment of Foot, although it was still known colloquially as the Stirlingshires.
However the Napoleonic wars were still going on, and the Army was short of men. So after a big recruiting drive in Scotland, Ireland and later, England, the Regiment appears to have been back up to something approaching full strength, although very inexperienced. After a stay in the Channel Islands in 1811, it was sent to the Mediterranean. It then served in the following places:

1814    Ionian Islands    
1821    Gibraltar    
1823    England    
1824    Ireland    
1830    England    
1830    Cape of Good Hope

1827 So it looks like the Regiment would have been recruiting in Ireland in 1827-8. Because Ireland was classed as a home posting, the Regiment wouldn't have had a depot located elsewhere in Britain. To get more precise locations for where they were in Ireland, you would need to look at the muster and pay rolls held in the National Archives. That would require a personal visit, as they haven't been digitised.
If going to Kew is not an option, you could try contacting the Gordon Highlanders Museum to see if they either have copies of the muster rolls or have other information about the places where the Regiment was stationed. Usually, Regiments in Ireland were split up into a number of garrisons within a province or one of the ancient kingdoms, each manned by one or more companies.

More general information see Here and Here

[Boere]

Fantastic, many thanks for your reply and info.
Your dates tie in perfectly with the family info I have.
1827 marriage in Fermoy Ireland
1828 son born Fermoy, my family line
1830 daughter born in Chatham England 1833 son born in Cape Town South Africa.
I infer from your info that it would be likely that the father was born in Ireland.
Would it be likely for all these events would be registered at the Regiment in Scotland although none actually took place in Scotland?
If so I have been looking for his birth in the wrong place.
Are there any references so that I can document your dates.
Lastly going to National Archives is not an option as I live in South Africa.
I previously contacted the Gordon Museum but they have no records as it was before the Regiments amalgamated.
Many thanks Will

[ShaunJ]

Was his name definitely John? There was a Jos^h Warren in the 75th at that time. Born Tullamore circa 1803.

[Boere]

Earliest  documented reference I have is Family Search marriage 1827 75th Regiment name as John, no second name.
Thanks Will

[Andy J2022]

Would it be likely for all these events would be registered at the Regiment in Scotland although none actually took place in Scotland?

While a soldier could marry without getting permission, life would be harder for him, and his family who would not be recognised. If however he got permission to marry (not a foregone conclusion) his wife (and later, family) would be treated as being on the regimental strength. This meant they got extra rations and were allowed to live in the barracks, although they had to share the same accommodation as the single soldiers, so not much privacy. The other great advantage of being 'on the regiment' was that the family were given free travel when the regiment went overseas.

However the only way of discovering if his wife was on the regiment would by looking at the muster rolls where his entries would show a different rate of food allowance. If his service record has not survived there is unlikely to be any other service record of his family. Since registrations of birth, marriages and deaths were not legally required to made prior to 1837 it is unlikely that the regiment will have submitted any returns concerning either the marriage or the birth of children to some central authority. At best the regiment's padre may have recorded to events like marriages and christenings in his register, assuming that he performed the ceremonies. The regimental padre was probably Church of England or Church of Scotland and so if John and his wife were Catholics they would have gone to their local Catholic priest to perform these rites. FindMyPast have collected whatever regimental registers that have survived into their British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages and British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms collections, where some, but not all, entries  can date back to 1796. However nothing shows up for John's marriage or the births in Fermoy in 1828, Chatham 1830 or Cape Colony 1833.

The way to document the movement dates I gave earlier is to search the newspaper archives (either on FindMyPast or the British Newspaper Archive website) using the search term 'Stations of the British Army' and the year. These reports were published every month in multiple newspapers and so by looking month by month it is usually possible to pinpoint when a regiment sailed, was in transit and arrived in their new posting. So for example the cutting below from the Bath Chronicle of 15 January 1829 shows that the 75th were in Birr at that time. That will have been where the Regimental headquarters was situated, and there may have been companies spread out across County Offaly or even the Province of Leinster.

[Boere]

Thanks for the additional info.
I think I did not clarify the info I have.
The marriage and all 3 births including Cape Town were recorded at the Regiment in Scotland, I would assume that the marriage was approved as his wife obviously travelled to Chatham and South Africa with the Regiment as I can find no travel records for her and the 2 children already born.
Thanks again any other insight will be greatly appreciated
Will