Help with the Royal Garrison Artillery in the 1890s

[ShaunJ]

Welcome to Rootschat, Sam.

Soldiers stationed overseas were not recorded in UK censuses prior to 1911, but he probably did not spend his entire service overseas.  If you post his name and the information you have about him and his family from the various certificates, we might be able to help you. 

[samuelbmann]

Well this is appreciated!

Samuel Ralph Penny (b 1876- d 25 Oct 1908 at the Garrison) was a gunner (number 5765) under command of 8 Company Eastern Division RGA at Gibraltar. Residence: Willis' Road #2, Married Quarters, Garrison Gibraltar at the time of his death.
Married 5 October 1901 at Cathedral Gibraltar to Dolores Estaban, Spanish, aged 21.
They had four children:
George (my grandfather) b 12 Dec 1904, Baptised 5 Feb 1905 under RGA 7 (Lancs)
Lily b 29 Dec 1905 Baptised 4 Feb 1906 under RGA 7 Lancs
Frederick William Alexander b 24 Nov 1906 no record of Baptism under RGA 7 Lancs
Samuel - no info.

in 1912 the mother Dolores Gonzales Penny and her three sons came to USA aboard the ship Ivernia, sailing from Gibraltar on 16 June 1912.

Samuel Ralph Penny's father was named on his marriage certificate as Frederick William Penny (occupation Boot Maker) and Dolores Estaban's father was Augustin Estaban, occupation Merchant.

My goal is to find out when Samuel Penny came to Gibraltar, his military enlistment dates, military career details, where the Penny family resided prior to Gibraltar.
The children seem to have been born under 7 Company Lancs...what does LANCS mean?

I have similar interest in the Esteban story.

Any info at all to continue my research would be most appreciated.

Samuel Mann
Hawthorne NJ USA

[ShaunJ]

The birth of Samuel Ralph Penny (the son) was registered by the army - Gibraltar 1903, page 13.

[samuelbmann]

Thanks Shaun. New to this, and I appreciate your reply and the community here.
That page 13....I would like to see it so I can learn this for myself for next inquiry, mustn't rely on others too much....How did you locate that?

[ShaunJ]

That page 13....I would like to see it so I can learn this for myself for next inquiry, mustn't rely on others too much....How did you locate that?

I just searched for the name on FindMyPast. With that information you can order a certificate from the UK authorities.

[km1971]

Unfortunately before WW1 the records of soldiers who died in service were destroyed 20 years later - they had no reason to keep them.

I have checked the UK and Irish 1901 census without success. Nor does he appear to have served in the Boer War. You can contact the Gibraltar Archivist - archives@gibraltar.gov.gi - who may be able to access the 1901 Gib census for you.

Another problem is that you will probably never know if he moved to Gib with his company or was transferred to a company already in Gib. His is likely to have sailed there on a Royal Navy ship which did not keep passenger lists.

One thing of interest is that his widow would have received a pension for six years, so it is a surprise that she emigrated after four years, as that would mean her pension stopped.

Ken

[samuelbmann]

Thanks Ken and Shaun both.
Findmypast, of course...
And that pension item is a dandy.

The daughter, Lily, did not sail to the USA in 1912, perhaps she died. None of us knew she existed until I obtained the birth record from the garrison...she was never mentioned. I bet she is buried in Gibraltar.

Will check with archivist, and also visit the Public Record Office at Kew. Found a letter from them from 2002 when I tried to locate these folks.

[ShaunJ]

The children seem to have been born under 7 Company Lancs...what does LANCS mean?

Lancs is a common abbreviation for Lancashire. (But I'm struggling to make sense of that in the context of a regular RGA unit.)

[samuelbmann]

I have sent an inquiry to the Gibraltar archivist, thank you all for the friendly welcome.