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« on: Sunday 21 November 10 15:02 GMT (UK) »
My great great grandfather, Robert St Denis Howard, on every census and his Royal Marine attestation says he was born in St Denis, near Paris, probably in 1815 (calculated from his R M attestation). I think I have to treat this as correct, he certainly seemed to think it was, although I have tried to obtain French records and checked military GRO records with no luck.
When Robert marries he says his father was Timothy Howard and I have found the baptism for Robert in 1819 in Brackley, Northamptonshire - father Timothy and mother Elizabeth. Several pieces of information point to this being the area from where the family originates.
I have identified the marriage of a Timothy Howard to an Elizabeth Anderson in 1813 in Edinburgh. He is a Private in the 27th Regiment of Foot based at Edinburgh Castle. The 27th Reg. did feature heavily in the Napoleonic Wars, so all could link together, however there are several big questions.
1. At the time of the marriage all 3 battalions of the 27th Reg. were in Spain or France. Was he in reserve and travelled out later?
2. Would Elizabeth been allowed to travel with him, especially as he was only a private? I have seen several references to British children born in France around this time so I know it was not uncommon.
3. Could he have been part of the army of occupation?
I have searched the military records on Ancestry and the medal rolls on Find My Past, but can't find Timothy anywhere.
I believe Timothy may have re-married in 1820 and gone on to have another family, but I have not been able to find the death of Elizabeth.
I'm afraid I do not know too much of the workings of the British Army at this time, perhaps the connections I am trying to make are a bit fanciful.
Thanks for any help you can give.