Sgt Major William Roe - help!!

[LittleLondoner]

Thanks Phil I had the 1st one, but not the second - was looking for Franks / Frenks 

  I did   

No, sadly. We have a copy of his military history from the museum and details of his medals. One member of the family thinks they have a photo of him up on the wall    The generation above all seem to think there is no question and have so far been a bit cagey about letting me have all the ephemera  I need to be sure of whatever I'm saying.

It's very tricky!

[forester]

It's all a bit covert then   

Phil 

[MikeD1967]

I'm hoping that even though nobody has posted on this or any of the other threads about the Roes in India for a number of years one or two of you in the know might receive emails letting you know someone's posted here.

Mine is a long shot question. My gg grandparents were Thomas and Catherine Devine. Thomas was born 1832 in Ireland, Catherine 1852 in Bengal.

A Thomas Devine married a Catherine Roe in Bengal in 1869 and I'm assuming these are my Thomas and Catherine. I can't find any other mention of a Catherine Roe anywhere though. It would seem likely that she's the daughter of one of the two William Roes with the British Army in India at the time. I'm wondering if these two Williams have been mixed up somewhat by others looking into their trees. It would be convenient to think that the William who married Catherine Woods would have named a child Catherine but assuming that these are the William and Catherine shown on the 1861 census as living in Lambeth on an army pension they had a daughter, Rose born in 1852 in Bengal. It wouldn't be unheard of for someone to have had two children in the same year of course, and I suppose my dates may be out by a year or so either side but I'm thinking this probably rules out these two as the parents.

If anyone has any light to shed I'd be most grateful though!

[ShaunJ]

A Thomas Devine married a Catherine Roe in Bengal in 1869

Marriage at Dum Dum Catholic Chapel, 28 April 1869: Colour Sergeant Thomas Devine, 96th Regiment, aged 33, bachelor, father Felix Devine; and Catherine Roe, 18, spinster, father Edmund Roe. 

[ShaunJ]

I can't find any other mention of a Catherine Roe anywhere

Catharine Roe was baptised at St Stephen's, Dum Dum on 15 September 1851, born 18th August 1851, father Charles Roe, Gunner 2/5 Artillery, mother Catharine.


Parents marriage: Charles Edmond Roe, Gunner 2 Coy 5th Bn Artillery, aged 26, father William Roe, married Catherine Byrne, aged 14, father Thomas Byrne, at Chunar, 15 October 1850.

[km1971]

.... It would seem likely that she's the daughter of one of the two William Roes with the British Army in India at the time...

You cannot say this. Records of soldiers who died, or purchased their discharge, or deserted, or were discharged without a pension, etc have not been kept. You would have to go through all the muster books of every regiment serving in India at the time, before you can be certain. Even assuming he was a soldier.

If you post the names/places and dates of birth of any of their children you are certain of, members can check to see if their birth records are available. If this gives the father's regiment you can start from there.

Ken

[MikeD1967]

Shaun, wow, I'd hoped someone might possibly reply in a week or so but overnight and with such useful information for me to start working on, thank you so much.

Ken, I think I may have given the wrong impression. What I referred to as assumptions were really just initial thoughts about what the answers to the questions I was forming might be. It's a good point you make about the absence of records for all soldiers of course especially as it seems from Shaun's information, backed up by a family tree I've been invited to look at on Ancestry,  that Catherine wasn't the daughter of a William Roe after all!

Thanks for the advice though.

Mike

[km1971]

Hi Mike

Do you have a proven link to the Colour Sergeant? If so the late 1860s is a good time to be researching muster books. They start to have details of the married establishment about then. They list (every quarter) the wife's firstname plus ages of all children with the regiment - up to 14 for boys and 16 for girls - in years and months. plus the date they were placed on the married establishment. As a Colour Sergeant he would have had an automatic right to a place.

Unfortunately they are not online. So you have to go to Kew.

Ken

[MikeD1967]

Hi Ken,

Yes Colour Sergeant Thomas Devine is definitely my gg grandfather. He was with the 96th Regiment of Foot, later the Manchester Regiment, as was my g grandafther, Edward. Edward's English-born first wife died in India shortly after having their seventh child. Edward then married one married one of Thomas Devine's daughters.

Kew is a bit of a trek from Manchester where I live but I do have a friend who lives just around the corner from Kew bridge who visit every couple of years so next time I go I'm going to try to make the effort to look in on the National Archives.

Mike