SPAIN/PORTUGAL - Cartwright marriage to de Cruz

[Glory1505]

Hi there

I'm trying to see if I can get further with my 5x Great Grandparents but I think my search now takes me out into Europe which I really have no experience with researching so I hope you can help!

My 4x Great Grandfather was William Cartwright (twin brother of Isabella), who was born and baptised in Edinburgh in 1808. On his baptism register it states that he is the son of 'Mr Cartwright, an Ensign in the Royal Veterans at Edinburgh Castle, and Valentina Rosa de Cruz, his wife'.

Some quick research shows that the 9th Battalion Royal Veterans were based at Edinburgh Castle at this time.

Previously the regiment had been based in Gibraltar and Madeira. My theory is that he met his wife in one of these locations as her name is certainly not English/Scottish! I think also that the Cartwrights were probably English and just based in Edinburgh during his military service.

Can anyone help or offer advice about how I can try to find the name of my 5x Great Grandfather and find any kind of marriage record between him and Valentina?

William, later has a son with Sarah Garner (now living in Leciestershire), who he also calls Valentina Rosa de Croix Cartwright after his mother. She uses both Valentina and Rose/a in later records so perhaps her mother did too.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

:-)

[t mo]

hi
in 1810 army list ensign William cartwright 9th royal veteran bat dated 10 sept 1807
in 1819 army list ensign  William cartwright 9th  retired full pay dated 10 sept 1807
I,m sure this is your man he still shows in a later army list as retired full pay In the 9th ?
looked for a marriage or births  but really too early for most records  under army births or marriages my feeling with her surname is more Spanish than anything but will no doubt be put right  .
don,t know where to look for officers marriages but sounds like he didn,t fancy a spot of campaigning in the peninsular with wellington or sir john moore especially with a probable Spanish wife .or perhaps he wasn,t wealthy enough to buy his next commission .
regards
trevor

[Glory1505]

Thank you that's helpful.

Are you able to tell me where these records are for the 9th Royal Veterans so that I can take a look?

I'm not sure how marriage to foreign nationals worked in those days if you were in the army. Perhaps William would have had to have married Valentina in her own country in order to be able to bring her back to the UK with him? Does anyone know if Spain kept Parish records that might be helpful? Their children's baptism I found under the Catholic Parish Registers on Scotland's People.

Scotland's People website also has a death register for a Valentine Cartwright for May 1810 (aged 24), it says that the place of Interment is 'Castle Grounds'. I'm thinking that this is probably my Valentina as the name Valentine Cartwright can't have been that common back then?

:-)

[t mo]

the record I posted isn,t a regimental record as such the army lists are just for officer class and give just detail of promotions and wether on half pay or in this case retirement but no detail of the actual regiment .
re , the marriage I think the biggest hurdle is the fact it,s so early and before normal bmd,s start in 1836 also I,d forgotten of course that valentine would be catholic so that makes it even more difficult may be William was as well only the catholic church weren,t renowned for allowing non catholics to wed there own [ as my mum and dad knew in 1938 ] so where you go from here I,m not sure , you first need to know exactly where she came from so that may mean finding out where William was stationed around the time of the marriage and what reg he was in was it the vets , I think it,s a case of one step at a time find out Williams reg and where it was at around 1789 to 1800 most likely he was in the peninsular area of Portugal or spain .
regards
trevor

ps it would be worthwhile getting in touch with Edinburgh castle they must have archives I,d have thought see if you can find out more re the interment of valentine , as you say not a common name then or now .

[Hampshire Lass]

Hi, I'm researching my friends family tree and her 3x great grandfather is William Cartwright, baptised in Edinburgh 1808. I have the Roman Catholic baptism record which bought me to his parents being Mr Cartwright and Valentina Rosa de Cruz.

A google search about the couple bought me to good ol' RC and this thread so I'm just wondering if anyone has found any more about where Valentina came from?

I know little of military research and am going round in circles trying to discover the movements of the 9th Royal Veteran Battalion.

It seems possible from family tales that Valentina may have been Spanish and possibly gypsy and so I would like to find as much as I can about her.   

[Glory1505]

Which of William's children is your friend descended from? He is my 4x Great grandfather so we'll be related.

I've not been able to find anything about Valentina but I do know that her husband William Snr served in Menorca and Cadiz so it's fair to say that there is a chance he could have met her then. I've only been able to take the line down though.

William Jnr had a daughter Valinteena Rosa de Croix Cartwright (as appears on her birth certificate) from whom I am descended.

[Glory1505]

I should clarify that Mr Cartwright is another William whose wife was Valentina de Cruz. His son William (born 1808) is my 4x Great Grandfather. He was a twin with a sister Isabella.

[Hampshire Lass]

Hi, thanks for your reply.

Valinteena Rose de Croix Cartwright, born 1843, is her 2x great grandmother, so yes you are related.

I didn't know Mr Cartwright was another William so that's another step forward.

Wish we could find more about the movement of the battalion prior to 1808 but military history is a great mystery to me.

[Glory1505]

Cool! I'm descended from her daughter Rose.

I'm not too good on military history outside of the world wars either! In an ideal world we'd be able to find William's service record or something. They were in Edinburgh when the twins were born but I've no idea if he was from there or just stationed there.

I've not been able to find births or deaths for him and his wife either. Possibly there are records held in an archive somewhere that have not yet been digitised.