Good afternoon.
I'm hoping someone can help me clarify some details regarding my fourth great grandparents John Charles Schweitzer (1783-1864) and Catalina Micaela Peralta (y Tallo) (1796-1875). John Charles was born in or near Waldeck, Germany. According to the family history: as Napoleon's troops swept across Europe, John Charles fought for his local Duke against the French army, he was captured but escaped to the British. (Another version is that he was a German mercenary?). He first served with the Duke of Brunswick's Infantry “which was one of The Detachments of Foreign Corps” (no idea what that means....). The family history says he was in England for most of 1811 (not sure why....) and later (no date given) embarked for Portugal. On December 25, 1813 he was promoted from Corporal to Colour Sergeant in the 7th Company, 8th Battalion of the British 60th Regiment. From 25 April 1814 until early 1818, he was in the 5th Battalion in Gibraltar. The family history says that sometime between 25 December 1813 and 24 March 1814 he was absent in Tarifa, Spain “on special duty” (no idea what that was...). During that time he worked for a local vintner, met and eloped with the vintner's daughter Catalina Peralta y Tallo. She being Catholic and he being Protestant they couldn't get married locally and she allegedly bribed one of the captains of her father's vessels to take her and John Charles to Britain on his next trip. (Don't know how he managed this when he's supposed to be, I assume, on active duty?). They were supposedly married in England or Scotland. (Can't find anything to corroborate that. Can anyone help here?) On 2nd October 1816 their daughter Ana (better known as Hannah) Maria Josefa “Swarsar (sic)” was born in Gibraltar (so now they're back in Gibraltar) and baptized in the Catholic Church of St. Mary the Crowned (o.k. to be baptized in a Catholic church but not married?. There's supposed to be a baptismal certificate but I haven't been able to find it. Can anybody help me out here? Would there be a British record of this birth somewhere?). The family history goes on to say that Sergeant Schweitzer reenlisted (no date given and would he not have had to have been discharged first?) in the 2nd Battalion which was stationed in Canada (where were they stationed?) where he was given his discharge at Quebec City on May 8, 1819. He was given 200 acres of land in the Richmond Military Settlement in Canada for his service. So does that mean that sometime between 1816 and 1819, he arrived in Canada and reenlisted for a short time only to be discharged in 1819? Would he have had to have been on active duty until 1819 or could he be, say, farming and still be in the military on paper. Would he have had to go to Quebec City to sign his discharge papers?
On his official service record/discharge papers, it says that he enlisted at Cadiz, Spain on 25 December 1810 with the 2nd Rifle Batt. 60Th Regiment of Infantry where General N. C. Burton is Colonel. Again his service record says he served until 7 May 1819: 6 years 130 as a sergeant and 2 years 2 days as a corporal. Is the 60th Regiment of Infantry the same as the Duke of Brunswick's Infantry?
Sorry for all the convoluted ramblings but it's quite a tale and I'd like to be able to separate the fact from the fiction. If anyone can help, it would be much appreciated.
