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General => Armed Forces => Topic started by: gazar on Tuesday 18 July 06 05:16 BST (UK)
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Alexander Mitchell Reid (my great great grandfather) was a Sergeant Major in this regiment in 1850 and I am trying to find whether he, his wife and family were present during the India Mutiny in 1856-1857.
I have documents that confirm Alexander had his son, Henry Charles, baptised in Belgaum, Bombay India in 1850.
Henry Charles came to Australia circa 1865
Thanks in advance
Gazar from Oz.
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Hi,
Perhaps we need to be clear what regiment we're talking about here.
In the British Army, there was the 4th King's Own Regiment of Foot, but they were never known as "Rifles"
Since we're talking about India, there are other possible regiments. The 4th Gurkha Rifles weren't so called until 1861, the 4th Punjab Infantry and the 4th Sikh Infantry weren't known as "Rifles" either.
The best candidate would seem to be 4th Bombay Native Infantry (Rifle Corps). The "4th Regiment (Rifles) No1" in the title of this thread should read "4th Regiment (Rifles) NI"
All these native regiments would have had British officers and senior NCOs. 4th Bombay NI earned the battle honour for Central India during the Mutiny.
There is an online transcription of the Indian Mutiny medal roll for British regiments, which your gg-grandfather doesn't appear on. Really, you need to consult the rolls for the native regiments.
Neil
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Hi Neil,
Thankyou for you writing down your thoughts on this regiment, I enjoyed reading it. I have updated the title as suggested.
Regards
Gazar
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Have you looked at the overseas birth/baptism indexes in case of other children to Alexander Mitchell Reid?
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Hi
In answer to your question my answer is both Yes & No.
Yes, in that I was able to obtain my gg fathers birth/baptism from microfilm birth/baptism index and then applied for a copy of the baptism notice from India which I now have.
and no, in that I am not sure whether the microfilm I was using above is the same source as raised in your question. I do have a list of an additional 30 births /baptisms pre and post 1850, with the same surname of Reid, from the same microfilm however the data does not indicate the parents.
what birth/baptism index documents have children and a connection to their parents?
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The GRO's overseas indexes for army births (and Chaplains index which covers army baptisms), list the child's name, the place of birth, and also the father's regiment. The only place these are online is www.1837online.com
Where did you go to get the baptism notice you have? If it was the source I'm thinking of, you would have had to order it, like a birth certificate, from the GRO.
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Hello jorose,
I have seen the web site 1837online but as yet I have not used it. I will start to investigate this site in the near future.
I was able to retrieve the baptism notice via the Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies office where I live. I found the record in the film CMB index for British India at the AIGS office. The CMB index held no parent information.
The AIGS was then able to request and acquire this certificate on my behalf however I am not sure from where but I will inquire.
Last evening I spoke with the AIGS office and their personnel suggested the best option for further information was to start investigating research options to access the public records office in Kew, London. There were no other records held in the AIGS that would be of assistance.
Therefore the best leads I have are 1837online and the public records office in London.
I have appreciated your ideas and thoughts
gazar