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General => Armed Forces => Topic started by: smd1274 on Monday 08 March 10 13:21 GMT (UK)
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Hello i am looking for help find info on my Great great grandfather
Have just found out he was a soldier when my great grandmother was born in 1891
All i know about him at the moment is his name is James Montgomery
He married Elizabeth O'Brien in 1890 Belfast they had 5 children and i think he died between 1900- 1911
I am currently waiting for his marriage look up so i can get some more info
can anyone help me i would love to find out more info on his career etc
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Have you traced all the children's births? If so, where were they all born?
He could do with knowing his regiment. Fingers crossed a marriage cert. may tell you.
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Hello have found most of them and they but one was born in Belfast and the other in County Cork
Nobody even knew we had anyone in the armed services on this side of the family, so have no clue as to which regiment he was with or when or how he died
Fingers crossed the marriage certificate unlocks this for me ..... going to be at least a week till i find out :'(
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I have just received the marriage certificate for James Montgomery now.
He was married 1890 and was a soldier with RI living in Victoria Barracks.
Can anyone please point me in the right directions of where to find out more info on him, i know he died before his daughter married in 1914
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There should be something more than just RI. If not it may mean the Royal Irish Regiment, but they were based in Clonmel. The Royal Irish Rifles were based in Belfast, but other regiments may have passed through.
As well as looking at the certificate again can you post places and dates of birth of the children?
Findmypast have put online the surviving records for men discharged 1883 to 1900. If you know his place and year of birth he may be listed. They are putting 1900 to 1913 discharges online by the summer. But if he died while serving they would have destroyed his papers 20 years after his death. You can also research the regimental BMDs on sites such as FindMyPast for his death. The indexes also give the man's regiment.
Ken
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Sorry Ken i meant to put RIR so i guess thats the Royal Irish Rifles then
i found the family minus the father James on the 1901 & 1911 census
wife Elizabeth c 1875 Co W Meath(widow on 1911 census)
daughter Marcella ( my great grandmother) c1893 born Belfast ---- but have found her birth and baptist records and it was 1891
daughter Annie c1894 born Co. Cork
daughter Joesphine ( Elizabeth Joesphine on 1901) c1897 born Belfast
son James Alphonsus c1899 born Belfast
son John Vincent c1901 born Belfast --- found his birth in 1900
the census also said they had 6 children but only 5 alive at the time
they were roman catholics
would love to find out more about James and his career but anything on the rest of the family as well
thanks Susan
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In the Boer War casualty lists, there is one entry which you might find interesting.
1898 Pte J.Montgomery, 2/RIR, died of wounds Springfontein 5 Jul 1900
If the last child was born c.1900 then this is still a possibility.
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Thank you Neil
How would i find out if this him ??? sorry if this is a silly question but have no idea where to go next
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I'm trying to think if there's an easy, straightforward way to match your James Montgomery to this Pte J.Montgomery, if as Ken says his records would have been destroyed after 20 years ............
A death certificate could be ordered for the Boer War casualty which would hopefully confirm his first name and age...... but that still wouldn't prove the connection. :-\
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There's also a thread for this family on ANTRIM board.
www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,442571.msg3056754.html#msg3056754
Birth registration of youngest child has been found-
John Vincent MONTGOMERY birth July/Sept.1900 Belfast registration district
The family was also found in 1911 census and birthplaces of children found there-
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Clifton/Rosapenna_Street/146777/
Going by the ages of the children in that census is it likely that James Montgomery would have been serviving in Boer War?
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Going by the ages of the children in that census is it likely that James Montgomery would have been serviving in Boer War?
Hi mate!
We don't actually know James' age of course, unless I missed it in that other thread. His wife though seems to have been born c.1875. If he was the same age he'd be only 25 in 1900. Even if 10 years older than his wife he'd have been 35 in 1900. Not outside the realms of possibility for the Boer War. :)
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If you click on the link to the 1911 census that I posted you will see the ages of the children listed (18, 17, 14, 12, 10) and if you tick the box 'show all information' their birthplaces are shown.
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We really need to find when Neil’s casualty enlisted. Regimental number 1898 is quite low, and would suggest the 1880s. But you need a RIR expert to confirm this. Unfortunately you cannot do regiment searches on Findmypast new army records service. Someone may know on the British Medal Forum. You could also try and find men on the Boer War medal roll with similar numbers then try and find their enlistment date on FindMyPast.
You also really need to obtain the birth certificate of Annie. The 1st Battalion of the RIR moved from Fermoy (Co Cork) to Newry in June 1893. But it possible she stayed in Fermoy until Annie was born. You should first look for it in the regimental BMDs on sites such as FindMyPast. They give the regiment in the index (either 83rd or 86th) and you can also order it from the UK GRO online. Not all home births are recorded, so you can then try the Irish GRO service, which requires you to print off the application form and send your credit card details. There is a chance one or other of the birth certificates will have his regimental number.
We have to be concerned with the number of older children born in Belfast. Although that is where the depot was unless he had a particular skill he should have been with one or other of the battalions. Having children in or around the depot could suggest he was transferred to the army reserve after 7 years, to complete his enlistment. And Reservists tended not to record the fact on BMDs. So ordering these certificates may well not be of value. He would have been recalled to the depot in 1899, and it so happens that the 2nd Battalion were in Belfast in 1899, so that battalion would have a high percentage of reservists when it sailed for South Africa.
PS…If you have Marcella’s birth certificate what does his say about her father?
Ken
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Thank you everyone for helping me :D
Neil i know that James was age 20 when he married in 1890 ( in Belfast ) which would mean he was born c1870 but have no idea where
it also named his father as Robert Montgomery who was deceased and used to be a labourer
Will try and get some peace from my kids to do some more digging at the weekend
many thanks again
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Ken all it says on Marcella birth certificate about her father is his name and that he was a soldier and the same on her marriage certificate
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Please get in touch, as I know loads about James, I am married to his brother's grandson x
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Hi Mandy.....soooo excited i have sent you a private message....look forward to hearing from you ;D ;D ;D
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smd1274 If Mandy has replied to you by private message then well and good, but bear in mind some forums require their members to have made a minimum number of posts (say 3 or 5 for example) before they can use the private message facility.
Good Luck.
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i didn't know that City Hall thank you for telling me...haven't heard back from Mandy yet, hopefully soon either by sending me a message on here or privately
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John Vincents birth 15th June 1900 says father James Montgomery, Army Reserve man,South Africa
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1900/01988/1765237.pdf
if he was properly registered his conception would have been circa Oct 1899
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Clifton/Ballycarry_Street/960323/
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Hi so glad you got back in touch. We are not allowed to post out email address but we can private message instead, but if you are new to posting on here, you have to have posted 3 times before that is possible. Look forward to hearing back from you :D