John Knox - 26 regiment of Foot (Cameronians) ca 1860-1877

[Deborah Boss]

Hello all
John Knox is my husband's great great grandfather.  He was born ca 1840 in Scotland (in Edinburgh I think).

I think he had 3 children by his first wife Josephine while he was serving with the Cameronians in India: John Alfred in 1867 (Belgaum), George in 1869 (Calcutta) and Josephine Hannah Sophia in 1871 (Fyzabad).  He married his second wife in England in Dec 1878 and had left the army by this time.

I would love to be able to confirm that he was born in Edinburgh and to get some information about his first wife and about his military career.  He was described as a sergeant for George's christening but a private for Josephine's christening.

I realise that a visit to Kew is in order but realistically I'm not able to do that for a good long time.   So failing that, it would be really nice if someone could give me some detailed information about the Cameronians for the period that John was with them.

I'd be really grateful for any information.
regards
Deborah

[Deborah Boss]

Actually I think I've answered my own question about his first wife.

And I've also got some outline information about the Cameronians for the years in question.   I just don't have much detail.
regards
Deborah

[Jebber]

Have you searched the National Archive catalogue? Less is often more when doing a search, so try on just the name KNOX  with WO in the Department or series code.

Jebber

[Deborah Boss]

Jebber
Thanks for the steer.

Unfortunately, he wasn't in the catalogue.  Generally, there didn't seem to be many entries for the period in question.  I took the opportunity to look for other Knox entries but nothing stood out.

Thanks again
regards
Deborah

[neil1821]

The regiment's whereabouts over the period in question.
They took part in the Abyssinia expedition in 1867

http://www.regiments.org/deploy/uk/reg-inf/026-1.htm

Neil

[atom12]

Hi

I'm not sure if Scotland's People site will be any good for you, but you can always browse and see what you think.  Besides the Birth/Death records, it also has old parish records and old census records that might be of help.

http://www.rootschat.com/links/01fb/

Anne

[Deborah Boss]

Anne
Thanks for the pointer but I'd already looked at the Scotland's People site.  (It's a lot better than when I first used it!)  From there, I have established a quite extensive ancestry for a John Knox but I don't have absolute certainty that the John Knox I've identified on the 1841 and 1851 census is the same person as my John Knox.  All I need is something to link my John Knox to Edinburgh.

I think I now have 2 links to Edinburgh.  The Cameronians appear to have been in Edinburgh in 1861 and I think his first wife was working there in 1851.  But I thought his army record would finally provide the confirmation I want.  (I also have hopes of the 1911 census but I'm a bit impatient.)

And I also want details of his army career to flesh John out a bit and to complement what I know of his later life.

Neil
Thank you.  I'm grateful for the response and pointer.

I've also found a book printed on the internet which gives a really detailed description of the formation of the Cameronians but otherwise iit s more of a timeline.   It's along the lines of "they were here until then and then arrived here on this date and then the colonel swapped with another colonel".   My husband has close to zero interest in his family history and I don't think that stuff will make him change his mind.   I was wanting something more interesting like letters home describing living in India, details of engagements etc.  Maybe it just doesn't exist.

regards
Deborah

[neil1821]

My husband has close to zero interest in his family history and I don't think that stuff will make him change his mind.   I was wanting something more interesting like letters home describing living in India, details of engagements etc.  Maybe it just doesn't

You have to get the basics like the timeline though before you can put everything else into context. One bit of information leads to another.

You should definitely look for his service record from Kew.
There are plenty of general sources for life in India, and as for details of engagements, as I say the Cameronians took part in the Abyssinia expedition of 1867-68. Here are some details (again plenty out there):

http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/africancampaigns/campabyssinia.htm
http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/africancampaigns/campabyssiniaarogi.htm
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/kenanderson/histemp/abyssinia1.html

A visit to the regimental museum would also flesh out the picture
http://www.btinternet.com/~james.mckay/museum03.htm

Neil

[Deborah Boss]

Neil
I agree that the timeline provides the framework for getting to grips with the rest.  Thanks for the references.  I just looked them up and had time for a quick read about the Abyssinian campaign.  I'll go back to it later.  I got the impression that the Cameronians turned up too late to actually partake in the campaign after journeying all that distance!

One day I'll get to Kew again.  Although in the past I've experienced some disappointment there.  I came across references to several letters written by one of my own great-great-great grandfathers but the letters were no longer there.

Thanks again
regards
Deborah