65th Regiment and NZ - 1860 ish

[km1971]

Almost certainly the wrong man. Men would enlist for 12 years from the age of 18. So they were typically discharged aged 30 to 35, ie 1871 to 1876 in this case, depending when he enlisted.

This Captain reached that rank in 1872, so he would have had to be commissioned and promoted twice by 1872. There is also the class thing that very few other ranks would end up officers, even in a colonial part-time outfit. You need to get to Kew.

Ken

[Tsu]

OK, OK, I'm going... 

Next day off.

[scrimnet]

Kipling in his poems recommended soldiers to marry a Sgts widow....Did your chap marry someone who was already "on the strength"?

It may be worth looking for her previous hubby to get a fuller picture

I tried looking for a Mahoney marriage to an Ellen on the NZ BMDs without luck.  Maybe she married her previous husband somewhere else.

I would be surprised if she was found on the NZ rolls...I am opined that if you look for the husband....in the Regt or one of the other ones about uring the maori wars you may find something of interest!

[Tsu]

Scrimnet you may well be correct.

Searching found me this.

Michael MAHONEY of the 65th Foot 3447 (his service number?) granted the NZ War medal.  Theres a National Archives reference WO100/18 p335

I then searched for deaths of Michael Mahoney in New Zealand and found one in 1864, the same year that Ellen Mahoney married my John Burns.

Is it worth a $26NZ punt on the death certificate do you reckon?

[scrimnet]

Scrimnet you may well be correct.

Searching found me this.

Michael MAHONEY of the 65th Foot 3447 (his service number?) granted the NZ War medal.  Theres a National Archives reference WO100/18 p335

I then searched for deaths of Michael Mahoney in New Zealand and found one in 1864, the same year that Ellen Mahoney married my John Burns.

Is it worth a $26NZ punt on the death certificate do you reckon?

I think we may very well be on to something here!!

Don't know what the exchange rate is at the mo, but sounds well worth it , even if only for completeness sake!!

[Tsu]

It shall be done on Tuesday then (I don't use my credit card on my home PC).

I hope that Ellen was the informant because before 1874, death certificates in NZ were like death certificates in England,  not usually much good!

[sircharles]

Hi there,
How does someone in New Zealand (like me), find information on the 65th regiment held in the UK?
As well as, I don't have a lot of information to go on.

My man is George Cook born in 1833 and married on 10 Dec 1857 in Wellington NZ to Elizabeth Sheppard.
On the marriage certificate his occupation was mariner and in the 65th regiment. There is no death certificate in NZ for George. That's all I have on him.

However his wife Elizabeth stayed in NZ and lived with another man in 1865 and married him in 1872 stated that she was a widow.
If there is any suggestion you may have on how I can track this man down, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Terry

[km1971]

Hi Terry and welcome to the forum.

At present there are no service records available online for men discharged between 1855 and WW1. Even before 1855 you only have an index to what is available on microfilm at Kew. This will change when Findmypast complete this project - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/stories/212.htm

However if George Cook died in service they would have routinely destroyed his records 20 years after his death.

You will find him in the muster books (WO12) for the 65th Foot – see my previous post, Reply #6, and follow the link to the National Archives. If he earned a New Zealand medal, the rolls for these are on microfilm (WO100 in Kew). You may get information about his death on this. You could also try a post on the British Medal Forum to see if anyone has a print out of that roll.

Was she a widow when she married George? If so, he may have been the widow of a soldier. When a soldier died his widow would get a small pension, but usually the options were to marry another soldier, or have a free passage home to the workhouse.


Ken

[sircharles]

Hi Ken
Thanks for your help. A quick question please:
Are the Muster Books and Pay Lists (WO12) available at the National Archives in NZ or are they held in the UK.

In answer to your question:
His wife stated she was a widow when she remarried. Both George & his wife were single before marriage.
Thanks again Terry