Stephen & Antoinette FRIER

[garstonite]

That`s good info Maggie....Penninsular war was the lead up to Waterloo so that is a huge possibility.1802 1814 in Portugal and Spain
..America was late 1700`s so it`s a possible but Stephen would have been very young...in fact...just googled it and it finished in 1783...he would have been 13 if born 1790 as stated.
..and for the record...on igi it has Stephen b 1796 married to Antionette b 1802...so if he was born 1796 he wouldn`t have been in American war of Independence...allan

[Maggie1895]

Allan, I was thinking of the small force that was sent out at the end of the Peninsular War.   War of 1812 - Washington, New Orleans etc..   
Many of those just made it back to Belgium in time to take part in Waterloo.  Absolutely no reason to presume that Stephen Freer / Friar / Frier was one but it's a fascinating part of history.
The story of Harry Smith (who ended up a General, having married a Spanish lady during the Peninsular War) or Johnny Kincaid (both Rifle Brigade) give a huge amount of background and so (please don't discount her) does Georgette Heyer.
General Sir Brian Horrocks always said that her novel The Infamous Army gave a clearer picture of the Battle of Waterloo that most military tomes

Added: in case anyone is interested, the books I was referring to are:  The Autobiography of Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Smith, Baronet of Aliwal on the Sutlej, and Tales of the Rifle Brigade: "Adventures in the Rifle Brigade" AND "Random Shots from a Rifleman" by Sir John Kincaid

Sorry TKEJ, I'm digressing, I do hope the Stephn Freer on the Waterloo Medal list turns out to be yours.   I've no idea how to search the Royal Hospital records to see if he would match up, but if nobody turns up here with the knowledge, it might be worth asking for that expertise on the Armed Forces Board - there are a lot of very knowledgeable people there.   If you do, refer back to this post so nobody is duplicating.

[tracietyson79]

hi there,i too am researching stephen and antoinette frier,they r my 5th great grandparents and im desperate to find out more about antoinette,i cant even find out her surname!!!!i would love to know about her famliy and the french heritage.
i noted that tkej said that henry frier is their 3x great grandparents well im descended from henry too only he is my 4th great grandfather.

[Maggie1895]

Tracietyson79, welcome to rootschat.   
This thread was started by TKEJ and just in case they don't see the new comment, I'll send a PM (personal message) letting them know you have posted.  You need to make 3 normal postings on the site before you can send any PMs so that may save you some time.
Good luck with all your research, I hope the two of you are able to share notes and fill in some of the gaps

[TKEJ]

Hi Tracey,
Sounds like we're related somehow. My line comes via Henry's son Ezra, to his son Herbert Henry, to his son Peter, to me! 

I've contacted the Leicester & Rutland Family History Society to see if they'd got any records from the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Grimstone of Stephen & Antoinette's marriage, but they tell me there wouldn't have been any registers around that time as Hardwicke's Marriage Act made marriages in Methodist chapels illegal until 1937, so our only chance of finding Antoinette's surname is via their marriage certificate.  My suspicion is he married her in France on the way back from fighting in the Battle of Waterloo, but I've no basis for this.

Would love to know how we're related!

[tracietyson79]

hi there,so good to hear from u,ive been doing my tree a while,its growing nicely on ancestry so i have ezra,herbert henry who i have a photo of and peter on my tree,peter is my 2nd cousin 3x removed,so would that make us 3rd cousins or 2nd cousins 4x removed???will have to check that out as i havent done past peter and do not know who he married etc.i only happened to come across this website when i typed stephen and antoinette into google out of desperation and who knew i would find a relative!!:) i am descended from ezras brother thomas william frier who moved to nottingham,there are still friers living in nottingham today.i hope somewhere between us we can find some information about antoinette as its really very frustrating!!

[TKEJ]

My tree ("Frier family tree" owned by tkej - don't look at the tkej1 one, it's out of date) is also on Ancestry.  I wonder - did you pick up the photo of Herbert Henry from my tree - it's the one of him holding his grandson (my cousin) in a red babygrow? I've just let my subscription to Ancestry expire so I don't think I'll be able to view your tree.  I'd picked up the photo of Thomas William Frier which I think you submitted (but I got it from J Freeman's tree).  Let me know if you get any further with Antoinette - I'll do likewise.
regards,
Tony

[tracietyson79]

i think i got the photo from ur tree or jan freeman sent me it,yes i supplied jan with some of the frier photos esp the ones from my end.i will have a look at ur newer tree if its public.yes i will keep u updated if i find anything,i have access to the foreign records but cant find anything for love or money!!!

[vita p]

Hi All

I’m currently working on a project involving the Churchyard in Grimston and have turned up some quite detailed information on Corporal Stephen Frier’s life in the village (it is where I live), military service (lots - fascinating!) plus a few other family bits and pieces which you might find useful. I also have documents relating to his wife’s will. If anyone who has posted in this thread is still interested, please let me know.