John Mcalpine Berwickshire Militia

[snowsell]

I am desperate to go back another generation of my family and find the parents of John Mcalpine who married Margaret Donaldson in 1807 in Haddington. He was in the Berwickshire Militia at the time and I have been told by the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh that his enlisting papers might be with them, maybe giving an age or whereabouts in Scotland he was born etc. He did look at one item and said that John and Margaret were in Linlithgow and claiming an allowance from the Militia for two children, George and Elizabeth, between 1811 and 1813.

I estimate John was born between 1780 ad 1790 - I went with the completely wrong parents going by information from Scotland's People (and loads of wasted credits!) and am now back to square 1.

Many thanks - Jill

[Seoras]

Hi Jill,one of my lot was a drummer in the Linlithgow militia about the same time.

George.

[snowsell]

Hi George - do you mean he was a Mcalpine?

Jill

[Seoras]

No Jill,a Pate,but I noticed your post while trying to find something out about the militia and saw the dates were the same.I see you mention that the National Archives may have details of enlistment.Have you had any luck with that?

George.

[MonicaL]

Hi Gill

He certainly looks to have been in Linlithgowshire for the period that you mention and thereafterwards. There are a number of children showing to John and Margaret on IGI, a combination of submitted entries and actual extract from the OPRs:

George b.1810 England
Jane/Jean b. 1816 Linlithgow
Margaret b. 1818 Linlithgow
John b. 1823 Linlithgow
Stewart (female) b. 1825 Linlithgow

This looks a possible 1841 census entry for them:

John McAlpin, 55 shoe m. b. Scotland
Margaret McAlpin, 55 b. b. Scotland
Stewart, 15

Address: High Street, Linlithgow

Monica 

Added: Jill, I would think you probably already have all this info I have posted as there are numerous posts on the family on other forums...sorry to duplicate.

[snowsell]

Monica - thank you very much for that info, which I do have, but it's always worth passing on, you never know. Are you researching a particular family name in the area?

Please see my next message to George!

[snowsell]

Hi George -  I have emailed the National Archives of Scotland and they did come up with a very helpful reply with various records about the Berwickshire Militia which I could look up - at their office in Edinburgh obviously! - but they did slip one bit of info in, a freebie for my trouble I suppose, which was that John Mcalpine a soldier and wife Margaret were claiming money for two children, George and Elizabeth. She was completely out of the blue. Apparently you could claim for children while you were serving.

Jill

[Seoras]

Thanks Jill.I have three requests in with them at the moment,I will give them time to reply to those first

By the way if those are your McAlpines,my Pate's were also living on Linlithgow High St.It seems to have been a hotbed for shoemakers.

George.

[MonicaL]

Jill

One research route is the National Archives of Scotland (NAS), the other is the National Archives at Kew. I found this there for example:

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATLN=7&CATID=-4107667&j=1

Not sure whether the date of 1803 is his discharge date.

Monica