Frederick Pearson of Kent, Battersea & Bromborough, Cheshire?

[flutterbymusic]

Hello. I have recently been researching my 2nd Great Grandfather, Frederick Pearson b. abt. 1835, in Lamberhurst, Kent.

I know very little about his early years, although I did find a Christening record for a Frederick Pearson who was Christened on the 5th April 1835 in Lamberhurst, his parents being Anne and James.

There is a free marriage record in late 1874, where the 39 year old Frederick marries 24 year old Sarah Jane Ada Rigby (my 2nd Great Grandmother, whom I too know little about). The marriage takes place in Cheshire.

By the 1881 census, Frederick and Sarah are living at 27 Manor Place, Bromborough Pool in Bebington, just across the water from Liverpool. The address formed part of a model village created for workers of Price's Patent Candle Company. The factory had moved to the area from Battersea in 1854, with the Manor Place address being built in 1956. Workers from the Battersea factory moved with the company. The village became inspiration for the more well known Port Sunlight. The last time I can trace him is in 1891, when he still seems to work for the company but lives elsewhere. By 1901, Sarah is a widow.

I have had no luck tracing Frederick before 1881 on the census. Any help is much appreciated.


Thanks

[gortonboy]

hi there,,,dont know why,,but as i read your post i had a hunch that Frederick was in the military,,,and i think i was proved right 

There is a birth recorded in the regimental birth index of a Frederick Pearson

the regiment of the father was the 22nd foot..he was born in 1835 in Lambenhurst Kent  volume 1915 page 75

with this reference you can order his birth record from the GRO.

The reason you cannot find Frederick in some of the censuses is that he himself attested for the 22nd foot in INDIA in 1850 age 15.
he was number 3066
he served in India for nearly 5 years,,,Malta for nearly 6 years and New Brunswick for 3 years,,,he was discharged in 1874  and his intended place of residence was Chester,
you have music in your forum name,and interestingly he was a Musician by trade.

[gortonboy]

we know he was in Malta in 1861 because the Army worldwide index for 1861 tells us he was stationed there.

First Name(s):Frederick
Last Name:Pearson
Number:3066
Rank:Private
Unit:1st Btn 22nd Foot (Cheshire)
Regiment Stationed at:Malta

[gortonboy]

to help with the timeline


At this time the Fenian threat was troubling New Brunswick and the governor, Arthur Hamilton Gordon*, had been energetically deploying the military resources at his disposal to counter it. Colonel Harding and the 22nd Foot were brought from Malta to stiffen the defence and reinforce the 15th Foot whose commander, Lieutenant-Colonel John Ambler Cole, did not have Harding’s experience. Harding and his men appear to have arrived in New Brunswick in April 1866 by which time Gordon had sailed for England. Major-General Charles Hastings Doyle*, administrator of the province, appointed Harding commanding officer of the exceptionally large garrison serving there at the time. Harding proved himself most efficient in his duties, worked well with the local militia, and was much concerned about the comfort of his troops, housed in the Fredericton Exhibition Building.

      On 12 Oct. 1867, Hastings Doyle sent a telegram to Sir John A. Macdonald* stating that Harding was the senior military officer in New Brunswick. Sir John promptly recommended Harding’s appointment as lieutenant governor; it was confirmed on a provisional basis later the same month. Doyle himself was then appointed lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, which meant that these two experienced soldiers and administrators were able to provide effective continuity during the period of administrative transition and military reorganization caused by confederation.

      In March 1868 Harding was promoted major general; in February of the following year, the garrison was reduced and the 22nd Foot transferred home. Harding sailed for England with his regiment and retired on half pay for the few remaining years of his life.

[flutterbymusic]

What a fantastic find! I am very surprised - I just expected that he moved with the factory. To me that looks very much like him, the intended location of Cheshire confirming it. I have not researched the millitary before the world wars before, what sort of information is there to find out there about Frederick?

Thanks,

Sasha