Alfred Morris - born ~1871

[Sluggy]

Hello

I’d be delighted if anyone can help me overcome a brick wall in relation to Alfred Morris (my great great grandfather) who was born around 1871.

He was stationed in Victoria Barracks Cork with the Shropshire light infantry and married a local woman Annie Hurley in Nov 1892 when he was aged 21. His father‘s name was William.

He later died of wounds during the Boer War on 19 May 1900 having been injured during the battle of Thaba ‘Nchu on 01 May. His name appears on the Boer War monument in Cork.

I would be much obliged if anyone could help me trying to source his birth location and date. I suspect he was English but that’s only a guess. I have attempted to find this through various websites. So if anyone can help, in any way, that would be great.

Thanks

Sluggy.

[Sinann]

Have you looked for his military record, I know many were destroyed during WWII but my grand father's who also served in the Boer War survived, all 20 pages and his brother's also Boer War also survived . I hope this means they had a higher survival rate than the WWI records.

[Sluggy]

Have you looked for his military record, I know many were destroyed during WWII but my grand father's who also served in the Boer War survived, all 20 pages and his brother's also Boer War also survived . I hope this means they had a higher survival rate than the WWI records.

Hi, I contacted the Shropshire regimental museum in Shrewsbury who have advised it is very very unlikely to still exist. I guess I could try Kew Archives.

As a matter of interest, where did you find your grandfather’s record?

Thanks for the reply.

[Sinann]

I found it on Ancestry before they moved military stuff to Fold 3.
Have you tried FindMyPast
https://search.findmypast.ie/search-world-records/anglo-boer-war-records-1899-1902

[Dundee]

His father‘s name was William.

I suspect he was English but that’s only a guess.

More specifically his father was William, a Tailor.  Have you tried to find this combination on a census?

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1892/10655/5882027.pdf

Debra 

[Sinann]

The Cork Memorial says the men listed were from Cork.

[Sluggy]

Thank you both.

@Debra, yes I had a copy of that marriage cert. It is my only source for the name of Alfred’s father.

@Sinaan, Alfred had left the British army a number of years before the Boer war and continued living in Cork with his Irish wife and children. He later rejoined at the time of the war so I suspect he had earned his place on the Cork memorial on that basis. His army service number was 2497 (2397 on one record) but the all important enlistment record remains out of reach for now.

[Kiltaglassan]

Here's Annie and her children in the 1901 Irish census in Cork city.
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Cork/North_East_Ward/Barretts_Lane/1101501/
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000511208/

Arther (sic), her son born in 1893 with first name McArthur.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1893/02287/1858472.pdf
Note the address, 117 Barrackton, which has cropped up recently on another Cork thread.

Annie Matilda born in 1899.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1899/02034/1779603.pdf

Annie Morris married Joseph Doherty (a widower) on 28th July 1908 in Cork.
No image is available.

In 1911 Irish census
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Cork/Cork_No__4_Urban__part_of_/Broad_Lane/387715/
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai001858893/

KG

[Sinann]

Think you need to look in the 1891 UK Census for a William Morris, tailor and assuming Alfred was already in the army so not at home on the night, you would need to work back from any William Morris, tailor and see if he had a son Alfred.
I don't see a birth in Ireland that suits unless he was registered without a christen name. There are a few Unknown but I haven't looked at them yet.