Hello Jeff, thank you that makes more sense now. I cannot help you with birth records as that's not my area, but I can perhaps help with some of the military aspects. Reading what you've said it seems to me a classic example of James following his father into the same regiment as a Boy entrant. This was extremely common as it brought two wages into the house and also increased the ration allocation from the government to the family. Soldiers had a full ration, wives a half ration, and children a quarter ration. By enlisting as a Boy his ration increased and he also received Boy rates of pay until he reached 18. The age joined was usually 14 by that time, although it had been younger previously and was generally aligned with the statutory school leaving age once that statute was enacted. Each infantry battalion was allowed to enlist around a dozen Boys who were employed in one of four areas: Boy Drummer, Boy Musician, Boy Tailor, Boy Shoemaker. In all these roles he was trained and certificated but at the age of 18 could choose to enter a Service Company if he so wished. Here are the 70th Regiment's movements over the period you are interested in:
1834 Gibraltar
1836 Malta
1838 West Indies
1841 Canada
1843 England1845 Ireland
1849 India
1857 Sepoy rebellion: NW Frontier
1858 India
1861 New Zealand
1863 Maori war
1866 England
1868 Ireland
1871 India
It's highly likely that James was born in the battalion lines if his mother was an authorised (on the strength) wife, but he would have been born outside the battalion lines if his mother was an unauthorised (off the strength) wife. In 1845 the 70th were based in the infantry barracks in Dublin. It's also quite possible that his mother might have been the daughter of a soldier.
