24th Regiment of Foot, Ireland 1805

[aus*jen]

Would appreciate some guidance for finding the military record of Corporal Robert Henry Jones of 24th Regiment of foot serving in Ireland in 1805.  He came from Holy Cross Tipperary.
He is mentioned in a lease on the property Whitefort, Holy Cross which was signed in Cork in June
1805.

Regards,
Jen.

[ShaunJ]

Not finding anything for him in online military records, I'm afraid.

[Andy J2022]

The 1st Battalion 24th Foot were in Cork between 5 May and 27 September 1805 before going to the Cape Colony in South Africa.  For the complete deployment of the 24th Foot over the relevant period see here: https://web.archive.org/web/20060112044342/http://www.rrw.org.uk/museums/brecon/fact_sheets/1.htm  (fact sheet prepared by the South Wales Borderers Museum - contact details below)

I assume you have already checked Ancestry, and possibly FindMyPast, without success. If you don't have a subscription for FindMyPast, don't worry, I've checked there and  haven't been able to find any service or pension records for him so far, although with a name like Robert Jones there were plenty of results to wade through. I think you can discount any Napoleonic War records as the Battalion didn't take part. I assume that you live Australia (clue in the name aus*jen?) so a trip to the UK National Archives to look at the muster rolls isn't an option.

As he was a Corporal in 1805 I don't think he could have joined up much after 1800, and possibly quite a bit earlier. I assume you don't have a date of birth for him. Personally I would be looking at the period 1775-1782 for a birth or more likely a baptism.

As you can see from the link above the 1st Battalion (there was no 2nd Battalion until 1804) were serving overseas continuously between 1789 and 1800, and I don't know where their depot was during that period. This is relevant because if he was brought up in Tipperary, I would expect him to have been recruited somewhere in Ireland, not England. The only other date the Battalion was in Ireland was April 1785 -1789, which if he was recruited then would mean he was born much earlier than my previous suggestion, and in 1805 he would have been approaching the end of his Army career.

Much later, in 1881, the 24th Foot became the South Wales Borderers, so the relevant museum to check with would be this one: https://royalwelshmuseum.wales/south-wales-borderers/  although with the combination of a Welsh regiment and a name like Jones, and no regimental number, I wouldn't hold out too much hope that they will find anything on him.

[hanes teulu]

Nothing for a "Robert Jones, 24th" amongst the army papers.

The Hibernian Journal, 3 Aug 1805, reported the encampment at Cork being abandoned by the 71st, 72d, 73d and 24th regiments and their being embarked at Cove for an expedition against the Cape of Good Hope.

[aus*jen]

Thankyou Shaun and Hanes Teulu for your interest and help 

Andy, Thankyou for your very comprehensive notes and suggestions re Robert Henry Jones,
          even without any records for him you have provided an excellent military background.

          I think your suggestion of  a 1775-1782 baptism is close to the mark. No church records
          but burials at Holy Cross cemetery give a few clues.  There is a headstone for a Henry Jones
          in 1796 aged 41 years, and Catherine Jones in 1781 aged 28, they are possibly his parents.

          Perhaps Robert Jones, soldier, did not expect to inherit the property Whitefort during his
          military service but when he returned to Ireland in 1805 he signed the lease for the property
          with three other family members because of future protracted military service.
         
          Yes, it would be good to have his record but I am well satisfied with the background for
          the 24th you have provided.

          There are some landed estates in Ireland that are named after overseas military posts and
          I wonder if the name 'Whitefort' was one that was relevant to Robert Jones.

       Regards,
       Jen.  Brisbane  Aust.
         

[Watson]

The first nine volumes of Regimental Indexes, by Barbara Chambers, contain a number of entries for Robert Jones (but without Henry).  Volume 9 takes you up to the 22nd Foot, so it seems the 24th Foot would probably have been covered in Volume 10 (if there was one).  If you can get access to a copy, it might be worth a peep.

[hanes teulu]

Limerick Gazette, 20 Sep 1808

At Whitefoot, co. Tipperary, Mrs Sarah Jones, relict of the late Robert Jones, Esq, after a long and painful illness, aged 80 years

[aus*jen]

Watson,  Thankyou for your reference to the Regimental Indexes I will check on those. 

Thankyou Hanes Teulu that is excellent information 

[hanes teulu]

Tipperary Vindicator
8 Nov 1845
The following grand jury was sworn at half past ten o'clock this day -
12. Robert Jones, Whitefort