Dubois family help - late 17/18thC

[SamuelF992]

Hi everyone,

Following on from this thread, I am trying to discover more about the Dubois family, who I believe possibly lived in Ireland during the late 1700s and earlier.

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=875841.0

As stated in the thread, Francis was a Sergeant in the 18th Light Dragoons, who I believe were raised in Ireland and frequently garrisoned there. At least one of his children (Mary Ann 1808) was born in the country and he married an Irish woman (Susanna Sheridan).

I'm a complete novice regarding Irish genealogy and would be thankful for any resources or information which could help me with this family and indeed the Sheridan family. Obviously the French surname also intrigues me and I can't be sure when Francis's family emigrated to Ireland or if he was French himself.

Best wishes
Samuel

[Sinann]

I only tried the Dubois surname out.
Use the Church Records there are 20 Dubois results, some may only be as witnesses.
https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/
You need to sign in and prove your not a robot but it's a free and safe Government run site.
There are later records on the Civil Records section.

2 early records here http://census.nationalarchives.ie/search/dm/home.jsp
and you might find something in the rest of their database
https://genealogy.nationalarchives.ie/

[Wexflyer]

If I understand the posts on the linked, previous thread correctly, then some military records survive for Francis? What exactly are those?
Do they include a location for where he enlisted?
Any trace of him in pension records, or in one of the records of the Royal Hospitals?

Why do you say Susanna, his wife was Irish? In the previous thread, it was stated that their marriage record noted that she was "of this parish" where they were married, which was somewhere in England?

[SamuelF992]

Thank you both.

If I understand some of the posts on the linked, previous thread correctly, then some military records survive for Francis? What exactly are those?
Do they include a location for where he enlisted?
Any trace of him in pension records, or in one of the records of the Royal Hospitals?

Why do you say Susanna, his wife was Irish? In the previous thread, it was stated that their marriage record noted that she was "of this parish" where they were married, which was somewhere in England?

There is only one military record I have found. It does not say where he enlisted only when.

UK, Regimental Registers of Service, 1756-1900
Enlisted: 10 Sep 1799

She was living in York when she married, but on the 1841 England Census (almost certainly her) she is listed as living alongside the family of John Freeman and having been born in Ireland.

[Wexflyer]

Well some military sites say the regiment was stationed in England from 1797-99 - between coming back from Santo Domingo and going off to Holland. That might point to enlistment in England, wherever they were stationed - usually a depot party would be left behind when they went off on active service.

[SamuelF992]

Thank you. Something else that interests me is his rapid promotion to Sergeant - he was promoted to Corporal at the start of 1800 and Sergeant by Apr 1800. Makes me think he must have distinguished himself in battle at some point?

[Wexflyer]

Thank you. Something else that interests me is his rapid promotion to Sergeant - he was promoted to Corporal at the start of 1800 and Sergeant by Apr 1800. Makes me think he must have distinguished himself in battle at some point?

Well, there was a war on! Lots of men needed. And sergeants needed to be literate which ruled out  many as incapable of promotion - so if he could read/write and had an aptitude, then why not? In WWI and WWII men made it from enlisted to colonels or even generals - I known of at least one man who enlisted in 1939 as a private and ended the war as a Brigadier (general).

Also, the regiment fought in a battle in Holland in September 1799, so maybe some dead men's shoes to fill (just speculation)?