William Neal - Berks Militia 1798

[SamuelF992]

Hi all,

I'm looking for any records of William Neal in the Royal Berkshire Militia. He married Ann Smith in Totnes. The banns of 11 Feb 1798 give his residence as "Berks Militia". I don't have a birth or death date for him. From reading it looks like the Militia was stationed in Totnes during 1796, which is where I assume they met. He had four children with Ann in Totnes between 1798 and 1807. I'd really like to find any records of his enlistment or discharge which might give me clues as to where/when he was born.

Best wishes
Samuel

[Andy J2022]

Not many pre-nineteenth century militia attestations have survived. At the time we are talking about the raising and administration of the militias was the responsibility of the Lord Lieutenant of the county, with the money coming from the Home Office, not the War Office. For this reason, a lot of militia records tend to be held in county record offices, rather than TNA. That said, the Berkshire Record Office doesn't appear to hold anything prior to the mid nineteenth century militia. You should read the TNA Guide on the subject if you haven't already done so: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/militia/

Another reference I noted while looking at the Berkshire Record Office holdings was this article: The Royal Berks Militia by E Thoyts; Berkshire Archaeological Society Journal [no date given]. Clearly that article is unlikely to tell you anything specific about William Neal but it might paint a picture of what the militia were doing in Devon at the time. I imagine that life was pretty boring for them and marriages to local girls were quite common.

FindMyPast holds some of the later militia records, including a few relating to Chelsea pensions awarded to ex-militia men but nothing stands out as possibly being your William Neal.

A man would not normally have joined the militia before reaching the age of 18 and so I would guess that William was born around 1778 or earlier. Usually, men for the militia were selected by ballot rather than being true volunteers, however as you know, the reason that the Royal Berkshire Militia were stationed on the South Coast in 1796 was the threat of invasion by Napoleon, and this caused a lot of patriotic men to voluntarily join their local militia, as may have been the case with William. Indeed many men from the Royal Berks Militia later transferred to the Regular Army to go and fight on the continent, although that doesn't appear to be the case with William as he was busy starting his family back in Devon.

[SamuelF992]

Thank you very much Andy. That's all very interesting. This might sound like a silly question but I'm not well versed in military genealogy - when you say picked by ballot does that mean from men in the local towns where the militia was stationed or where it originated from? By which I mean would William have likely been born and/or living in Berkshire at the time when he joined?

[trish1120]

Sorry I cant answer that question so will leave it to Andy when hes back on here.

Do you have death for William?

I just noticed a William Neal age 65, Pensioner, in Greenwich Hospital, Kent, 1841 Census.
Not born in County.All on page appear to be Military Pensioners.

Likely Death Reg;
NEAL, WILLIAM age 76** 
GRO Reference: 1847  S Quarter in GREENWICH UNION  Volume 05  Page 147

So born c 1771

[SamuelF992]

Hi Trish,

Thank you. I don't have a death for him but it's possible he died in 1812 in Plymouth St Andrew. It doesn't have any information on when he was born but that's the parish his daughter Tryphena was living in in 1819 when she married.

Best wishes
Sam

[Andy J2022]

English militias have been in existence, in various forms, for centuries. By the middle of the eighteenth century it became clear that a radical reform of the system was required if the militia were to be an effective defence force. There followed a number of Militia Acts starting in 1757. The militia continued to be raised through a ballot. Men were to be chosen by ballot among the able-bodied men of the parish between the ages of 18¹ and 50, and would serve for three years (later to be extended to five). If they did not wish to serve, they could either provide a substitute or pay a £10 fine. From the Militia Act 1802, there were to be 5 levels of candidate for the ballot, meaning that if the first category failed to raise the required number of men in a particular year, those in the next level would be balloted and so on.
Men were divided into five classes:

    Under 30, no children
    Over 30, no children
    All men, no living children under 14
    All men, one child under 14
    All other men

The way in which a man could volunteer was to offer himself as a substitute for a man chosen in the ballot who was prepared to pay him to take his place. Thus the volunteer not only received the bounty of 2 guineas on joining, but also a sum of money for acting as a substitute. When not embodied, service in the militia was not onerous. They had to attend 21 days initial military training and thereafter attend for two week's annual training.

However the threat to Britain caused by the Revolutionary Wars in France necessitated enlarging both the militia and the Regular Army, and so the militias were opened up directly to volunteers, and the number of men required through the ballot reduced accordingly. Effectively the militia was then divided into two parts, the so-called Regular militia, and the local militias. The Regular militia were to act as a reserve for the Regular Army, while the local militias continued to be intended solely for defence within the United Kingdom (by this stage Scotland and Ireland had their own separate militia forces).   

From the Militia Act of 1796 the strength of the combined militia force was authorised at 120,388 men.

When embodied, a militia man would be paid at the same rate as a regular soldier and, in theory at least, was subject to the same discipline. But since all the officers and men in a militia company were effectively civilians in uniform, discipline was much more relaxed than would have been the case in the Regular Army. When embodied the militia were billeted in inns and occasionally on the local population, and more often housed in tented camps, when away from their own county.

So it is not possible to say, without more information, whether William Neal was chosen by ballot or was a volunteer.   

Footnote
1. The lower age of 17 was introduced in 1803 because of the difficulty in recruiting the full numbers required; prior to that the minimum age was 18. A 17 year old had to be over 5' 2" and have, or be likely to have by his 18th birthday, a fully developed adult male physique.