Tracing 19th Century Military Personnel Records

One of our current clients has asked us to look for the details of an ancestor's military service in the 19th century.

It is possible to track down individual details alongside the general details of where people served in the 19th century even though individual service personnel were less well documented then than in later times. We have managed to track down the service details for our client's ancestor and have photos of his ancestor's grave which is located some many thousand miles away from Scotland. 

Many people joined the services in the 19th century but sometimes this does not sit easily with their descendants as it often involved the armed forces imposing rule on other countries' populations. This in itself though is not a reason to ignore this aspect of their lives.

There were many reasons why people joined the military and most people who joined up were certainly unaware of the life that they would lead overseas or the conditions that would be imposed on local communities.  Many were press ganged into the military and it is well documented that people were often plied with alcohol to entice them to take the king/queen's shilling.

Others joined because they believed the recruitment information that said that they would be offered a good life.  This was often true to a point.  Wages in industry could be more but there was an uncertainty to that life whilst the military offered an extended family along with a roof over your head, meals and clothing.  With a population shifting from place to place for work and dreadful conditions in many cities or poverty in the countryside, the military life could often seem like an attractive proposition.

Imagine what life must have been like for these recruits? Training tended to be square bashing without any specialist training for going overseas. They were sent overseas without any idea of when or if they would return.  For the officers, life was generally better but for the ordinary soldiers conditions were often basic and many died from disease or the poor conditions in which they lived.  In some cases, certain postings were seen as a death sentence whatever your rank.   

Thinking about how our ancestors coped with these conditions and what they must have thought of the politicians and senior military commanders who sent them to these places thousands of miles from home can be interesting and there are many documented accounts of conditions available from places such as the National Archives.

If you are interested in finding out about your ancestors' military service - in whatever century, then please get in touch to see how we can help.

Contact us at:

kintree@ymail.com

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Great Resource For Scottish Military Information

The media has been full of details about the forthcoming anniversary of the start of World War 1.  There has been discussion about when and how the centenary of World War 1 should be remembered. As genealogists, what we can all agree on however, is the importance of the individual stories of our ancestors and how their lives were affected by the war.

Kin Tree will be looking at a variety of ways at tracing the military careers of our ancestors over the next few months.  Check back on a regular basis for more information as we build up your knowledge. 

A photo of a panel from the
Denny and Dunipace War Memorial
Photographed by the SMRC

Today we are highlighting a particular group, The Scottish Military Research Group (SMRC) who have been carrying out an amazing project to catalogue the names on the war memorials and war graves in Scotland and in many cases with photographs. There are also photos of many war graves across the world, of those associated with the Scottish military. 

The site can give you the added bonus of information about non military relatives also. There are often details of non family members included in the information the group have collated.

SMRG have also photographed many non military headstones where family members have included a dedication to a member of their family who is buried elsewhere and died during military service.  This can give you the unexpected extra detail of where family members are buried that normally can be hard to track down and corroborate even if the correct names are found.

Grave in St Imoges Churchyard,
Marne France
Photographed by SMRC

Unlike many other projects, all the information and images that they collect is freely available to the public and they carry out all this work as volunteers.  As a professional genealogy company, Kin Tree carries out military research on a regular basis and they are the "go to" site for accurate and in depth information.  We have no connection to them but would urge everyone to support their work.

Researching your family's military connections can give you a fascinating insight into your ancestors' lives.  Kin Tree can help you with this research.  contact us for a no obligation, free chat at kintree@ymail.com 

So You Thought You Had No Images To Add To Your Family History. Here's How To Find Some!

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono
 www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When we are researching our ancestors, it's not always possible for us to have images of them and their families. 

So how can we make their stories come to life in pictures?

If we are looking for images, we can either look for images that already exist or produce some images for ourself!

The internet produces a wealth of images which can relate to our ancestors. First though, remember copyright! Don't simply copy someone's images!  Most people are happy to let you have a copy of images for personal use or will sell you an image at a low cost but please ask!  Remember they have taken the time to produce the image themselves and it belongs to them. You would not take a photograph from their house without asking permission!

A good way to add images to our ancestors' stories is to look for images from the area in which they lived or worked.  There are many sites which have old photos of towns or buildings.  Facebook too has many groups researching specific towns and other  places of interest.  Even if the images don't always match what you are looking for, then you can often leave a message to see if there is anyone who can help.

It is often possible also, to see images of uniforms, medals, or equipment that your ancestors may have owned.  Once again, the internet is useful but  you can also think about visiting places such as museums and graveyards. Look at how we have added to the information by adding the images.

James joined the Royal Navy in 1916 and served aboard HMS Nonsuch.  The photo shows us the uniform that James would have worn.

During World War 2, Henry was too old to join the services. He played a vital role in the war effort as part of  the Casualty Service.  Henry would have had to carry an Identity Card which would include details of his name, address and date of birth along with a description of his appearance.

If it's possible to visit places yourself then this is great!  Although you may feel that the present day image is not representative of the time in which your ancestors lived, it still adds to the story.  Look at  our example of present day image that we took and how it can be woven into the story.

David and Mary were married on 21 January 1905 at Example Church, Anytown. This is the view that Mary would have had as she came over the bridge towards the church.  We do not know if there was snow on that day but the bridge and the surrounding buildings were built in the 19th century so the view is largely unchanged. 

It is also possible to alter photos to give a more "old fashioned" feel. 

David and Mary were married on 21 January 1905 at Example Church, Anytown. This is the view that Mary would have had as she came over the bridge towards the church.  We do not know if there was snow on that day but the bridge and the surrounding buildings were built in the 19th century so the view is largely unchanged. 

Kin Tree can help you with images and writing relevant information.  We can produce these for you or offer further tips for you to do it yourself. We can also supply images, either ones we have ourselves or by visiting places on your behalf.  Getting in touch with us costs nothing so please don't hesitate!

Contact us at kintree@ymail.com

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