Hi Jim & Folks ... I think this was the result of the 'Militia Acts' .... which imposed the enlistment of men of a certain age in a force being raised to suppress the 'dissenting' elements who might be encouraged by the French Revolution etc. It was a force raised by the nobility to discourage the rebellion of the masses - who had no vote - against their 'betters' in the period of poor harvests, distrust of the Scots in general and the approach of the Reform Act .... This Militia ( 'Territorial Army' ) later became the Lanarkshire Yeomanry ... Loss of a young working man would have meant ruin to families of the period ... Session Clerks and Schoolmasters resented being turned into recruiters !!! GGR

Hi Folks, The Militia recruitment of eligible males in the catchment area resulted from being balloted in order to fill the required recruitment quota. As a result, if you're very lucky, you might find the list of names of the eligible males. Some of these are held in the National Archives of Scotland and, since they stem from long before detailed census records, you can find info about individuals which probably doesn't exist anywhere else. Surviving Miltia records exist in all sorts of archives: some are in military/regimental museums, some in NAS, some in Kew, others in local libraries and private collections, so you have to be prepared to dig long and hard. If an individual who had been drawn in the ballot could afford to pay the fee, he could appoint a substitute in his place and a "grapevine" sprung up among former army men, who were greatly prized since they were already familiar with military drill and discipline. In this way, the better-off young men of the district could escape the draft. Serving militiamen were paid a wage plus living allowances when not in barracks. Their wives were also paid an allowance for each child aged under 10 and the application documents for this Militia Aid provide a lot of information about the man, his wife and family. Miltiamen were employed as civil or military police, often guarding prisoners of war or returming deserters to their regiments. They were not supposed to serve outwith the UK, but on rare occasions this happened. The prospect of a regular income for the 6-year service period appealed to many men and, in addition, meant they couldn't be press-ganged into involuntary service in the Navy. Ken Mathieson ----- Original Message ----- From: "G Russell" <g_g_russell@btinternet.com> To: <lanark@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, July 04, 2010 11:02 PM Subject: Re: [Lanark] Shotts Parish Register 1707-1855 Note 76 > Hi Jim & Folks ... > > I think this was the result of the 'Militia Acts' .... which imposed the > enlistment of men of a certain age in a force being raised to suppress > the 'dissenting' elements who might be encouraged by the French > Revolution etc. > > It was a force raised by the nobility to discourage the rebellion of the > masses - who had no vote - against their 'betters' in the period of poor > harvests, distrust of the Scots in general and the approach of the > Reform Act .... > > This Militia ( 'Territorial Army' ) later became the Lanarkshire > Yeomanry ... > > Loss of a young working man would have meant ruin to families of the > period ... > > Session Clerks and Schoolmasters resented being turned into recruiters !!! > > GGR > > > ------------------------------- > > LANARK, SCOTLAND MAILING LIST > > > LIST TOPIC: The discussion and research of genealogy or history > information pertaining to Lanark, Scotland at any point in its history. > > WHEN REPLYING to any list post please remember to snip most of the earlier > message before you post any reply > > LIST INFORMATION PAGE: Contact the List Admin at > lanark-admin@rootsweb.com; or to search the list archives, get information > on subscribing or unsubscribing, or to obtain other useful information to > help you use the list more effectively, please click on the following link > to the list information page online: > > http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/intl/SCT/LANARK.html > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > LANARK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.830 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2981 - Release Date: 07/04/10 07:35:00