Hi May, Militia records are notoriously difficult to trace. Unlike regular army regiments, whose records have been consolidated in the Public Record Office in Kew, London, militia records can be held in local musuems, in private collections (many militia regiments were raised by local landowners), in the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh and in the PRO at Kew. There is also a collection of Muster Rolls held in the Edinburgh City Archive in the City Chambers on High Street. These show personal descriptions, ages, regiment joined, parish of residence etc for men enlisting in Edinburgh in Militia and line regiments at the end of the 18th & start of the 19th centuries. These are (at least) part indexed, but not complete: I know my GGGGF enlisted in the Inverness-shire Militia in Edinburgh on 19 June 1804, but he doesn't feature in the Muster Rolls. There is also a book known as the 'Gibson Guide to Militia Lists and Musters, 1757-1876' published by the Federation of Family History Societies) which lists many sources of material. It would be worth consulting the Gibson Guide in the first instance for sources of material, and you should also contact the National Archives of Scotland at HM General Register House, Princes St, Edinburgh EH1 3YY. (I don't have an e-mail address for them but a websearch should reveal something). They should be able to tell you what records they have for the Ross-shire Militia. One other thing to be wary of: Although your ancestor was from Ross-shire, it doesn't necessarily mean he was definitely in the Ross-shire Militia. Militias quotas were balloted from among the able-bodied men of military age in each county (and the NAS has some parish censuses of men eligible for ballot), but if someone could afford to pay for another to take his place, he could buy his way out of service. There was a grapevine of information on militia opportunities (signing-on bounty and regular wages) among ex-soldiers of regular army regiments, and I suspect this is how my GGGGF finished up enlisting in the Inverness-shire Militia: He was certainly in it as a substitute. If you need any more info, please reply privately and I'll be pleased to pass on what I've picked up. Regards, Ken Mathieson, Uddingston, Lanarkshire -----Original Message----- From: May Garson <[email protected]> To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Date: 05 November 2001 20:10 Subject: [RossGen] Re Rosshire Militia >I have been looking at SUTHERLANDS who emigrated to Canada. >WILLIAM SUTHERLAND married an ALEXANDRINA ROSS in Dornoch. >After emigrating to Canada, he appealed for consideration >for a particular parcel of land in Ontario, indicating that >he had served in the Ross-shire Militia both at home and in >Ireland. I guess at that time, many people serving with the >British militia in Canada, were granted parcels of land if >they chose to remain in Canada rather than return to Gt. >Britain. He married Alexandrina in Proncy, Dornoch in 1824. >Alexandrina was from Milton in Rosshsire. I believe William >was born in Proncy about 1798 to an Alexander Sutherland and >a Margaret Murray. They emigrated about 1831 or thereabouts >with two children and two of William's brothers, Angus and >John. Two other brothers, George and David, had already >emigrated in June 1821 with the Lanark Society Settlers on >the ship Clifford Canning. >Could anyone tell me a little about the Ross-shire Militia >and whether any records of enlistment etc are available >today? >Does anyone have any information on William and Alexandrina? >There are no records in Canada which give the parents of >either William or Alexandrina. I will acknowledge all >replies and will share the information I have on this family >here in Canada. >May Garson in Ottawa. > > >==== ROSSGEN Mailing List ==== >To remove your email address from this list, visit this url: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~cheps/maillist.htm > >