> And here's more info about Joseph but does not indicate his presence. > Baptism of Ann BOY 21 Oct 1821 at Wrexham, daughter of Joseph and > Elizabeth > BOY. Father's occupation - a soldier. > Marriage of Ann BOY at Manchester Collegiate/Cathedral Church 27 Apr 1841, > bride's father Joseph BOY, a weaver. No indication that he was deceased > though he may have been. The above says to me that he was discharged between 1821 and 1841 and that he was alive when discharged. Otherwise his occupation would have been given as soldier and not weaver (even if by then deceased). Interesting that he is not noted as a pensioner - so maybe he didn't serve long enough or otherwise qualify (so WO 97 etc won't help - back to those muster books!) For those underage marriages have you check to see if they were by licence - if so follow that up. cheers Chris Watts

Hi Chris, Blair and all: Thanks for all the suggestions. The marriage was by banns, both of this parish (of St John, Chester), bachelor & spinster. Both made mark. The witnesses were not helpful. Perhaps Joseph & Elizabeth both claimed to be of full age and for all I know - they might have been. Certainly my way forward with research on Joseph has been made clear. I need to decide whether to wait 18 months or so for my opportunity to visit Kew or to hire a researcher instead. Thanks so much, Regards, Irene

I think my brain must have been off when I made the age calculation for Elizabeth ANDREWS. She was baptised on 2 Apr 1791 so that makes her almost 30 when she married Joseph BOY. It's possible that he a lot younger than she but I usually assume that bride and groom are of similar age - at least as a starting point. If Joseph's DOB was similar, then he'd have been in his mid twenties at Waterloo but he was certainly still on the drummer/fifer rolls for several years after that though it seems he became a bugler. Does this change the picture? Sorry about that. All the best, Irene