Irene I have been following this thread with some interest. I suspect that Joseph Boy was created young, as a drummer boy as suggested by a previous correspondent. His transfer to private would probably have occurred at the age of 18 years when he became eligible by age for 'man service'. I note mention by Caroline of the 52nd Regiment. Was this the regiment in which he served? If so it became the Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and later in 1966 the 1st Bn Royal Green Jackets. This regiment has now become (since 2007) The Rifles. The RGJ museum is in Winchester, and while they do not hold service records, there may be some information that will throw further light on recruitment. From 1808 the army was heavily involved in the Peninsula War and the 52nd were involved there. If you can confirm the 52nd was Joseph's Regiment I can make further enquiries along these lines. Best regards Blair

Hi Blair: Yes, Joseph was with the 1st Battalion of the 52nd Regiment of Foot with Capt. James McNair's Company. I'm told that this was also known as the Oxfordshire Regt. (Light Infantry). Ken's correspondence from Rootschat also gave the locations of the 1st Btn from 1814 through to 1823 whereupon they left for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia for 8 years. Ken further mentioned that Joseph is not listed in the medal roll for the Peninsular War. I'm thinking that this was because Joseph was deceased by the time these were announced in 1847. Here is all the actual info I have about Joseph's whereabouts (as opposed to where his Battalion was). Since Joseph was awarded a Waterloo medal, we have to assume he was there and serving in 1815. On 21 Jun 1819 he married at St. John's church, Chester. His occupation was given as Private 52 Foot - though afaik he was still listed in the drummer/fifer rolls at this time. His bride, Elizabeth ANDREWS was baptised at Minera, Denbighshire in 1791 so she was probably not of full age. Perhaps Joseph was still a teenager too. 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. And Joseph was probably deceased by 1851, when his wife/widow Elizabeth can be found on the 1851 census for Manchester as Elizabeth THOMAS. I know that this is she because in 1861 she's living with her daughter and all the details match. I've not been able to find Elizabeth's remarriage yet and maybe there wasn't one. It's entirely possible that Joseph went to Nova Scotia with his regiment and never returned having either died or settled there with a new family. Since Ann gives her father's occupation of weaver though would indicate that she knew that he did leave the army for civilian life. I would love to know what became of Joseph and whether he and his wife Elizabeth ever managed to live together. I gather that only a small proportion of Army wives were allowed to travel with the regiment so it's unlikely that she was with him in Ireland or Canada. Though if we assume a prompt baptism for his daughter Ann in Oct 1821, then we know that Joseph and Elizabeth were together in the winter of 1820/21 when the regiment was supposedly in Ireland. Perhaps he had leave or it may have been relatively easy for her to visit him from Wales. Sorry to have been so long-winded but now you know pretty much everything that I know about Joseph. Regards and thanks, Irene

Irene, Have you tried the Casualty Returns in WO 25 at TNA as suggested by Peter Park? WO 25/3256 - and thereabouts. In searching the Muster Books have you been guided by the columns that indicate whether he was in receipt of long service pay (ie after 7 and 14 years) - noting when this started can shorten a possibly lengthy search (but you won't have been looking at every year anyway, surely!) At this period WO 97 is not the only series of discharge documents that need to be consulted - WO 121 and WO 119 could also turn him up (but not if he died in service) The 52nd Foot (thus named from 1739) was called the Oxfordshire Regt from 1782 but tghe other names are much later - post-Cardwell reforms of 1881. cheers Chris Watts ----- Original Message ----- From: "Irene Marlborough" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 4:48 PM Subject: Re: [SOG-UK] SOG-UK Foundlings in the Army > Hi Blair: > > Yes, Joseph was with the 1st Battalion of the 52nd Regiment of Foot with > Capt. James McNair's Company. I'm told that this was also known as the > Oxfordshire Regt. (Light Infantry). > > Ken's correspondence from Rootschat also gave the locations of the 1st Btn > from 1814 through to 1823 whereupon they left for New Brunswick and Nova > Scotia for 8 years. Ken further mentioned that Joseph is not listed in the > medal roll for the Peninsular War. I'm thinking that this was because > Joseph > was deceased by the time these were announced in 1847. Here is all the > actual info I have about Joseph's whereabouts (as opposed to where his > Battalion was). > > Since Joseph was awarded a Waterloo medal, we have to assume he was there > and serving in 1815. > On 21 Jun 1819 he married at St. John's church, Chester. His occupation > was > given as Private 52 Foot - though afaik he was still listed in the > drummer/fifer rolls at this time. His bride, Elizabeth ANDREWS was > baptised > at Minera, Denbighshire in 1791 so she was probably not of full age. > Perhaps > Joseph was still a teenager too. > > 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. > > And Joseph was probably deceased by 1851, when his wife/widow Elizabeth > can > be found on the 1851 census for Manchester as Elizabeth THOMAS. I know > that > this is she because in 1861 she's living with her daughter and all the > details match. I've not been able to find Elizabeth's remarriage yet and > maybe there wasn't one. > > It's entirely possible that Joseph went to Nova Scotia with his regiment > and > never returned having either died or settled there with a new family. > Since > Ann gives her father's occupation of weaver though would indicate that she > knew that he did leave the army for civilian life. > > I would love to know what became of Joseph and whether he and his wife > Elizabeth ever managed to live together. I gather that only a small > proportion of Army wives were allowed to travel with the regiment so it's > unlikely that she was with him in Ireland or Canada. Though if we assume > a > prompt baptism for his daughter Ann in Oct 1821, then we know that Joseph > and Elizabeth were together in the winter of 1820/21 when the regiment was > supposedly in Ireland. Perhaps he had leave or it may have been relatively > easy for her to visit him from Wales. > > Sorry to have been so long-winded but now you know pretty much everything > that I know about Joseph. > > Regards and thanks, Irene > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message