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Militia Service Records, 1806-1915

30 Mar By

FamilySearch in cooperation with FindMyPast has scanned and indexed the militia records of the United Kingdom housed at The National Archives, Kew. This major collection is series War Office (WO) 96.

What was the Militia?

The militia was part of the military. The militiamen were drawn locally and generated their own records. The militia units would serve outside their home area when needed.  They were a supplement to the British Army.  

After the United Kingdom was created in 1801 the “Militia of the United Kingdom” became the reserve military forces.  By the 1820s compulsory enlistment was abandoned and the militia became a voluntary force. The men would receive basic training at an army depot, then return to civilian life, reporting back for periodic training.

Contents of a Militia Service Record

The hosting of these records through FamilySearch is free and can be searched by name, birthplace, birth year, and military service place. It is also searchable on the FindMyPast website. A typical record is a fill in the blank form. Important information that may not be indexed but could possibly be found includes:

  • Name
  • Parish/Town/County of Birth
  • Whether a British Subject
  • Parish/Town/County of Residence
  • Parish/Town/County of Residence in the Last 12 Months
  • Age in Years and Months
  • Marital Status
  • Physical Appearance and Health
  • Religious Denomination
  • Militia Unit
  • Service Record
  • Next-of-Kin
  • Date

The forms can be several pages long. This collection includes 555,558 indexed records from throughout the UK during the period. If you type in “Ireland” as a birthplace, for example, 71,225 records become available through the indexing. However, you can narrow a search by Irish county of birth. Be aware that number is greatly increased if you include men of Irish descent born in other parts of the Empire, such as India, but were living in the UK when they enlisted.

Importance of the Records

For young men in the nineteenth century, the militia would have been attractive as a supplement to their civil pay. For that reason, you may find information about your family, even if you have no knowledge of anyone serving in the larger British Army.

If you would like help with your genealogy s please call 385-214-0925.

The Irish in the Greek Ionian Islands

5 Jun By Leave a Comment

Greece is a place you usually don’t associate with the Irish; however, the Greek Ionian Islands (Eptanisa) were at one time occupied by the British and used as military outposts. Scores of Irish soldiers and merchants were also part of this. The Ionian Islands consist of seven individual islands which constitute the western borders of Greece with Europe. These are Cephalonia (Kefalonia), Corfu (Korfu or Kerkira), Paxoi (and the small island of Antipaxos), Leykada (Lefkada), Ithaki, Zakynthos (Zante or Zakinthos), and Kithira.

The British came in 1809 and following the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the Union of Ionian Islands was set up under their protection. By 1864 all the Ionian Islands had joined an independent Greece. The British generated records often use the term Ionian Islands rather than the name of the specific island.

On these islands, especially Corfu, many of Irish heritage, were born, married and died. Many of the cemeteries have been transcribed by the Society of Genealogists in London: www.societyofgenealogists.com in their journal Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica.

The Irish also intermarried with the local population. The Greek Orthodox Church is the largest denomination on the islands. Soldiers and merchants can be found in the registers. Also keep in mind there were Eastern Rite (Greek Catholic) parishes and Roman Catholic parishes, so you must check all. These as well as Protestant registers will be at the Family History Library (FHL). Also be aware the Irish intermarried with the Italians living on the islands. Do not neglect the FHL as a major resource for your Ionian Island research.

From a family history perspective, don’t be surprised if your Greek or Italian ancestors were actually Irish at some point!

The Irish in British India

3 Jun By Leave a Comment

The history of British India (1600-1947) continues to fascinate the imagination. British India included what is today Bangladesh, Burma, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Untold numbers of Irish were there. 

The problem with British India research is there are almost too many records! Fortunately there are some major websites which help to sort through the archives of material. Extensive collections are at the British Library, National Archives, and on microfilm at the Family History Library. This includes records for the British Army, East India Company, and the India Office. There is no shortage in either records or interest.

The East India Company from 1600-1859 acted as the government in British India, with its own private army apart from the British Army. The subcontinent was divided into three Presidencies: Bengal, Bombay and Madras. In 1858, the Company was replaced by a single new department of state, the India Office.

The British Library: http://indiafamily.bl.uk/UI  has a growing database “India Office Family History Search” which documents British and Europeans in India from about 1600-1949. It includes 300,000 births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials in the India Office Records and biographical notes from varied sources. A second major database is the Families in British India Society: www.new.fibis.org  of more than 937,000 individual names. 

It has been estimated that some 2 million Europeans and Anglo-Indians, mainly soldiers, merchants and their families are buried on the Indian subcontinent. The British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia: www.bacsa.org.uk funds repair, restoration, cleaning, transcribing, photographing and they publish their research.

Concerning the Irish and British India, it doesn’t get more exotic than this! Remember, while many stayed, many more would later go elsewhere around the world.

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