Militia Service Question

[HiFly]

I read somewhere (in a pub somewhere in the Cotswolds if I recall corrcetly) that late 1700 - early 1800 that in each county the militia had to raise a number of men to serve and that it was drawn by lots - if not enough volunteers? Is that correct?

And that replacement volunteers could step forward (for a fee paid by the drawn men's families) to take those men's places?? Would any record of this be kept anywhere??

I ask as I have a possible one of those.....drawn lot or paid volunteer I know not at this stage...

William Vallis
Served in 73rd Foot Regiment
Discharged aged 26
Source WO 97/857/36

Right that's all I know and as those WO papers cover a span of years 1832-1837 it's difficult working out which one of my Vallis rellies it could be, as I have no birth date or actual date of discharge.

Now my rudimentary google search has turned up that the 73rd of Foot (later to become the Black Clock...oooops sorry ..Watch) served in Australia and possibly also India...

Any info appreciated

[Peter Goodey]

I think not. WO 97 are pension records.

A couple of points. The dates you're looking at would be approximate dates of service. He was discharged in 1837 aged 26 which means he was born in about 1811 in Bath. Best to get the documents. They can be sent by post.

Militia records have been published for many counties and are well worth searching out - they can serve as a decent substitute for census records (adult males only of course).

The militia ballot was about as popular as ...err... something very unpopular. There were anti-militia riots somewhere (Bakewell?) - they broke into the town hall and burnt the papers!

[HiFly]

Thanks Peter for putting me right.

HiFly

[Peter Goodey]

Just to show you what I mean, here's some of my own ancestors in 1831 - 10 years before the earliest available census -

GOODEY James, thatcher, 28
GOODEY John, labr, 23
GOODEY William, servant, 19 [drawn]
GOODEY William, musician, 19

So it tells me there were four adult males of that name in the village together with their ages and occupations. Unfortunately the old and infirm aren't listed. Poor old William the servant drew one of the short straws!

[Wirral]

Only last week I found a close relative of my ancestors from Angus in Scotland having a child baptised in Liverpool in 1813. He was described as a militia man. I've never looked at anything to do with militia men. Any ideas on where to start? I have access to Liverpool Central Library.

[Peter Goodey]

This may help -

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/c...?sLeafletID=26

Incidentally I notice that a few militiamen qualified for pension which was new to me. I don't think I misled the questioner though, looking at the dates involved!

[HiFly]

I think not. WO 97 are pension records.

The militia ballot was about as popular as ...err... something very unpopular. There were anti-militia riots somewhere (Bakewell?) - they broke into the town hall and burnt the papers!

Funny you should mention that....as a lot of the Parish records in Orchestron where destroyed by one of my Vallis rellies to try and stop his son being drawn......that 'fact' didn't click and register until I re-read your message again Peter....

HiFly

[Wirral]

Thanks for the link, Peter. Something to try when I come back from holiday (if you can call a 600 mile round trip to deliver son & his girlfriend to university "a holiday").