Bain Buchanan - 2nd Battallion Royal Scots Fusiliers

[Sanron]

Hi, my name is Sandra born in Paisley, but immigrated to Perth, Western Australia in 1969. I am trying to find out more information on my GGrandfather "William Bain Buchanan" known as William Bain. He was a Private in the 2nd Battallion Royal Scots Fusiliers, not sure when exactly. He died 1/1/1884, aged 44 yrs and it states that he was a Shoemaker "Army Pensioner". I am trying to find out any other information on him including pictures?, whilst in the Army. Any help would be appreciated.
Regards
Sandra

[Geoffers]

Welcome to the B-G Forums

Do you know when (approximately) your chap left the army?

Does he turn up in the 1881 or 1871 census - if so what was his occupation?

I've created a thread showing how to search TNA's catalogue and giving some other links - you can find it here

PS - It is best to write dates with the month written out or abbreviated in letters. Although 1/1/1884 cannot be misconstrued, 2/1 could be 2nd Jan or Feb 1st depending on how you write such things. It just helps to avoid confusion.

[Sanron]

In the 1881 Census he is down as living at 78 Cornwall Street,Govan, Lanark, Scotland aged 44 as a "Shoemaker".
In the 1891 & 1901 Census his wife Charlotte is shown as a 'Widow'. Unfortunately I don't have anything else to go by.

[Sanron]

Also on his 2nd marriage certificate in 1875, it shows him as Widower , Private Scots Fusiliers, with address as Barracks, Perth, Scotland age 33.. I hope this can help someone put me in more of a direction.

[Geoffers]

You cannot view his service record online, but you can order it, as per the link I gave to the guide to searching The Natinal Archives' (TNA) catalogue

It seems he had left the army by 1881, but was in the army in 1875.

So, searching the catalogue, I came up with this hit

The names give are the first and last alphabetically in the file (this assumes he used the name Buchanan to enlist).

Using the 'request this' button, you can ask TNA to look for your chap's file and provide a copy - for which there is a fee, TNA should provide you with a quote if they can find his document.

[cammymac]

Also on his 2nd marriage certificate in 1875, it shows him as Widower , Private Scots Fusiliers, with address as Barracks, Perth, Scotland age 33.. I hope this can help someone put me in more of a direction.

Hi Sandra,

William Bain Buchanan is my 2xGt Grandfather, via his daughter Alice Bain Buchanan (b. 15 September 1877) and William Black. I have William Bain Buchanan's death as 7 December1884, but the rest of the details match up.

I have not managed to get much detail beyond what you already have. I know a little about what happened to the children after his 2nd marriage to Charlotte Bell (or Reilley), but couldn't find anything on his first marriage to Emily Strong and think this maybe hiding in the military records somewhere. However, I do have a copy (...of a copy, so not the best quality...) of him in a family group photo from what looks like the early 1880's. The photo is 5mb, so I'm not too sure about attaching it on the forum.

Let me know if this helps or is still of some interest to you and I'll try to work around it.

Best regards,

Cammy

[Jan1954]

Hello Cammy - welcome to Brit-Gen,

Sandra has not visited the forum for a couple of years and so may not see your post. However, if you click on her name and then on Private Message in the drop-down box that will appear, you will be able to send her a message, which in turn should generate an email to her.

Good luck wth your research,