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  1. #1
    martinsummers
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    Default Attestation? How do you find them?

    It appears from his marriage register entry that my GGGG grandfather was a Royal Marine. I have been able to find him in the Plymouth description books held at Kew, but unable to work out how to find an attestation for him.

    Is there a full set of attestations held or just a small sub set? How do you navigate through ADM157 ?

    I only actually need to check where he was serving in 1810/1811. The discription book gives 3 companies. Can anyone point me in the right direction to find out where 78,113,143(or 142) companies were in this period please? Or maybe he was on a ship!

    Regards

    Martin

  2. #2
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    ADM 157 and how to use it is described in this Research Guide.

    You may be lucky but this isn't necessarily something you can do online (so far as I know).

  3. #3
    AnnB
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    I recently acquired my gt gt grandfather's attestation papers - he joined the Marines in 1836.

    I found them by searching the National Archives on-line catalogue, and then was able to ask for an estimate for copies of them. I opted for printed copies and was sent an estimate by e-mail. This took a couple of weeks, but the cost of the documents was about £7 including p&p, which I think is quite reasonable as the document consisted of 8 pages and was full of information about his career in the Marines before he was invalided out. I think it is quite hit and miss as to whether you find someone, but, I believe, the indexing is on-going so it is worth trying.

    Best wishes
    Ann

  4. #4
    martinsummers
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    Peter

    Thanks for pointing out the guide - I must admit that I have already read it but......
    It is confusing....I need ADM157/140 for Plymouth, some of this is available digitally. If a search for the name is done, it seems to return names that have been digitally transcribed. There are far too few results to cover all the attestations. Where are the rest? If I request ADM157/140 do I get the whole lot? Or is the search ALL that are available?
    Going to Kew isn't a big task for me - the digital data has just muddied the search!
    Any suggestions about the company locations?

  5. #5
    martinsummers
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    Thanks Ann,

    The on line catalogue has drawn a blank for me :-(
    I think my problem is that the paper has not been indexed so I don't know if it exists!

    Regards

    M

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by martinsummers View Post
    I need ADM157/140 for Plymouth, some of this is available digitally. If a search for the name is done, it seems to return names that have been digitally transcribed. There are far too few results to cover all the attestations. Where are the rest?
    They don't all survive. I believe relatively few attestations for Plymouth survive before 1842, despite the apparent size of ADM 157/140, all of which is available digitally. So if your man isn't there, I don't think you'll find an attestation for him.

    The last time I had to search ADM 157/140 I did it at Kew, where you can of course download and inspect all sections of it free of charge.

    Also, in addition to the standard TNA Research Guide flagged up by Peter, the Royal Marines Museum used to publish an excellent Guide Sheet 1 to finding RM records at Kew. I downloaded this years ago, but I believe it's no longer available online.

    Here's their list of piece numbers for the Plymouth division, in case it helps ...

    3. Plymouth Division
    Attestations 1804-38 ADM 157/140
    Attestations and Discharges 1842-83 ADM 157/141-337
    Description Books c1763-1884 ADM 158/207-283
    Registers of Service 1856-1902 ADM 159/61-79
    General Weekly Returns 1761-1919 ADM 184/24-34
    Embarkation Books 1803-09 and 1819-32 ADM 184/36-37
    Discharge Book 1784-1892 ADM 184/38-41
    Disposal Book 1788-97 ADM 184/42
    Registers of Marriages & Births & Deaths of Children 1862-1920 ADM 184/43-54

    The RM Museum may be able to offer further advice, though it doesn't actually hold the service records of course.
    www.
    royalmarinesmuseum.co.uk/category/researching-family-and-royal-marine-history

    I've found them very helpful in the past.

    Quote Originally Posted by martinsummers View Post
    Any suggestions about the company locations?
    The research guide advises that ADM 192 might help with company locations.

  7. #7
    martinsummers
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    Kerrywood,

    Thanks, that's the answer I was afraid of!

    I'm not sure, I'll have to test it, but the blocks of download for ADM157/140 each consist of groups of names only described as 'from the 1st name' , 'to the last name'. The names in between may be 'mysterious' and unsearchable without checking each individually. I was hoping my man may have been an 'in betweener'!

    The RM Museum web site has been my major guide and extremely useful - I agree.

    ADM 192 will have to viewed - Thanks.

    Regards

    Martin
    Yup -The Royal Marines Museum site is useful and the whole list is particularly so - the most supportive information I've found.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by martinsummers View Post
    the blocks of download for ADM157/140 each consist of groups of names only described as 'from the 1st name' , 'to the last name'. The names in between may be 'mysterious' and unsearchable without checking each individually.
    As far as I know that's correct, and the 'inbetweeners' are unsearchable. Unless I've missed a shot, I think it's a generally unsatisfactory way of presenting the records.

    As I remember, there are only about 6-8 forms in each group. I suppose you might be lucky, and it's worth a look if you can do it for free at Kew.

  9. #9
    martinsummers
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    I am still struggling to establish where my ancestor was in 1811!
    From the two description books available, I have a choice of 4 companies ( some not particularly legible )
    78 ( clear and quoted in both)
    150
    142(may be 143 or 14/)
    and 113.
    Comparing these companies on ADM 192 or the tables in the Navy List gives nothing consistent. ( I'm sure he was of the Plymouth Division - but his probable son was probably christened in Portsmouth! ).
    Can anyone suggest how to establish where these companies were in 1811.
    I suspect the ancestor was in North America during some of the period - can anyone suggest a short cut to finding a name on a muster list. Which ships crossed the atlantic in the Summer of 1811?
    Thanks in anticipation!

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