William Brown, 76th Regiment of Foot 1853-57

**jahli2003** · 31-01-2018, 2:58 AM

I am seeking the military records of my 2nd great grandfather, Corporal William Brown of the 76th Regiment of Foot who died at the tender age of 27-28 on 05 Aug 1857 and was buried in Church of England Cemetery, St John, New Brunswick, Canada, 4 months before his first child, my great grandmother was born. His wife was Jane Coveney Brown.

I am hoping to find out his date and place of birth and perhaps even his parents names.

**Lesley Robertson** · 31-01-2018, 11:10 AM

Welcome to the British Genealogy Forum.

Records from the middle 19th century can be few and far between, and often just list names, numbers and sometimes medals, so since you want family information, it might be easier to follow the easier to find civilian records (while also looking for the military ones).

The first thing would be his marriage certificate. I am unable to find a marriage after 1837 (when English and Welsh marriage certs started) for William Brown and Jane Coveney which suggests they they either married in Canada or Coveney is not Jame's maiden name. I see that before New Brunswick, they had been in Malta, somewhere else to look for a marriage if necessary.

Did his wife stay in Canada when the regiment left in 1857?

**jahli2003** · 01-02-2018, 12:32 AM

Wm Brown met and married Jane Coveney after he came to Canada. She was born on Prince Edward Island. I have found records of their marriage on PEI. And the birth of their daughter Elizabeth who was born in New Brunswick. Jane moved back to PEI and and lived there for the rest of her life. But you have prompted me to request whether there is an actual license that lists more information than the marriage record found at PARO.

**Peter Goodey** · 01-02-2018, 10:39 AM

Most surviving army service records from that period relate to pension payments. Since he died in service, that wouldn't apply in his case.

**Lesley Robertson** · 01-02-2018, 11:11 AM

Was he still in the army when he died?
When did they marry?
You must understand that a name like "William Brown" is not rare and any crumb of information can help.

(I see that the PEI site says that parents' names are not included in marriage records

)

**wimsey** · 01-02-2018, 11:11 AM

the marriage on Prince Edward Island in 1854 does appear to suggest that Coveney was her maiden name, in that she was single, not a widow. There are no fathers' names on the marriage record I am looking at. The witnesses are NARRAWAY and RICHARDSON. The marriage is also conducted by a NARRAWAY.

jahli2003 has a public tree on Ancestry with the marriage image and Jane Coveney's family details.

**marshland** · 01-02-2018, 11:12 AM

The 76th Regiment of Foot merged with the 33rd to form the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) who have an illustrious history. They have a Regimental Association that may be able to point you at sources for records from the 1850's. https://www.dwr.org.uk/regimental-fam...tory-research/
The first place to look for soldiers in this era is the National Archives. I have checked and there doesn't appear to be a surviving record for William Brown of the 76th Regiment of Foot so as Lesley said the other records are sparse you may need guidance on other indexes to search the other possible listings to piece together his story.
The Stations of the British Army confirm that the 76th Foot were stationed in Nova Scotia in 1857.

**Peter Goodey** · 01-02-2018, 1:42 PM

There is a William Brown of the 76th Foot listed in the 1851 Army index. This is an index compiled by a researcher from data in the pay and muster records. Where a service record has not survived, people often track the man's history in the pay and muster records (see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/h...sts-1730-1898/)

With luck, a man's first entry may be reasonably informative.

If you wanted to go down this path, presumably you would have to commission some research.

**jahli2003** · 01-02-2018, 6:01 PM

Originally Posted by wimsey

the marriage on Prince Edward Island in 1854 does appear to suggest that Coveney was her maiden name, in that she was single, not a widow. There are no fathers' names on the marriage record I am looking at. The witnesses are NARRAWAY and RICHARDSON. The marriage is also conducted by a NARRAWAY.

jahli2003 has a public tree on Ancestry with the marriage image and Jane Coveney's family details.

I am jahli2003... And yes, that is my research including the marriage record.