Case Study 1 of 3
Background:
John Milham was recorded on the census as an out-Pensioner, and also on his death certificate. His wedding certificate from 1817 stated that he was a Marine.
Preliminary internet Trawl:
John Milham's name came up on Kevin Asplin's website as a RMA Gunner. The medal roll for the Naval General Service Medal (1847) was interrogated (link via Wikipedia to the DNW website), and he received a medal with Algiers clasp for service as a RMA gunner on HMS Hecla.
Data from the archives at Kew:
John had been living near Chatham up to the time of his death.
The first step is to determine your out-Pensioner's payment office. Below is a table which contains some of the offices.
It is advisable to check all of the names of the Payment Offices in WO22 which are listed in the catalogue, in case this table is lacking some offices for Scotland and Ireland.
The payment pension record for Chatham district for 12 June 1859 was consulted (WO22/18). This recorded his death, and that no further payments would be made. Of particular interest is that it gave his rank (he was an ex-Corporal), his pension ticket number of 5572 and the date when the pension was awarded, 19 Jan 1832.
Although Certificates of Service were compiled for ex-Sailors who were either out-Pensioners or in-Pensioners, this was not the case for Marines, and the retracing of a Marine's service history is more time consuming.
(If you are researching an out-Pensioner, whom you know to have been a sailor, please read the case study on David Quarrier (in-Pensioner), with regard to sailors records in ADM 29.)
By looking at the Greenwich Pension applicant record for 1832 (ADM 6/293), this told us the amount of the pension, and the duration, as well as the reason for granting the pension (usually an ailment is recorded.) More importantly, this also records the age of the applicant, and the duration of service in years and months. In this instance, John was 41 years old, and had served in the Marines for 21 years and 3 months.
The Royal Marine Artillery have a weddings and baptisms register (ADM 193/9). As well as providing useful information on their children, the register also provided the rank and artillery company number, and the place where the baptism took place. The most recent of John's children to be baptised was in March 1831 in Portsmouth.
This hinted that John's career concluded in Portsmouth. This was found to be the case when the Marine rolls were consulted (ADM 96/445 & ADM 96/448), and the latter source provided a career end date of 04 Jan 1832. It can be deduced that his career in the Marines commenced around October 1809. He started as a Marine infantrymen, but transferred to the 2nd Company RMA on 3rd April 1813, seeing action with the RMA in the Netherlands Nov 1813-Feb 1814, and in Florida with Edward Nicolls during 1814 & 1815.
There is still more filling in of the gaps to do, but this shows how it is possible to get an chronological outline of a pensioner's service career.
Case Study 2 of 3
Background:
Robert Cooper was recorded on the 1861 census as a Greenwich out-Pensioner, living at King Henry Street, Islington. His year of death is not known
Preliminary internet Trawl:
The following result had appeared, as a result of searching the catalogue of The National Archives:
Robert COOPER; Rating; Born: [Not Given]; Age on entry: 20; Dates served: 23 February 1846-21 August 1857; Date and Type of Application: Whitehall 3 September 1857
Data from the archives at Kew:
Folio 239 of ADM 29/57 was viewed, on the microfilm viewer at Kew, and the following Certificate of Service details were copied:
To 3 September 1857
As can be seen from the catalogue details of David Quarrier (on the in-pension case study page), if you are unable to travel to Kew, the catalogue does state:
This record can be copied and sent to you by post or email from £6.99 via our Record copying service
Given that this is a common name, further research does need to be done, so as to confirm this is "our" man.
I am intrigued as to what misdemeanour he performed, which caused him to be in gaol for a month, before returning to his ship in Feb 1857!
Case Study 3 of 3
Background:
Edward Ford was recorded on the 1851 census as a sailor, aged 60, living in the village of Waterloo[ville]. Given his age, and distance from the sea, it seemed likely that he was an out-Pensioner.
Preliminary internet Trawl:
Edward Ford's name appeared on the Medal Roll (ADM 171/11 accessed via Ancestry; it is contained within "UK, Naval Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1972".)
Data from the archives at Kew:
Given that he was alive at the time of the census, the nearest out-pension payment records were consulted. (Pay Book of Naval Out Pensions. E.-G. 1843-1846 , reference ADM 22/439). This lists all persons in receipt of an out-Pension at this time, and some particulars about each person.
The book itself is divided into different letters of the alphabet. The entrants are in date order.
Edward Ford was recorded as having been awarded an out-pension for life on 21 November 1828. He had 24 years 4 months service, and his last ship was HMS Warspite.