~ labourer, Drum Major, Drummers and Fifers, 46th Regiment of Foot ~

Meaning of the name Marler - English: occupational name for someone who hewed or quarried marl, or a topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of clay soil,

Based on available transcript and copies of records for the British 46th Regiment of Foot:

- After the death of Sergeant Robert Broadfoot in 1824, his widow Ann Carver, married again within the equivalent Regiment ranks and so maintained her position on the strength of the Regiment. This was a common practice offered to women held in high regard, by the officers. Source: FamilySearch transcripts online show one Ann Bradfute married Thomas Marlow in 1825.

My cousin Betty Donohoue nee Fitzgerald (192x - 2018) questioned my reference to Marlow as the surname and suggested that her recollection was that their great grandfather's name was either Marler or Mara and not Marlow.

The British Army in Australia 1788-1870 - index of personnel shows that a Thomas Marler was in Australia with the 46th Regiment.

I checked British Military records for names of those who served with the 46th Regiment of Foot across the years 1811 - 1830 and found a reference which shows Thomas was a drummer, and in 1824 and was appointed to the roll of Drum Major with 46th Regiment of Foot. He served both in Australia and India where he achieved the rank Sergeant and was appointed Drum Major and married the widow Ann Broadfoot nee Carver.

Similar records for military service are available on ancestry.com on World subscriptions as per my local library. This provides access to "Canada, British Regimental Registers of Service, 1756-1900". This series is comprised of scanned copies of original, British War Office Records WO 25 /394 through to 399; which detail men of the 46th Regiment of Foot.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_major_(military)

The Drum Major's function was to teach drumming and this was extended to include recruitment and punishment. In some instances they also became the schoolmaster at Regimental schools. Note: Since the 17th Century drummer's uniforms had 'reversed facings'. The normal British soldier wore a red coat with the facings determined by the Colonel. Before 1831 the drummer was dressed in the livery of the Colonel with red collars and cuffs and the drum major's uniform included a broad sash over the shoulder. The elaborate staff carried by the drum major is said to have been a precursor to the cane used by school teachers. My current opinion is outlined below, proposing the most convincing of suitors:-

Drum Major Thomas Marler. His records from 1810 through to 1830 were outlined over five or more documents, however, each document transcribes the original 1810 information, with additions for his overseas service and the date that Thomas died. Important information in that this date matches with the Familysearch record for one Thomas Marlow. Assuming these are the same person then why would Thomas be recorded as both Marler and Marlow ?

Standing Orders applied to soldiers’ families

1810 - Standing Orders stated:

“No soldier is to marry without the permission in writing of his commanding officer. Any man disobeying will be ordered a close prisoner in the barracks, and his wife turned out . . ..Women permitted to live in barracks are to assist in sweeping, dusting and, when circumstances require, cooking . . . Those women allowed the extra indulgence of having their children in barracks, must be particularly attentive to their habits of cleanliness . . . No women are allowed on the baggage wagons; such as are well behaved and unable to march, or having young children, will be excepted”.

Source: Regimental India - also states:

"In India, as elsewhere, soldiers’ wives and their children were a tough, enduring, devoted and remarkably cheerful breed. They cared for their husbands in hospital and on the march when deaths from cholera and fever were all too common. The children were spoiled by the unmarried soldiers who would give them tobacco and old clay pipes to smoke it in. They were part of the regimental family, and women whose husbands died followed the usual practice of marrying again as soon as possible to avoid going off the strength which would otherwise happen after six months of widowhood. Orphaned daughters as young as fourteen were married off too, since a widowed mother had no means of supporting them. To be left alone in India was not a happy situation."

Thomas Marler

Thomas Marler was born about 1798 and baptised on 26th December 1798 in the parish of St Mary Magdalene's Taunton, Somerset, England.

He seems to have been the son of William Edwin Thomas Marler (1762-1810) and Mary Walters (1763-1836), whose marriage banns appear in August 1781 and 29 September 1782, in the - Somersetshire Parish Registers - See: https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_queries/ (www.freereg.org)

The Baptism entry shows: County : Somerset.

Place (with link) : Taunton : Church name (with link) St Mary ; Register type (with link) Parish Register ; Register entry number 955 ; Baptism date: 26 Dec 1798 ; Person forename: Thomas, Father forename: William; Mother forename : Mary ; Father surname: MARLER. William

• William Edwin Thomas was the son of Henry Marler and Mary Upton (born 1732) - married 17 Apr 1758 Taunton, Somerset, England