Aberdeen County Militia Records
Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives hold a number of records relating to the militia in the North East. Militia records can be a great source of information. Scotland did not furnish any regular militia until 1797, though there had been areas where local militias had existed, such as Perthshire. Enlistment into the militia was first raised by a ballot among men aged between 19 and 30, though in 1802 an act was passed which provided for the organisation of the militia on a similar basis to that of England.
- AS/AMil/6/1(1) Record of Certificates Granted for the Relief of the Wives and Families of Militia Men
- AS/AMil/6/1(2) Record of Certificates Granted for the Relief of the Wives and Families of Militia Men
- AS/AMil/6/3 Record of Certificates granted for the relief of the wives and families of militiamen
- AS/AMil/6/4 Record of Certificates granted for the relief of the wives and families of militiamen
- AS/AMil/6/5 Record of Certificates granted for the relief of the wives and families of militiamen
- AS/AMil/6/6 Record of Certificates granted for the relief of the wives and families of militiamen
We have, with the help of our volunteer Sandy Riddell, transcribed several volumes which details the relief given to the wives of militia men between 1803 and 1816. This gives information such as the name of the wife (including maiden name), the name of the husband, and the number of children they had on a given date. The same people often appear more than once, so it is worth looking through the whole document, which is electronically searchable. Please note that the document has been transcribed as it is written in the original, and this may mean that there are some abbreviations used. These include, but are not limited to:
- Wm for William
- Alex for Alexander
- Fras for Fraser
- Chas for Charles
Surnames have been left as the way they were in the original document, so there may be some differences between what was written and what is now the standard spelling.
The two documents available are from the same volume, and it is worth checking both depending on the information you are interested in.
Militia Muster Rolls, 1803-4
The muster rolls provided here (transcribed by our volunteer Sandy Weir), note names of those that joined local militia forces during the anti-invasion preparations of 1802-4 at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars.
Although the information noted varies a little, in most cases the rolls give the names of those joining militia forces, the parish they were from, and the date that they enrolled.
Names have been provided in full, and expanded where abbreviated.
Aside from the lists provided here, there is also a muster roll for the Aberdeenshire Militia created in 1798 as a result of the Militia (Scotland) Act, 1797 (ref. AS/Amil/3/1-3), which is available to consult at our Old Aberdeen House Search Room.
- AS/AMil/8/9/1 Muster Roll - Fraserburgh Volunteers 1803
- AS/AMil/8/9/2 Muster Roll - Fraserburgh Volunteers 1803
- AS/AMil/8/9/3 Muster Roll - Fraserburgh Volunteers 1803
- AS/AMil/8/9/4 Muster Roll - Fraserburgh Volunteer Artillery 1803
- AS/AMil/8/9/5 Muster Roll - Rosehearty Volunteers 1803
- AS/AMil/8/9/6 Muster Roll - Crimond and Lonmay Volunteers 1803
- AS/AMil/8/9/7 Muster Roll - Gilcomston Volunteer Pikemen 1803
- AS/AMil/8/9/8 Muster Roll - Strichen and Tyrie Volunteer Infantry 1803
- AS/AMil/8/9/9 Muster Roll - Volunteer Infantry of Dyce Newmachar and Fintray 1804
- AS/AMil/8/9/10 Muster Roll - Rathen Volunteer Infantry 1804
- AS/AMil/8/9/11 Muster Roll - Fraserburgh Volunteer Artillery 1804
- AS/AMil/8/9/12 Muster Roll - Monquhitter Volunteers 1804
- AS/AMil/8/9/13 Muster Roll - Ellon District Volunteers 1804
- AS/AMil/8/9/14 Muster/Roll - Gilcomston Volunteer Pikemen 1804
- AS/AMil/8/9/15 Muster/Roll - Gilcomston Volunteer Pikemen 1804
- AS/AMil/8/9/16 Muster Roll - Dyce Newmachar and Fintray Volunteers 1804
- AS/AMil/8/9/17 Muster Roll - Fraserburgh Volunteer Infantry 1804
- AS/AMil/8/9/18 MusterRoll - Meldrum Volunteers 1804
- AS/AMil/8/9/19 Muster Roll - Meldrum Volunteers 1804
- AS/AMil/8/9/20 Muster Roll - Belhelvie Company of Volunteer Infantry 1804
- AS/AMil/8/9/21 Muster Roll - Aberdour Volunteers 1804
- AS/AMil/8/9/22 Muster Roll - Rosehearty Volunteer Infantry 1804
- AS/AMil/8/9/23 Muster Roll - Peterhead Volunteer Infantry 1804
A full list of the militia records held can be found on our Online Catalogue under the reference AS/AMil.