Document of the Month
Description roll of the 4th Regiment of the Aberdeenshire Local Militia, 1809
The men described in this month's featured document all signed up to be a part of the Aberdeenshire Militia in 1809. This was the height of the Napoleonic Wars and the raising of militias was common.
This record shows an extract from a list of men who joined the 4th Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Fraser. The 4th Regiment's headquarters were in Fraserburgh, but as can be seen from the list there are men who came from all over Aberdeenshire to join.
The list is fascinating because it also has descriptions of the men. There are different columns for complexion, hair and eye colour. The entries for complexion vary greatly from 'black' to 'sallow', 'dark' to 'fair'. There is also another record where a man was described as 'wan'! There are a number of men on this page who are described as 'sanguin' – they must have been rather ruddy faced, perhaps not surprising as most of their professions are given as 'labourer'.
Hair colour also varies from 'dusk' to 'fair' to 'black' with eye colour going from 'blue' to 'grey' to 'hazel' to 'black'.
Not only does the list describe the men, it also lists the parish and county the men were born in. The vast majority were born in Aberdeen County, though there is one born in Kincardine. The list also shows if they have formerly served and gives details of who with. The place of residence given at the date of enrolment is very interesting as it shows just how far people travelled – one man gives his residence as Kintore, a distance of around 40 miles away.
The militia records are therefore a valuable source for finding people before the census years. Bear in mind they are not indexed, so it can mean reading through lists in order to find someone. But once you do, not only will you find out where he came from but also a description of what he looked like!
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Document of the Month Archive 2009
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Document of the Month January 2009 - Changing Aberdeen: Broad Street. Photographs of Broad Street before, during and after the construction of the extension to the Town House Document of the Month March 2009 - Statement by Alexander Annand regarding his involvement in the Jacobite rebellion, 1746 Document of the Month April 2009 - Fundamental Charter of Stonehaven, 12 April 1624 Document of the Month May 2009 - Drawing of Interior of St Nicholas Kirk by James Logan, c.1818 |
