Ireland Military Records: Difference between revisions

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*[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/MilitaryRecords.html Genuki UK and Ireland: Military Records]

*[http://www.movinghere.org.uk/galleries/roots/intro/servicerecords/servicerecords.htm UK Archived Military Records]

*[http://www.findmypast.ie/articles/world-records/full-list-of-the-irish-family-history-records/census-land-and-substitutes/irish-army-census-1922 Irish Army Census 1922]

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170722093448/http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com:80/~fianna/guide/military.html Rootsweb, Irish Military Record, 1700's - 1900's]

*{{RecordSearch|3518735|United Kingdom, Waterloo Roll Call 1815}}, index

*[http://soldierswills.nationalarchives.ie/search/sw/about.jsp Soldiers' Wills, World War I and Boer War], index

*[http://www.reenactor.ru/ARH/PDF/Wickes.pdf Regiments of Foot] A historical record of all the foot regiments of the British Army

Military records are potentially of great genealogical value. But they are difficult to use because few are indexed and many are only available at the Public Record Office, Kew at the [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ National Archives]. Civil registration, census, or church records, if available, are easier records to use. Still, military records sometimes provide information that is not found in any other source. Search the easier records first; they will often provide information that will then help you search military records.  

== Books ==

[[British Military Records]]. Salt Lake City, Utah: Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1991. (Wiki article)  

:NOTE: All of the information from the original research outline has been imported into this Wiki site and is being updated here, as time permits.

=== Pre-1914 Records  ===

Army records before 1872 are organized by regiment. Records from 1872 through 1882 are arranged alphabetically by type of troop (cavalry, infantry, etc.). Post-1882 records are arranged in a single alphabetical series.  

Quinlivan, Patrick. Father Benard's Register and the Irish Militia in Essex. Article is Father Benard's Register of the Irish Militia in Essex, also register of baptisms 1812-1817 kept at Church of St. James-the-less, Priory St. Colchester. Also a list of references of the Irish Militia from the Suffolk Chronicle and Ipswich Journal 1812-1814. Article is in The Irish Ancestor vol. V.no. 1. 1973. pages 12-17, Family History Ref. 941.5 B2i V5-6.  

'''Navy Records.''' The earliest surviving navy records are from 1617. Ships' logs survive from 1673, but usually only give information on ship location, weather, sightings of other ships, and shipboard events. While descriptions of shipboard events often include individual names, no indexes exist to help locate these names.  

Individual military units (regiments for the army, ships for the navy) kept records on their own personnel.  

Army records for the years between 1913 and up to 1921 are at the following address:  

Irish soldiers killed in World War I are listed in:  

For more information on twentieth-century army records, see:  

Post-1913 navy records are at the following address:  

'''Lists of Officers'''. Published annually, lists of officers provide an officer's name, rank, regiment or ship, and date of commission. For the army, the published version of these records is:''''''  

The published list of naval officers is:  

'''Continuous Service Engagement Books.''' Continuous service engagement books record the continuous service numbers assigned to navy ratings (seamen) since 1853. The records give the name, birth date, birthplace, physical description, and ship of service of each rating. Brief career details were later included as well. From 1872 to 1892, merchant seamen were also listed in these records.  

'''Records of military service are at the Public Record Office, Kew.''' Some of the Public Record Office's military records as well as military records of various other repositories throughout Ireland and England are listed in:  

For more information on military records at the Public Record Office, see the Bevan and Duncan or Kew Lists handbooks listed at the end of this section.  

Reliability:  Very good.

==== Military records:  Muster books and pay lists ====

Contents: Registers of pensioners of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham (Dublin); brief description of the pensioner is given with age, place of birth, particulars of service and reason for discharge. Chapel registers of birth, death, and marriages.  

Population coverage: Varies--very high during wartime (20%) and lower during peacetime (5%).  

'''Soldiers.''' If your ancestor was a soldier and he married, died, or had children after 1760 while in the army, he and the regiment to which he belonged may be listed in chaplain's returns or regimental registers. If you cannot identify your ancestor's regiment through these records, the sources you should search to determine his regiment will depend on what you know about your ancestor. If you know:  

For the place he died after receiving an army pension, search the district pension returns for that area.  

If you think you have found the regiment in which your ancestor served, military histories may help confirm your findings. Most regiments have published histories that record the places where they served and the battles they fought. You can compare the information you know about your ancestor with the history of the regiment to determine whether your ancestor could have served in that regiment. A bibliography of regimental histories is:  

Many military and regimental histories are listed in the Place Search of the catalog under:  

'''Seamen.''' Navy records seldom mention individual seamen before 1853. If your ancestor served in the navy after 1853, search the index to continuous service engagement books. If he served before 1853, search the muster rolls, description books, or pay lists of the ship on which he served. If you do not know your ancestor's ship, the source you should search to determine the ship will depend on what you know about your ancestor. If you know:  

*A battle or campaign in which your ancestor was involved, search medal rolls, also held at the Public Record Office, Kew.  

*The name of an officer serving with your ancestor, search the Navy List to determine the ship on which that officer served.

'''Naval Officers.''' Naval officers who served from 1695 to 1742 are listed in the following work:  

Many officers are listed in published biographies, such as the following:  

For seamen serving as midshipmen (potential officers) between 1799 and 1854, the ''Midshipmen's Papers'' list birth dates and places and parents' names.  

If your naval ancestor is not listed in any of the above sources, consult:  

Many sources, list and describe naval ships and give the dates and places they were in service. One example is:  

Use sources such as the above to learn more about ships on which you think your ancestor served to determine whether your ancestor could have been on those ships. Other naval histories are listed in the Place Search of the catalog under:  

GREAT BRITAIN - MILITARY HISTORY  

LOCALITIES