Donald Morrison - help deciphering please.....

fmackay · Post by **fmackay** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 12:59 pm

Trying to decipher the description under Donald's name - something to do with regiment he was in.
Have uploaded file - just waiting for approval etc.
Thankyou

http://talkingscot.com/gallery/displayi ... p?pos=-805
<url added, LesleyB>

fmackay · Post by **fmackay** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:18 pm

oops! Wrong Donald Morrison . Sorry!

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:18 pm

Hi fiona
Am I having a dense moment? The Donald here seems to be a fisherman.
Wrong cert maybe?

later - ah, snap!

If you upload the other, I'll wait to post the link...

fmackay · Post by **fmackay** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:23 pm

Hope that's the right one now - Sorry!
http://talkingscot.com/gallery/displayi ... p?pos=-806
<URL added, LesleyB>

fmackay · Post by **fmackay** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:28 pm

Thanks Lesley

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:29 pm

Hi Fiona
Pensioner? of 20th (or 30th?) Regiment
- is what I'm seeing...but David would probably do a better job on this one as I'm not up on my military terms at all!

Best wishes
Lesley

fmackay · Post by **fmackay** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:31 pm

Why couldn't I see that?? thanks Lesley.

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 8:54 am

LesleyB wrote:Hi Fiona
Pensioner? of 20th (or 30th?) Regiment
- is what I'm seeing...but David would probably do a better job on this one as I'm not up on my military terms at all!

Best wishes
Lesley

Agreed re Pensioner? of ..th Regiment , but what the number is is difficult. All that can be certain is that the second digit is between a 4 and a 9, or a 0

While the first digit might be a "2" I've seen too many such faint images which turn out to be entirely different when a better quality copy is inspected, to make any pronouncement.

Just because he was Scottish doesn't mean, BTW, that he would have served in a Scottish regiment.

I'd suggest a contact form to SP, pointing out the difficulty that you're having reading this register entry, - the most likely result being that they will refer your query to GROS, who will post you a photocopy which will most probably be that bit easier to read.

In the meantime ........ if you have a look at the TNA Catalogue at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/search.asp , and search on "Donald AND Morrison", - the "and" must be caps - "AND", - and look at the WO series records, then you'll find ....

WO 97/382/48 DONALD MORRISON Born DRUMNESS, Sutherland Served in 20th Foot Regiment; 67th Foot Regiment; 78th Foot Regiment Discharged aged 36 1809-1828 [dates of service].

[Whichever battalion of the 78th this man was in, he was either overseas in some interesting places, or at Waterloo!]

Given that there isn't a Drumness that I can find anywhere close to Sutherland, - there's one in Kirkcudbrightshire, and a Drumnessie in the county of Stirling, - plus the fact that distortion of placenames in such military records isn't that unusual; plus 90 in 1882 implying a year of birth of 1791/92, - near perfect for signing up in 1809, - I'd be tempted to put money on this being your man.

There certainly a Donald MORRISON of the correct age who appears in the relevant censuses in Durness and is twice described as a "Chelsea Pensioner", whose wife's given name matches that on the death register entry

David

fmackay · Post by **fmackay** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:17 pm

Hi David
Thanks very much for your reply - I will certainly check out the link you gave. It is Durness Sutherland so looks like the right man.
thanks again

Fiona