When researching any generation of your ancestry, you must always locate and examine any additional sources that can provide you with information about your ancestor’s occupation/profession. A good example is Army, Navy, Merchant Seaman, Railway, & Police records etc. If he served in one of the above then there is a good chance that you will be able to trace his date and place of birth, service record and date of death. It is also possible that you can trace a record of his marriage and the names of his children.

There was no standing army in Britain before 1660, therefore this section will only deal with records pertaining to the army post 1660, subdivided into commissioned officers and other ranks.

If you believe that your ancestor was a commissioned officer, you must firstly consult the following: "English Army Lists and Commission Registers 1661-1714" and "George I’s Army 1714-1727", by C Dalton. Post 1714 an index of commissioned officers can be found at the Public Record Office, Kew. This can be supplemented by official Army Lists which begin in 1740. Commission Books were kept by the War Office and run from 1660 to 1873.

Correspondence relating to the purchase and sale of commissions can also be found in the Public Record Office from 1701-1858. Regimental service records begin in 1755 but most start in the nineteenth century. The most useful records to help you to trace pension payments are the ledgers of payment which run from 1737 to 1921, these give the date of death, or sale of the commission. From 1737 to 1841 they are arranged by regiment and are unindexed; from 1841 they are in alphabetical order.

Lists of widows of officers killed on active service run from 1713 to 1892 and registers of payments have survived from 1735 to 1920. In addition to the above, there are also records of many army officers baptismal certificates, they run from 1755 down to 1908.

All of the above can be supplemented by a series of records entitled "Army Births, Marriages & Deaths" held at the Family Record Centre, Clerkenwell. The register of births/baptisms and marriages run from 1761 to 1987, marriages from 1761 to 1987 and deaths from 1796 to 1987. Overlapping with these records are Army Chaplains Returns 1796 to 1880 and Army Returns 1881 to 1955.

This section on records of other ranks covers enlistment, service, discharge and pensions. In Civil Registration births post 1837 you will nearly always find that the name of the regiment in which a soldier was serving, is given on the birth certificate of his child. As a result you can then go straight to the appropriate records of that regiment. If his birth is not recorded in England & Wales but you know from his marriage certificate that his father served in the army, you should search "Army Births, Marriage & Deaths" and "Army Chaplains Returns" at the Family Record Centre.

In order to trace the service record of a soldier serving in the ranks you should consult the "Royal Hospital Chelsea Soldiers Documents" which run from 1760 to 1913. Before 1873 they were arranged by regiment but after that date in four alphabetical sequences by surname; after 1883 they are arranged in one alphabetical sequence. These documents give age, birthplace, trade or occupation, a record of service, date of discharge and or death and in some cases place of residence after discharge. If you do not find any record of your ancestor then you should consult "Chelsea Regimental Registers" at the Public Record Office, Kew, which run from circa 1715 to 1857 and list discharges to pension by regiment.

If you are unable to trace a record of your ancestor in any of the above then you should consult the two main series of "Description Books" and "Depot Description Books" covering the periods1778-1878 and 1768 to 1908 respectively. These records give a description of the soldier, his age, place of birth, trade and service details.

Pension records for soldiers of other ranks can be found in a number of sources. Petitions by disabled ex-soldiers for places as almsmen in royal church foundations from 1660 to 1751 can be found in the records of the "Signet Office" in the Public Record Office. Kew. Post 1681 in England there are records of in-pensioners and out-pensioners for the Royal Hospital at Chelsea and post 1679 in Ireland for the Royal Hospital at Kilmainham, near Dublin. The out-pensioner records for Kilmainham run from 1698 to 1822, when the out-pensioners were transferred to Chelsea; records for Chelsea Hospital run from circa 1715 to 1857. Each hospital also has "Admission Registers", for Kilmainham in and out-pensions they run from 1704 to 1922, whilst Chelsea has records for disability pensions from 1715 to 1913 and long service pensions from 1823 to 1920. The admission registers give, amongst other things, the pensioners age and place of birth.

In addition to the above there are also school records for children of soldiers. In 1801 in England the "Royal Military Asylum" was founded at Chelsea for children of serving or dead soldiers and there are "Admission and Discharge Registers" from 1803 to 1923. In Ireland "The Royal Hibernian Military School" was founded in 1769 but unfortunately most of its records were destroyed by enemy bombing in 1940.

Helpful Hints Always remember to search those records that will give you the vital information you need, eg date and place of birth, date of marriage and death, number and names of children. If you do not know the name of regiment in which ancestor served, examine those records that enable you to determine which one was stationed in the place where he is known to have lived and search the appropriate records. Always remember that the survival rate of some records is very patchy.

As with Army records there are very few records pertaining to commissioned navy personnel pre 1660. What there is can be found in the various series of "State Papers Domestic" for the reign of Charles I & the Commonwealth 1625-1660. Post 1660 you should consult "Commissioned Sea Officers List, 1660-1815" a copy of which can be consulted at the Public Record Office. From the end of the eighteenth century ie 1782, there are also printed "Navy Lists" on the shelves of the reference room at the Public Record Office. For a list of what is available in print for some commissioned officers you should consult "Tracing Your Naval Ancestors" by Bruno Pappalardo.

To establish when a naval officer was commissioned you should search records of "Commissions and Warrants" which run from 1695 down to 1849, at the Public Record Office, Kew. Records relating to officer’s applications for employment, promotion and leave can also be found in Admiralty records at Kew but it has to be said that the survival rate is patchy.

Early Service Records for admirals, captains, commanders and lieutenants do exist for the period 1660-1688. However, they were systematically kept until the mid nineteenth century; the main series of records for all officers runs from 1756-1931 but they mainly relate to those who served between 1840 and 1910. Together with passing certificates, commission and warrant books plus ships musters and pay lists you should be able to piece together the naval career of your ancestor. Passing certificates were introduced in 1677 and the applicant for the examination had to be twenty years old with at least three years experience at sea. Individuals had to supply their age, place of birth and names of ships served on. The earliest surviving certificates relate to Lieutenants 1691, Masters 1660, Surgeons 1700. Commission and Warrant Books begin in 1695 and are arranged in date order, the officer’s name, name of the ship and his rank. The earliest Ships’ Pay Books begin in 1669 and Ships’ Musters 1667, however the officer’s age and place of birth is not recorded until after 1761. They are arranged by ship but once again the survival rate is patchy.

Initially there were no Pension Records for Naval officers’, instead they were put on half pay. However, in 1672 the Navy decided that a fixed number of senior warrant officers should be entitled to pensions and thirty of the most senior lieutenants also in 1737. However, the survival rate is again very patchy. Pre 1761 there are records relating to Captains from 1666 to 1747, Lieutenants from 1737 to 1781 and yellow Admirals 1747 to 1781 as well as other ranks. From 1761 to 1809 there is a register listing the names of all commissioned officers who were to receive pensions.and another from 1781 to 1820 recording payments and retirement pensions to flag officers, commanders and lieutenants. Similar lists cover the period 1836 down to 1920. Only from October 1836 is the age and date of death of a warrant officer given. There is also a surname index to records of pensions paid to officers widows from 1689 to 1832. Pay books of officers widows pensions covering the period 1734 to 1835 give the name and husband’s rank etc and after 1744, date of husband’s death, plus details of her death, burial or re-marriage. From 2830 to 1878 widow’s pension payments also give the date of marriage.

Pre 1761 there are no enlistment records for naval ratings. In order to determine trace a ratings naval career and background you must search the surviving Ships’ Pay Books and Musters which run from 1667 down to 1884. However, many of the pre 1688 musters were destroyed by fire and most of the ledgers from 1878 to 1909 destroyed by enemy action in 1941. Nevertheless the importance of those that have survived cannot be stressed too highly as they are the only means by which you can record a ratings continuous service pre 1853. From 1761 the ratings age and place of birth is given plus date of death. If you do not know the name of your ancestors’ ship but you do know where he was at a particular time, you must examine the List Books, which are monthly returns, from 1673 to 1909 with gaps 1750-92, in order to locate the names of the ships in that location. Once you have the name(s) you can then search the appropriate records. From 1853 to 1872 there are Continuous Service and Engagement Books for ratings, arranged by surname; the year of birth is given only after 1863. However, the original documents do give date and place of birth. The series is continued from 1873 down to 1928 in Registers of Seamens’ Service. Post 1928, these records are closed to public inspection.

If you believe that your ancestor was in receipt of a pension, you should begin by searching the records of Greenwich Hospital in order to determine if he was an out-pensioner of an in-pensioner. Entry Books for the latter have survived from 1704 to 1745 and 1748 to 1873, with surname indexes from 1704 to 1803. Post 1748 these give the name, age and place of birth, marital status, number of children. Out-pension records only begin in 1781, however there are out-letters concerning the nomination of persons to become out-pensioners from 1763. Applications for admission to Greenwich Hospital as an in-pensioner have survived from 1737 to 1763, 1781-84 and 1816 to 1859. Applications for out-pensions began in 1789. Records of ratings widows’ receiving pensions can be found in Chatham Chest records and run from 1653 down to 1799, with gaps 1685-87 and 1690-94. Nomination, Admission and Leaver records for Greenwich Hospital School and the Royal Naval Asylum are also very useful sources if you believe that your ancestor’s children attended one of these schools. The most useful are the original application papers, which often contain service records, marriage and death details and copy baptismal certificates. They are arranged alphabetically for the period 1728-1870.

Helpful Hints If you do not know the name of the ship in which your ancestor served, you must search the List Books to determine which ship(s) were stationed near to his known place of residence. Remember there are no enlistment records pre 1853, hence Ships Muster and Pay Books are vitally important as are surviving service records. If your ancestor served in the Merchant Marine, it is possible that he might also have served in the Royal Navy.

Unfortunately there are very few merchant marine records before the beginning of the nineteenth century. Prior to that date there are only a number of Muster Rolls for the ports of Shields, Dartmouth, Liverpool and Plymouth, the earliest dated 1747. These are kept at the Public Record Office at Kew. However, as many mariners may have also served in the Royal Navy, it is wise to examine their records for the period pre 1835, including Greenwich Hospital (see above).

As a result of The Merchant Shipping Act of 1835, Parliament ordered the registration of all merchant seamen with the aim of creating a reserve pool of men fit to serve in the Royal Navy. To facilitate this objective Registers of Merchant Seamens’ Service were compiled from 1835 until 1857 and these can be examined at the Public Record Office, Kew. Apprentice Indentures were also kept from 1824 down to 1953, with a register of apprentices from all over England bound to fishermen in the south-east 1639 to 1664 and one for the port of Colchester 1794-1757 and 1804-44. However the survival rate of the apprentice indentures from 1824 is very patchy. Agreement and Crew Lists have also survived from 1835. Post 1857 it is very difficult to trace Agreement and Crew Lists for merchant seaman, to determine what is available you should consult the Public Record Office, the National Maritime Museum, and the Memorial University of Newfoundland. An excellent book on what records are available for merchant seamen is "My Ancestor was a Merchant Seaman", by C.T. and M J Watts.

	See also: The Origins Network Collections: Militia records (1872-1915)