Kilbarchan militia - for Russell

helenbee · Post by **helenbee** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 4:32 pm

Thank you for the information. I didn't know about the Kilbarchan militia. Any idea if there are any records kept anywhere?

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 4:51 pm

Hi helen

Thanks for changing the thread. I've been so busy catching up I hadn't realised just how much we had usurped the original post.

Paisley Library is possibly the best bet for records of the militia although they have nothing on-line

The Weavers cottage have nothing of any detail other than the uniform and a postcard sized blurb. (I haven't checked recently though)

I'll add this to my 'Must do this as soon as possible........' collection and hope it doesn't end up alongside my local history notes.

Russell

helenbee · Post by **helenbee** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 5:18 pm

Thank you again! I did try emailing the weaver's house some months ago to ask for further information but they never replied. So I feel a trip up north coming on...

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 11:26 pm

Also worth a foray into the TNA catalogue at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cata ... lt.asp?j=1 to see if a search on the basis of "Kilbarchan AND Militia", or "Renfrewshire AND Militia" results in any hits ...............

David

helenbee · Post by **helenbee** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 4:30 pm

David - thank you. Just tried this but can't find anything relevant. Was Kiilbarchan militia part of Renfrewshire militia? I understood from what Russell said that it was a separate body.

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 10:27 am

helenbee wrote:David - thank you. Just tried this but can't find anything relevant. Was Kiilbarchan militia part of Renfrewshire militia? I understood from what Russell said that it was a separate body.

A deceptively easy question !

I can't find any reference to "Kilbarchan Militia". I suspect that one of the companies of the Renfrew Militia was associated with Kilbarchan.

As regards rifle volunteers, see http://www.journal74.fsnet.co.uk/disp_010.htm , - again I'd suspect that the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Renfrewshire Rifle Volunteers were associated with Kilbarchan.

David

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 1:20 pm

Ta-da

The solution, - Ian Beckett's "Riflemen Form - A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859 - 1908" arrived in this morning's post.

It provides the info that one of the Renfrew corps of riflemen was the 15th (Kilbarchan) Rifle Volunteer Corps, formed in 20Jan1860. As no earlier date of amalgamation or disbandment is given, this implies that it existed up to the absorption of the Rifle Volunteers, and other volunteers such as the yeomanry - mainly cavarly - , into the Territorials in 1908, as a result of the Haldane reforms.

David

helenbee · Post by **helenbee** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:21 pm

David, does it say where/if records are kept?

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 1:10 pm

helenbee wrote:David, does it say where/if records are kept?

I don't think so, - it's 350+ pages, - but it's much more a history of the rifle volunteers across the UK rather than a "How To" book on researching such ancestors ......

Any such info that has survived should be at TNA at Kew, but who knows what there might be locally.

If I come across any source info I'll let you know, - but Russell's the local man who'll know or be able to find out what local libraries and societies have.

David

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 1:23 pm

Hi Helen

The reason you had no reply from the Weaver's Cottage is the custodian is only part-time and the cottage is only open during the 'tourist' season unless special arrangements are made for school visits.

I have asked various folk in the village whether any records have survived here and there is nothing. They just looked blankly at me as though it was a silly question

I haven't been in to the Paisley Archive to see if there is anything there but I doubt it since some of the people I spoke to are amateur local historians and have done a fair bit of research.
It may be a dead end locally but, as David suggested, there may be some records existing at Kew. That's an area I'm not familiar with at all.

Russell