In Her Majesty's Service

 

Fold3. UK Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Records.

Last month I wrote about the possibility that my 3rd-great-grandmother Bridget may have been related to Timothy Hanley, an Irish immigrant neighbor in the 1850 US Census. While they may still be connected, I have not yet validated that Bridget was a daughter of Timothy. His story is fascinating, I thought worthy of sharing on the blog in case other Hanley descendants stumble onto this page.

Timothy was born about 1807 in Kilglass, Roscommon, Ireland. He signed up for the British army in October 1825, joining underage as "boy" before being moved up to the level of private in 1826. He was assigned to the 47th Regiment of Foot. Timothy served in the British Army for 12 years, most of it in India. We know about this from his service record (partial screenshots above and below).

On the next page of his record, it shows Timothy was discharged in October 1838. His general conduct was deemed by the Regimental Board to be "middling".

The "her majesty" referenced on the top of page one of the service record would have been Queen Victoria. Timothy was sent to India, likely as part of the British soldiers supporting the East India Company. He served at Poona (modern day Pune), in Maharashtra State.

Fold3.

Timothy was sent back to Ireland in 1838, and received an official discharge from the army in August 1839. Upon arriving back from India, he married Rose Kelly in 1838, and had two daughters with her in Ireland - Mary and Anna Hanley. According to the History of La Salle County, Timothy and family made the journey from Ireland to Quebec in 1847, where his wife Rose died in quarantine of ship fever. They stayed in Quebec for six weeks. By 1849, the family arrived in La Salle County, Illinois, and connected with Timothy's brother Thomas Hanley.

Timothy married Bridget Doyle, and had at least five children in La Salle County:

• Catherine Hanley (1856-1930)
• Margaret Hanley (1858-1926)
• Thomas Hanley (1858-1910)
• Bridget Hanley (1862-1955)
• Elizabeth Hanley (1865-1915)

As I do not yet see any Hanley connections from the DNA matches on my Dad's side of the tree, at this stage I'm ruling out Bridget as a daughter of Timothy, and am continuing to work through the DNA approaches in Your DNA Guide.

Timothy made an amazing journey, joining the British Army as a minor in 1825 and leaving Ireland for service halfway across the world in India. He survived for 12 years stationed in a time of war when the British defeated the Maratha Empire. He was sentenced to twenty days solitary confinement in India under questionable circumstances, and served an additional four years in the army in India after being returned to service.

Timothy journeyed back to Ireland after his service in India, likely taking a long path around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, back to the United Kingdom. After starting a family, they sailed from Liverpool across the Atlantic to Montreal, ultimately making his way to north central Illinois. That's a long way to go.

It appears Timothy lived another 47 years in La Salle County, and passed away in 1896.