William Hall in India and In Scotland

An Important Find – Private William Hall

July 9, 2012 at 10:39 pm Leave a comment

As a beginner in genealogy, I have not done a lot of research on my own. I have cousins on both sides of my family that had already researched most of my two family trees. But today I think I may have made an important discovery on my own. I found what might be the military service record of my great great grandfather William Hall. William was serving in the British Army in India when he married my great great grandmother Lydia Selina Ramsbottom.

I found the record on Find My Past UK. This is a site on which you have to pay for records, but they are not too expensive and you can buy credits using your American credit card. It costs about $15 for 60 credits, and to download William’s service record (6 pages) cost 5 credits.

At first I wasn’t sure if I had the right William Hall, but as I carefully looked at the six pages that seem to be William’s discharge papers, I found so many correct names and dates that I  became sure the record was his. The records listed all the dates he had been at various assignments in India. When I looked at the birth records (found on Family Search) of his four children, the dates and places of their births matched the dates of his military assignment. I’ll have much more to share about William as I continue to examine his records, but for now, I am just basking in the joy of discovery!

Entry filed under: Halls. Tags: Find My Past, India, William Hall.