Did Kate Dutton’s father serve in the 39th Regiment of Foot of The British Army?

The search for Thomas Dutton (part 1)

According to Kate’s birth certificate her father, Thomas Dutton, was a Soldier of the 39 Reg inf, who was said to be about 35 years old and born in London.[i]

Excerpt from the birth certificate Kate Dutton, born 21 December 1857. (Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Australia. 2541/1858)

“39 Reg inf” seems to suggest that he was a member of  The 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot an infantry regiment of the British Army.

In the 1800s the regiment did come to New South Wales, Australia  “toward the end of 1825[30] and saw service guarding convicts and establishing settlements at Hobart, Sydney, Swan River Colony and Bathurst before leaving for India in July 1832.”[ii] If Thomas Dutton came to Australia with the Regiment it seemed plausible that he could have retired in Australia.

The only Dutton I could find was a William Henry Dutton as it was not unusual for people to change their first names particularly if they were trying to obscure their identity.  As William was the only Dutton in the 39th Regiment of Foot I decided to trace his life to see if he were one and the same as Kate’s father.  Below are the results of that research.

The Life of William Henry Dutton

William Henry Dutton served a total of just over 18 years in the British army, retiring as an invalid with Hepatic & Catarrhal afflictions.[iii] He was born on 8 September 1803 and baptised eight years later on the 27 May 1811 in St Andrews, London, in St Giles in the Fields, Holborn, Camden, England to Thomas & Maria Dutton.[iv],[v]  William retired on the 27 May 1840 with the rank of Drummer.[vi]  He was a member of the 39^th Regiment of Foot. [vii]

He can be found in the following censuses.

In the 1841 Census William was living either in or close by the Royal Hospital in White Lion Street, Middlesex as a pensioner.[viii]

[In 1845 According to the Royal Hospital Chelsea records he moved around quite a lot from 1845-1846 from the pay districts of Jersey to Worcester.[ix] In 1846 he moved from Worcester 1/1, back to Jersey 1/7 and then onto Birmingham on the  1^st November.[x]]

In the 1851 Census, he can be found living as a Chelsea Pensioner unmarried in a place called Henley in Arden in Warwickshire, with a 9 year old girl as a lodger.[xi]

In the 1861 Census he was still in Henley in Arden in Warwickshire but now was living in a boarding house, which included another Chelsea pensioner named Tom Lowe.[xii]

[According to the Royal Hospital Chelsea records he moved from the Birmingham pay district on 1 January 1861 when he moved to Coventry pay district, which probably coincides with his move from Warwickshire to Ross in Herefordshire.[xiii] ]

In the 1871 census he was living in the town of Ross in Herefordshire, England, in a lodging house, his occupation is listed as Pensioner.[xiv] 

In the 1881 Census, he was living still living in Over Ross Street.[xv]

He died on 16 April 1883[or 87 as the writing is difficult to read] while living in Jersey, England. [xvi]

Conclusion

William Henry Dutton did not marry nor once he retired did he leave England, he is not Thomas Dutton using a different name.  It appears that Thomas Dutton’s was not a member of the 39 Regiment of Foot, and so the search continues.

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[i] Birth Certificate Kate Dutton, born 21 December 1857. Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Australia. 2541/1858

[ii] Revolvy, L. (2018). "39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot" on Revolvy.com. Revolvy.com. Retrieved 13 June 2018, from https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=39th%20(Dorsetshire)%20Regiment%20o

[iii] FindMyPast, Invalid Pension Commencement record for William Henry Dutton, commenced on 27 May 1840, ‘British Army Service Records’  Citing Wo 23 - Royal Hospital Chelsea: Admission Books, Registers, And Papers 1702-1876 Admission books, The National Archives, UK, Admission book Page 106, 39 Regiment Foot,  unnumbered entry second on page

[iv] Ancestry.com. Military pension granted for William Henry Dutton on the 27 May 1840, ‘UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Admissions and Discharges, 1715-1925’ [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Citing original data: Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Disability and Royal Artillery Out-Pensions, Admission Books WO 116. The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey, England. Piece Number: 48

[v] Ancestry.com. Baptism of William Henry Dutton, baptised 27 May 1811, St Giles in the Fields, Holborn, Camden Parish Register, London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Citing original data: Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives.

[vi] Ancestry.com. Military pension granted for William Henry Dutton on the 27 May 1840, ‘UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Admissions and Discharges, 1715-1925’ [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Citing original data: Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Disability and Royal Artillery Out-Pensions, Admission Books WO 116. The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey, England. Piece Number: 48

[vii] Ancestry.com. William Henry Dutton’s entry in the Regimental Registers of Pensioners for the 39th Regiment of Foot. ‘UK, Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Regimental Registers of Pensioners, 1713-1882’ [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Citing original data: Registers of pensioners of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, 1713–1868. WO 120. War Office, Armed Forces, Judge Advocate General, and related bodies: Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Regimental Registers of Pensioners. The National Archives of the United Kingdom, Kew, Surrey, England.

[viii] Class: HO107; Piece: 688; Book: 14; Civil Parish: Chelsea; County: Middlesex; Enumeration District: 12; Folio: 21; Page: 37

[ix] FindMyPast, British Army Service Records  for William Henry Dutton regarding change of address to Worcester from Jersey, from the 1st October to the 31st December 1845, ‘British Army Service Records’  Citing Wo 22 - Royal Hospital Chelsea: Returns Of Payment Of Army And Other Pensions 1842-1883 The National Archives, UK, Piece number 205,  Channel Islands, 1842-1852. Unpaginated,  unnumbered entry eighth under Out-Pensioners of Chelsea Hospital, in the Jersey District, from the 1st October to the 31st December 1845

[x] FindMyPast, British Army Service Records  for William Henry Dutton  1845-1854. Citing Wo 23 - Royal Hospital Chelsea: Admission Books, Registers, And Papers 1702-1876 Archive, The National Archives, Piece number 39, Unpaginated, unnumbered entry, sixth on page.

[xi] 1851 Census lass: HO107; Piece: 2074; Folio: 730; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 8a in Stratford On Avon, subdisctrict of Kineton, household 16. Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1851.

[xii] 1861 Census, Class: RG 9; Piece: 2232; Folio: 95; Page: 18 Household 87

[xiii] FindMyPast, British Army Service Records  for William Henry Dutton  1855-1865. Citing Wo 23 - Royal Hospital Chelsea: Admission Books, Registers, And Papers 1702-1876 Archive, The National Archives,  WO 23 Piece number 48 page 108, unnumber entries seventh on the page.

[xiv] 1871 Census Class: RG10; Piece: 2686; Folio: 129; Page: 27; William Henry Dutton, Lodger & Pensioner

[xv] 1881 Census Class: RG11; Piece: 2585; Folio: 86; Page: 28; William Henry Dutton, 78 yrs,  Lodger & Pensioner

[xvi] Ancestry.com. William Henry Dutton’s entry in the Regimental Registers of Pensioners for the 39th Regiment of Foot. ‘UK, Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Regimental Registers of Pensioners, 1713-1882’ [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Citing original data: Registers of pensioners of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, 1713–1868. WO 120. War Office, Armed Forces, Judge Advocate General, and related bodies: Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Regimental Registers of Pensioners. The National Archives of the United Kingdom, Kew, Surrey, England.