Alexander's son Colin Campbell Murdoch was born in Ile de France (the province that includes Paris) during the Allied occupation of France following Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo. This places Alexander probably in France at that time. A number of British regiments were posted there but according to my research, the 92nd Gordon Highlanders was not among them. However, the 91st Argyll Highlanders was. (See this Blog: Colin Campbell.) Note the connection to the Campbells: the Duke of Argyll was always a Campbell. Alexander had some connection of loyalty to the Campbells: he named his son Colin Campbell Murdoch and the name has passed down through the generations. Considering the above death notice was made by Alexander's great grandchildren, could it be that they made a mistake about his regiment and said 92nd when they should have said 91st? Or could there have been an error in the transcription? Also, Alexander may have served in more than one regiment. (Update: See next Post)
A further thought: could the family pride in Alexander be because he died in battle or was decorated? If so, lists of those soldiers are a bit easier to find.
In the meantime, here's a Murdock who served in the 91st Argyll Highlanders. If his name had been Alexander he would have done very nicely. Source: Full text of "Historical records of the 91st Argyllshire Highlanders, now the 1st Battalion Princess Louisa's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, containing an account of the Regiment in 1794, and of its subsequent services to 1881" (Google) (archive.org)
MURDOCH: James C. - Ensign, 18th June 1806; Lieutenant 28th May 1807; Captain, 29th November 1810. Was present at Waterloo [The 91st were on standby but were not called on to fight]. To half-pay 1819.From Forces War Records:
MURDOCH Alexander (Private) 1857 Unit unknown
MURDOCH Alex (Serjeant) 1803 East Fife Volunteers (militia)
Alexr Murdoch (Private) 1800 9th (Royal Perthshire) North . . . (militia)
Next - search Forces War records for Murdoch - periods after Napoleonic.
Hello there, I've discovered your blog through your wikitree post in regards to Patrick Campbell. My name is Rebecca, the whomever she is who spoke of Captain James Campbell Murdoch. That source is from a collection of memories created in 2015 by relatives of those who served at Waterloo. As a descendant, I was lucky enough to attend St Paul's Cathedral for the 200th anniversary celebration. James is my great, great, great, great grandfather. His son Colin Campbell Murdoch was born in France when James was serving there with the 91st, his mother was named Marion Paulle (Powl on the certificate, Paulle later), a Frenchwoman. I have seen the Alexander name pop up before as his father, but I sent off for the overseas record and confirmed James and Marion were Colin's parents. Colin Campbell Murdoch was baptised April 4th, 1817, at Roillcourt, St Pol, France. James Campbell Murdoch did have a another son called Alexander who was also in the military and seems to have led a quite nomadic life! There are marriage records for him in London. James's sister Sarah paid for his headstone in Stirling upon his death seeing as she had married into the wealthy Murdochs, as you know from your Gartincaber posts. I'm afraid I know little to nothing different about the Campbells, but I'm delighted to see information like this in one place! My great Aunt has always said there is a castle in the family, and Dunderave seems as though it may be the one. If you would like to contact me, you can reach me at globert202 (@) gmail . com - Hopefully that keeps the scammers away!
ReplyDeleteWith thanks and best wishes, Rebecca