Dear Randy

I have completed my search for the records of your ancestor, Joseph Weeks/Weekes, who served with the 74th of Foot.  His name is listed with both spellings throughout his records.

Firstly, I noticed that there were records in WO 97/567, the computerised index of discharge papers prior to 1855, for a Joseph Weeks who was born in Antrim and served with the 40th of Foot from 1807-1814, and was aged 40 when he discharged. I kept this in mind, as he might possibly be Joseph Junior's father. There were no discharge papers for Joseph Weekes Junior in this index.

I then went on to search the discharge papers of the 74th of Foot for the years 1855-1872, held in WO 97/1609, but there were no papers for Joseph here.

I then looked at the initial muster in which Joseph appeared, which was held in WO 12/8084. This showed that he enlisted in the Northern District on 8th December 1831 and was aged 21 at the time. The battalion was stationed in Limerick. Joseph was 5 feet 6 3/4 inches tall. He was in the Regimental Hospital in June 1831, and was on Detachment in Borrosoleigh in December 1831. The battalion then moved to Templemore in October 1831. I then searched the following muster rolls trying to establish the final entry for Joseph as this would give further information on him:

WO 12/8086  April 1833 to March 1834
The battalion was stationed in Kilkenny and Joseph was here until August 1833 when he went on Detachment to Pigeon House Fort until November 1833 when he rejoined the battalion, which had now moved to Dublin.

WO 12/8088 April 1835 to March 1836
The battalion was stationed in Grenada, Barbados and Antigua. Joseph went on Detachment to Montserrat in November 1835 until the end of this set of musters.

WO 12/8090 April 1837 to March 1838
The battalion was stationed in St. Vincent until 13th February 1838 when it moved to St. Lucia.

WO 12/8093 April 1840 to March 1841
The battalion was stationed in Trinidad, Tobago and Barbados. Joseph drowned in Barbados on 21st February 1841.  The Non Effectives page shows that he was born in Lisbon (quite clearly spelt) and that his father, Joseph, was from Ballymena, Antrim.

There was no Married Roll in any of the above musters. I searched the Regimental and Chaplains' Returns of Births and Marriages, but found no relevant listings. These records are not complete, however, particularly for these earlier years.

I then searched the Chaplains' Returns of Deaths and the Deaths at Sea, but Joseph was not recorded in either of these indexes.

I then ordered the musters of the 74th of Foot and the 40th of Foot (reference the Joseph Weeks found in the computerised index) to see if either of these regiments was in Portugal in 1810.

WO 12/5329
40th Foot, 1st battalion, stationed in Guarda from December 1809 to June 1810 and in Portugal from June to September 1810, Azembujo from September to December 1810 and Portugal from December 1810 to June 1811. Joseph Weeks present throughout.

WO 12/5402
40th Foot, 2nd battalion
Not stationed in Portugal.

WO 12/8067
74th Foot
Stationed in Portugal, but no Joseph Weeks present.

This points to the record in WO 97/567 probably being that of Joseph Weekes Junior's father, so I have copied it. It shows that he was 5 feet 9 inches tall with red hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.  He was a miller by trade prior to enlistment. He was discharged as a result of having his left arm amputated through wounds received at Toulouse. He also received a gunshot wound to the jaw at Pampuluna.

Finally, I searched the final muster in which Joseph Senior appeared, in case it gave any additional information. This muster was held in WO 12/5331 but there is no Married Roll or Non-Effectives page, so there is no further information.

... I hope that you find this report and the copies obtained to be of interest.

Best wishes

RW O'HARA