Genealogy Forum UK

(This message is also in the Introductions section)

Hi,

My family history is mostly Irish. There are many "Catholic" surnames, and some Anglo-Irish ones. There's one particular line, however, that I'd really like to find out more about. It starts with Paul RUBENS (I've seen several spelling variations, sometimes without an 's' ), who died in 1849 in Blessington, Co. Wicklow. He married in Galway in 1800. His wife, Elizabeth GILES, converted to Protestantism and married him on the same day. He served in the Wicklow Militia for a few years, starting in 1800. He converted to Catholicism later in life.

It's his origin that most interests me. I'm told he probably wasn't a Palatine or a Quaker, so I'm wondering whether he was a Huguenot. I see the Huguenot Society has some pricey CDs which might be useful:

http://www.huguenotsociety.org.uk/publi ... cdrom.html

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Any input would be great. Has anyone traced an ancestor who immigrated to Britain or Ireland before the 20th century? What sources did you use?

Maybe I'll check out the British National Archives website

ive got people coming to britian from ireland but ive had no luck searching the irish side in ireland

there are some sites in the link sector if you want to have a look at them

Strangeloop,
I have been having similar frustrations with one of my husband's ancestors

He also served with the Wicklow Militia from 1812 to 1835 .... I was able to find a small amount of info. on him from Chelsea Pensioner records ( he was listed as a shoemaker and Chelsea Pensioner in 1851, while living in Lancashire) .... did your relative serve for more than 20 years or get injured in service? ..... as I believe those to be the qualifications to become a Chelsea Pensioner?

Since then, I have pretty much reached a brick wall.... thought I was onto something when I found a message board on 'Ancestry.com' which appeared to be close relatives of the ancestor I was looking for.... but haven't been able to positively pin things down...

Have you tried the surname message boards on Ancestry? .... there may be someone else out there on the same line of research?

There is also this site
http://www.rootsireland.ie/

Expat

Hi Expat,

Good to hear from someone with Wicklow Militia connections! You've probably tried the Militia 1806-1915 records:

http://www.findmypast.co.uk/search/army ... ds/militia

Unforunately my ancestor doesn't show up here.

I had a look at some militia musters in Kew. Paul Rubens shows up in 1800 and 1801. In 1802 he's not there but there is a guy in a different company (each militia was made up of several companies) called Pat Robins. It's very likely that this is him. I reckon the adjutant made a mistake, and then repeated the mistake. If I'm right with this theory, I'm not sure when he left. Unfortunately, when I was in Kew I didn't think of this and started looking at other counties' militia regiments to see if he showed up in them.

I can give you some general militia info. I might post some of it here in a day or two. Maybe some other militia fans will come out of the woodwork. Interesting fact: there is a Masonic lodge called the "Wicklow Militia Lodge" in Arklow, Co. Wicklow.

Thanks for the Ancestry suggestion, I'll give that a go.