John Burke (abt. 1795 - 1839)

Born about 31 Jul 1795 in Claremorris, County Mayo, Ireland

Husband of Mary (McDonnell) Hodder — married before 1823 in Ireland

Descendants

Died 2 May 1839 at about age 43 in Chatham, Kent, England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Alison Kilpatrick [send private message]

Biography

Life events

According to his British Army attestation papers, John Burke was born "in or near" the town of Claremorris, county Mayo, in about 1795.^[1]

John's wife was Mary McDonnell (1794–1869) of county Mayo.

Their daughter, Margaret Jane, was baptised on the 11th May 1823 at Tralee, county Kerry.^[2]

John Burke migrated from Ireland to England (c.1826).

Their son, James, was born in June 1829 at Gillingham, Kent.^[3]

Corporal John Burke, regimental tailor with the 39th Foot, died at Chatham, Kent, on the 2nd May 1839.^[4]

British Army service

Overview of the British Army service record^[1] of John Burke:

• attested into the 96th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot at Mullingar, county Westmeath, 24th March 1817;
• on attestation, a tailor by trade, perhaps of the kind known as a country tailor, who made up coarse plain clothes and took in mending; or, he may have apprenticed to his father or an uncle in the town of Claremorris, thereby acquiring some finer tailoring skills;
• served with the 96th Foot for just twenty-one months when, on the 10th December 1818, the regiment was disbanded at Limerick;
• attested to the 39th Foot in March 1819, which had been stationed at Castlebar, in the county of Mayo, since early January, 1819;
• moved with the regiment to Dublin in August 1820, and subsequently to Cork in March 1821;
• posted to Tralee in the county of Kerry in December 1821;
• posted to Limerick in October 1823;
• posted to Buttevant, in the county Cork, in October 1824;
• marched Cork in July 1825, to be embarked for Chatham;
• while the bulk of the regiment was subsequently conveyed to New South Wales as guards over convicts during the period 1825–1828, John Burke stayed on in Chatham with the depôt company.^[1]

Research notes

• The estimated year of birth was inferred from the age recorded at enlistment in the British Army service record.^[1]
• A parish record of the marriage has not been found. Two sources were consulted:
  • the Roman Catholic records for all parishes in the county of Mayo and the earliest entries for registers in counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick, and Westmeath (in all of which counties John Burke was posted with the 39th Regiment during the period, 1817–1826), were reviewed in the National Library of Ireland's holdings online; and
  • the indexes of Catholic marriages compiled by Ancestry™.

The date of marriage is estimated to have occurred as early as 1814 (when John was about 18 years of age, and Mary, 20) and as late as 1823 when their daughter, Margaret Jane, was born,—which range, unfortunately, predates the earliest entries in many Catholic registers.~Kilpatrick-1128 (2018-09-12)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} British Army Service Records 1760-1915; John Burke, Claremorris, county Mayo (1795-1839). Original record: The National Archives, London; TNA ref. WO97/551/9. Photocopy obtained by commissioned research (Dr. Christopher Watts, 2003); confirmed to digitized copies held online by findmypast.co.uk (accessed by Alison Kilpatrick by subscription, 2012-03-25).
2. ↑ Irish Genealogy, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Ireland. Baptismal record for Margaret Burk [sic]. Date of baptism: 11 May 1823; father: John Burk, mother: Mary McDonnell, address: New Barracks, Tralee, county Kerry; baptised by the Rev. J. Quill, sponsors: Patrick Brenan, Mary Gallihir, Roman Catholic parish church at Tralee, county Kerry; book no. 3, page 10, entry no. 106, record identifier KY-RC-BA-457560 (accessed by Alison Kilpatrick, 2012-03-25).
3. ↑ British Army Service Records, 1760–1915. James Burke, Private, 39th Regiment of Foot; born June 1829, Gillingham, Kent. Original record: The National Archives (Kew, Surrey). Digital images online at findmypast.co.uk (accessed by Alison Kilpatrick by subscription, 2013-06-16).
4. ↑ General Register Office (England). Certified Copy of Entry of Death. John Burke, male, age 41 years, Tailor; died 2 May 1839, Holborn Lane, Chatham, England; cause of death: fever; informant: Ann Harfleet, Holborn Lane, present at death; registration district: Medway, subdistrict: Rochester. Purchased by Alison Kilpatrick from the General Register Office (2012-03-28), application no. 3949627-1, DYD 245150 (2012-04-13).

Links

• Arborealis: John Burke (1795–1839) of Claremorris, county Mayo
• Arborealis: Blog article: "Unsung Hero"