The Story from and Census and Beyond part 1

The internet has altered the world of genealogy exponentially since I first researched the Welch family. The 1861 census return that I had found by painstakingly cranking my way through the microfilm for Winchester is now available through a quick search on Ancestry or Find My Past and a search of the military records on Find My Past brought up an entry for George Welsh. This entry was also from 1861 and confirmed the unit or regiment as 3^rd Btn 60^th Foot (Kings Royal Rifle Corp) depot stationed at Winchester. The only additional information given was George Welsh's service number 292. But were George and the James Walsh found after him in the 1861 census related and, more importantly, had George spent his whole army career in Winchester?

If I wanted to find out more I needed to go beyond the internet. What was needed was an in-person look at the records at The National Archives at Kew. They were sure to have military records that would answer some of my questions about George Welch’s sojourn in the British Army. 

 

                           

              

The entrance to The National Archives (TNA) at Kew, England

 

 TNA is at Kew Gardens, a picturesque spot