Finding the unexpected in Malta

A Maltese Calese, a form of transportation unique to Malta

Malta must have been a strange and exotic sight to Henrietta McKay when she disembarked from her ship sometime in 1870 or early 1871. The picture up above is of a Maltese Calese, a vehicle unique to Malta. Was that her mode of transportation from the ship? Did she have the infant William with her or was she travelling on her own to join her husband at the Malta Garrison? For join him she did.

It doesn't pay to make assumptions. When William McKay's military record stated that his marriage was not recognized until he was sent to India, I thought that meant that Henrietta wouldn't have been with him in Malta. Malta was William McKay's first overseas posting. He wasn't sent to India until 1879, which can be seen in the chart below. 

On the off chance, I checked Family Search to see what was available for Malta. There were online genealogy records, one of which was the Index of Baptisms by Army Chaplains 1800 - 1900. Helpfully the chaplain had included the father's regiment in the entry, if not his name. There was an impressive bunch of McKay and MacKay baptisms to the Royal Engineers.

Further checking on Find My Past brought to light more databases to check for births and baptisms of the McKay children in Malta. The first entry I found was for Florence Annie McKay who was baptized at the Garrison of Malta on January 28, 1872. It also noted her birth date which was December 29, 1871. 

The baptismal entry for William Henry McKay had also noted his date of birth which was July 27, 1870, about 17 months prior to the birth of Florence Annie, but a whole world away in Weymouth, Dorset. How did Henrietta feel giving birth to her second child so far from her family? What other changes would life in an army garrison bring to Henrietta McKay?

Sources:

Find My Past – British armed forces and overseas birth and baptisms images

Find My Past – British Armed Forces and Overseas Browse - Garrison Church, Malta: Baptism Register 1860-1886 WO 156/596

Malta Family History, Index of baptisms by Army Chaplains 1800-1900, accessed through Family Search Wiki, Malta Online Genealogy Records

Images:

By Calvert Richard Jones - Bodleian, Public Domain, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86141656