An ancestor in Mauritius in the 1810s - your thoughts??

[wulliam]

Hi - this is my first visit to this forum so please bear with me

I've been researching my family history for the past 8 years or so, and yesterday made a major breakthrough on one line...

James Cumming (my gggg-grandfather) enlisted with His Majesty’s 72nd Regiment of Foot on 20 Mar 1801 for unlimited service.He eventually served for nearly twenty years, eventually being discharged because of a severe shoulder injury received at the Cape of Good Hope which meant that he could not fulfil the active duties of a soldier. His general conduct was uniformly good; he received his pension upon returning home.
James spent 5½ years in the East Indies on the Isle of France, now known as Mauritius. He arrived there with the 72nd Regiment of Foot in the latter part of 1810, the French surrendering formally on 3rd December. The first 3½ years of his time there appear to have been fairly uneventful: he spent some time on commando in the district of Flacq and in Port Louis itself.
Towards the end of 1814 James came to be noticed by Lieutenant-Colonel Walter Nathaniel Leitch. He became servant to Leitch and remained in that capacity until around April 1816. It is not clear exactly what James’s rôle was; however, Leitch valued him sufficiently to retain his services when the 72nd Regiment of Foot left Mauritius. James re-joined them at the Cape of Good Hope in mid-1816.

My questions:
1) Do any of you have any idea what 'servant' may mean....personal secretary (he was literate) or chief dish-washer?
2) Is he likely to have been mentioned in any other documents of the time?
3) How would I find out if Leitch left a personal diary that might have more detail?
4) Do you have any other ideas on how this could be followed up further?

Thanks!
William

[Tab]

Todays term would be Batman...[No not the cape crusader] this would be a chap that would look after his uniform while he was at home or on campaign and would make sure every thing was correct in a military fashion.

[wulliam]

Thanks for that - very helpful!

[Tab]

Google the 72 Regiment of Foot and see who they have amalgamated with over the years and then you might be able to drop that Regimental museum an E Mail and see what they can tell you.

[wulliam]

Google the 72 Regiment of Foot and see who they have amalgamated with over the years and then you might be able to drop that Regimental museum an E Mail and see what they can tell you.

That's a very good suggestion - thanks. Have just done so,

William

[desheikh]

Thanks for that .AMAZING