John Richard Purchase

John was born in the parish of St. John, Baliwick of Jersey, Channel Islands - a British Crown Dependency off the French coast of Normandy. John was recorded there as late as the 1871 census along with the rest of his family but at some point between that time and 1881 immigrated to Canada, settling as a farmer in Sainte-Cecile-de-Milton in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. John married Marie Gendreau in 1881 and fathered 8 children with her before immigrating to Springfield, Mass. circa 1890. John and Marie had three more children after the move to the US. Eventually moving to a farmhouse in Ludlow, Mass., John and Marie remained until their deaths (Marie 1908, John 1938).

Nov 4, 2016 - Finally found a record relating to John's military service in Canada. A September 1, 1875 paylist covering Sept 5-Sept 18, 1875 at Granby, Canada for the Canadian Volunteer Militia, Number Four Company, 79th Regiment ("Highlanders") of Brome and Shefford, Canada (Eastern Township near Montreal) that included John has been located and saved. Private John Purchase drilled for 12 days at a rate of 60 cents/day, earning $7.20.

The 79th Shefford Battalion of Infantry Highlanders were redesignated 79th Shefford Regiment 8 May 1900. Redesignated 79th Shefford and Brome Regiment 1 May 1903 Converted to cavalry and redesignated 13th Scottish Light Dragoons 1 Feb 1904 (Source: Canadian Soldiers.com)

Source Description:This database contains paylists and acquittance rolls for the Canadian Volunteer Militia between 1857-1922. These records documented the pay given to militia men who were required to drill regularly and at an annual call out. The records include name, rank, number of days of drill, rate of pay, total amount paid, any pay received for the use of a horse by the company, and signature of the member for received pay.

Ancestry.com. Canada, Nominal Rolls and Paylists for the Volunteer Militia, 1857-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Original data: Department of Militia and Defence, Accounts and Pay Branch, Nominal Rolls and Paylists for the Volunteer Militia, 1885-1914. R180-100-9-E, formerly RG9-II-F-6, 138 rolls. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.

Update: August 3, 2017 - I found John's baptismal record online at Ancestry.com. It lists his date of baptism as February 14, 1853 on the Isle of Jersey/Parish of St. John; his date of birth as February 10, 1853 - not February 8, 1854 as has been officially recorded in all other documents. His mother's maiden name was also discovered on this document: Susanne Marie Renouf (not Shepard as known/accepted until now). Wonder if his mother was somehow connected to his eventual emigration to Quebec, Canada?