NAGHTON John
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- NAGHTON John
From 1761 to 1818, five regiments of foot with the numeral 99 had been raised and disbanded. A sixth was raised in 1824 in Glasgow which in 1832, while serving in Mauritius and Seychelles, was formally granted its name 99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment. In 1874, it became 99th (Duke of Edinburgh’s) Regiment. The 99th was stationed in Ireland for five years, before being detailed to escort convicts to Australia in 1842. It remained in Australia until 1856, but also sent two companies to New Zealand during the Flagstaff War (or First Māori War) in 1845-46.
In 1850 a monument was erected in Hobart to commemorate twenty four men of the Regiment who were killed on active service in the New Zealand Māori Wars of 1845-46. The monument is unique as it was the first war memorial to be erected in Australia and also the only memorial to be erected by a British Regiment serving in Australia.
In 1849 a Company of the 99th arrived in Western Australia, and in 1856 joined with the regiment from Hobart to return to England. When it sailed for home, over 400 of its men stayed behind in Australia to transfer to other units.
| NAME: John NAGHTON | Name variations: Naughton, Nighton, Norton. |
|---|---|
| Birth Date and Place | c. 1819 Drum, Athlone, County Roscommon, Ireland [WO97-2063-104]. |
| Baptism Date and Place | Not verified: St. Peter’s, Athlone and Drum, Diocese of Elphin, County Roscommon [NLI Catholic Registers Microfilm 04615/02]. Note: very poor quality records – illegible hand, torn pages, dates missing etc. |
| Marriage Date and Place | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Occupations | Labourer. |
| Land Acquisition in WA | None. |
| Death Date and Place | 1877 aged 58 years, Melbourne, Victoria – not verified [VICBDM Reg.#2269]. Last known place of residence (24 Dec 1868) Albert Hotel, King Street, Melbourne [WO166-100]. |
| Burial Date and Place | |
| Death, Funeral, Obituary Notices | |
| Will and Probate | |
| BRITISH ARMY | |
| Regiment | 97th (Lanarkshire) Regiment. |
| Soldier No. and Rank | #1064 Private [WO97-2063-104]. |
| Attestation Date and Place | 24 Dec 1838 Athlone, Roscommon, Ireland. |
| Physical Description | Height: 5 ft. 8 ins. Complexion: pale. Eyes: blue. Hair: light brown. |
| Service/Campaigns | Australian Colonies 9 years. |
| Promotions | None. |
| Medals, Clasps and Badges | Good Conduct Badges (2) 2d. per diem. |
| Casualty/Medical | None. |
| Regimental Courts Martial | None. |
| District Courts Martial | None. |
| General Courts Martial | None. |
| Arrival Australia: Ship and Date | Anson. Dep. 1 Oct 1843 Plymouth, England; arr. 4 Feb 1844 Hobart, VDL [WO12-9806-214]. Waterlilly. Dep. 14 Feb 1844 Hobart, VDL; arr. 22 Feb 1844 Port Jackson, NSW [TROVE]. |
| Arrival Western Australia: Ship and Date | Ratcliffe 7 Apr 1847 from Hobart, VDL via Adelaide, SA [TROVE]. |
| Military Postings within Western Australia | Perth HQ 7 Apr 1849 to 31 Jan 1854 [WO12-9813 to 9819]. Including On Guard April and September 1849; December 1852. In hospital nine days December 1849; four days Oct-Dec Quarter 1852; eight days April 1853; two days January 1854. |
| Courts Martial in Western Australia | None. |
| Discharge Date and Place | 31 Jan 1854 Swan River, Western Australia. Discharged at own request receiving a gratuity of 12 months’ pay £18 5s. 0d. [WO12-9819-104] |
| Age at Discharge | 30 years 7 months. |
| Length of Service | 15 years 39 days (14 years 220 days plus 184 days to final discharge). |
| Chelsea Pension Reference | WO97-2063-104. |
| Pension District | Western Australia? and Melbourne ? after invalid examination on 20 Dec 1870 [WO116-100]. |
| Pension Amount | 4d. per diem. |
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
Five local (WA) sources have recorded a J/John Naughton/Norton as a soldier in the 96th Regiment. An exhaustive search of the Musters & Pay Lists for the 96th Regiment in WA from WO12-9620 (Feb 1847) when the detachment arrived to WO12-9624 (May 1849) when the regiment left Australia, records no soldier by these names or any other similar variation. Whereas a Private #1069 is consistently recorded as John Naghton in the 99th Regiment throughout his entire Army service from 1838 to 1854. Musters & Pay Lists in Australia record him from WO12-9806 (Feb 1844) when he joins his regiment in Parramatta, NSW to WO12-9813 (Apr 1849). His record of discharge from the Army is recorded on Pay List WO12-9819 folio 104 (as above). Further local sources record a man named John Naughton/Nighton in the 99th Regiment. This is a puzzle as there is no soldier in the 99th convicted in November 1852 of assault on an aboriginal prisoner [BARK p.159]; nor a soldier of this name discharged from the 99th in July 1854 [ERIC p.2323, WHIT p.61]. Whereas Private #1069 John Naghton has an unblemished record with no courts martial and two good conduct badges [WO97-2063-104]. References to Naghton having a wife and children has only been found in the puzzling WA records, and thus I have not used this data.
Naghton’s discharge arrangements are unusual. In January 1854 he discharged with a gratuity, but no apparent pension. However, in December 1870 (in Melbourne as John Naughton), he underwent an invalid examination with a note that he was ‘discharged in 1853’ (sic). Normally this examination would have been undertaken prior to discharge to pension. Naghton’s WO97 discharge to pension documents are so deficient in detail that I suspect they were generated and back-dated to 1854. The question is, of course, whether he retained his gratuity and received a 4d. per diem pension from 1854 or if some kind of reconciliation took place much later, as I cannot find any record of a pension being paid in WA or Melbourne between 1854 and 1870. The document (right) shows that he was, in 1870, registered for a deferred pension.