According to the official church records from Ednam, Roxburghshire, Scotland, Benjamin Lumsden was baptised on Sept. 3/1775, as "Binoni" Lumsden by his mother Isabel Hall. His father is given as William Lumsden of Kelso, Roxburgh-shire. Benjamin Lumsden served in the Dumfries Fencibles Cavalry from 1795 to 1800, mostly in Yorkshire, England. Then he served in the North Yorkshire Militia from 1802 to 1805. In 1805, he transferred to the 7th Royal Fusiliers of the regular army and served until he was discharged in 1814 with night blindness. The 7th Royal Fusiliers came to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1808 in the ship "British Tar", and it appears he brought his son Edward Lumsden with him. No records have been found to date regarding Benjamin's wife or Edward's birth, however, Edward's death record shows Scarsborough, Yorkshire, England as his birthplace. Edward submitted a petition for a land grant in the town of Canso, in which he stated that his father, an NCO in the 7th Royal Fusiliers, had brought him to Nova Scotia as a child, but had to leave him with a friend in Canso when the Battalion was sent to Portugal in 1810. Benjamin was the only Lumsden in the 7th Royal Fusiliers. (Above research done by Ken Lumsden) I have not been able to confirm portions of the above research done by Ken. Following is the information I have been able to prove: LUMSDEN FAMILY GENEALOGY DESCENDANTS OF BENONI (BENJAMIN) LUMSDEN Isabel Hall had her son Benoni (Benjamin) baptized on Sept. 3, 1775. The entry taken from the Old Parochial Registers for County Roxburgh, Parish Ednam does not name a father, but does give the child�s surname as LUMSDEN. It also states that Isabel Hall was an indweller (inhabitant) of Ednam. (L101) Benoni is a Biblical name that means "son of my sorrow." It was the original name given to the younger son of the patriarch Jacob. Rachel, his mother, in her dying agony named the child Benoni. (Genesis 35:18). This name was often given in American Colonial times to a child whose mother died in childbirth or whose father died before the child was born. It is possible, based on this, that William Lumsden died before Benoni's birth. There is no William Lumsden of Kelso or Roxburgh within a hundred year span of Benoni�s birth. This simple map shows where Roxburghshire is located in Scotland. More information on the various parishes within Roxburghshire is located here (L108) Further searching through the OPR births shows that William Hall and Betty Rae, his Spouse, had a Daughter called Isabel, born the 7th and baptized the thirteenth of April, 1760. (L102). If this is indeed Benjamin�s mother, she would have been 15 years old at the time of his birth. A Marriage record for Isabel Hall and James Wight is dated 14th February, 1779, at Ednam, and states: James Wight in the Parish of Bowden and Isabel Hall in this parish gave up their names in order to proclamation (sic) for marriage. (L103) Consigned one shilling to the poor. John Weir Schoolmaster in Ednam their Cautioner. And was married the 13th March 1779. The following record was taken from the OPR dated 14th of May, 1780: James Wight and Isabel Hall married persons were rebuked before the Congregation, upon their having been guilty of nuptial fornication. Their child, Jean Wight was born on July 25, 1779, and Baptised before the Congregation on May 21, 1780. (L104) At the time of her birth, James and Isabel were living in Midlem, which is close to the Bowden/Ednam area. There were other daughters born to James and Isabel Wight: Elspeth Wight, baptised July 8, 1781 (L105) Isabel Wight, baptised April 24, 1785 (L106) Janet Wight, born on May 15th and baptized the 15th of July, 1787. (L107) BENJAMIN LUMSDEN served in the Dumfries Fencibles Cavalry from 1794 to 1800. *See note (L110a) on the date. The Scottish Bard, Robbie Burns, was in the Dumfries Fencibles for the first year and a half, until his death. (L110) Burns' funeral procession was led by the Dumfries Fencibles. (L109) After the Fencibles disbanded, Benjamin must have decided to make the army his career. He served in the 2nd Royal Veteran Battalion; 7th Foot Regiment. (L116) From 1808 to 1811, the 7th Regiment of Foot was stationed in Halifax, (L117) but the second battalion returned to Europe in 1809. The Royal Fusiliers formed part of the famed Fusilier Brigade in Wellington's Peninsular Army along with the 23rd Regiment of Foot (The Royal Welch Fusiliers) at the Battle of Albuhera on 16 May 1811. He was discharged aged 41 after 16 years, 6 months of service because of Night Blindness. He had attained the rank of Sergeant.(L108) His Army records state that he was born in KELSO, Roxburghshire. Although the records held at the National Archives, Kew, state that his discharge papers give his residence or place where pension paid, there is actually nothing in the copies I received that gives his residence. There is, however, some interesting information to be gleaned from the military records. His physical description is as follows: 5 feet, five and a half inches tall, His eyes were gray. His trade was a tailor. One document states his complexion is "fresh", another calls him "swarthy". One says his hair color is "fair", the other says "brown". He was approved for the Increase in Pension of 3 pence per diem in May of 1816. We believe he settled in Scarborough, Yorkshire, after the end of his army career. View the Military discharge documents: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 He spent time at Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, and perhaps married more than once, as there are records of two marriages (L112) of Benjamin Lumsden, both in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, both to women named Mary. His son, Edward, was born in 1795, prior to either of the two marriages found to date.

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