Our Great Great Great Great Grandparents
Archibald was born at Glasgow on August 18, 1784. He enlisted in the Royal Artillery on March 28, 1803 and was given the rank of Gunner 3rd Class. In June 1803 he was serving at Woolwich depot, Kent, in Captain Farrington's Company 1st Battalion Royal Artillery at a pay of eleven and two thirds pence per day. From July 1803 to March 1806 he served at Woolwich and Hull depots under the command of Captain J W Tobin (Woolwich) and Captain Leakes (Hull). At this time he was receiving fifteen and one quarter pence per day. During the period April 1806 to January 1807 he is recorded as being stationed at Gibraltar under the command of Captain Reys, from where he returned to Tynemouth depot in February 1807. The next 18 months he was in England and Scotland moving between Tynemouth, Leith Fort and Colchester depots.
In January 1809 he is recorded as being in the West Indies, where he remained until July 1809 when he was transferred back to Leith Fort, Scotland, again to Captain Farrington's Company where he remained until September 1813. It is not known where he was stationed between September 1813 and August 1814.
On March 24, 1810 he was promoted to Gunner 2nd Class on serving 7 years service and his pay was increased to sixteen and one quarter pence per day. He was discharged on August 15, 1814 on a pension of fivepence per day. Army records describe him as 5' 6" in height, brown complexion, brown eyes, previous trade as a weaver and able to read and write. This description was in March 1803 when he enlisted at the age of 18 years.
On August 6, 1804 he married Anne Sugar Morier at Glasgow. William Timperley, Methodist minister at Glasgow performed the ceremony. During the period 1814 to 1832 he is believed to have been occupied as a starcher and dyer, along with his brother John, at 113 John Street Glasgow.
Archibald and Anne, together with their two youngest sons, emigrated to Australia arriving in Sydney on board the 208 ton Barque SS Macclesfield, from Liverpool, England via Hobart, Tasmania on May 23, 1833. In 1838 when other members of his family arrived in Sydney he was said to be a farmer and Pensioner-Overseer in the Hunter River district of NSW. Anne died at Sydney two years after their arrival, in October 1835 aged 50 years. Archibald died at Bathurst Street, Sydney, on May 26, 1857 aged 73 years. They had 8 children of whom 6 are known to have come to Australia during the period 1833 to 1838. One died in Scotland as a child. It is not known if the elder son ever came to Australia.