Recruitment

One question most often asked by genealogists is where they can obtain a roster of soldiers recruited in Scotland, who served with Fraser's Highlanders (originally numbered 2nd Highland Battalion) during the Seven Years' War, 1757-63. At the outset, the chances of identifying your ancestor as a soldier from the regiment are slim but not entirely impossible. Officer's biographies are much more common...

Land Petitions

Be sure to explore Colonial New York Land Surveys as some of these same names will appear in both areas. Additionally, we've also included a few extra land petitioners from the 78th Regiment dated in 1802. There are 3 steps involved with Land Grants: Land petitions Land allotments Letters patents 1. Land Petitions When New France became a British colony in 1763, a new land system...

Levy Money for the 2nd Highland Battalion, or Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 1757

A levy is a military force raised ["levied"] in a particular manner. Typically this means units raised by conscription, but not always. In the British Empire, levies were units raised by local officials for local tasks; however, in the instance of the 2nd Highland Battalion, the unit was raised specifically for service in North America. Many of the soldiers who chose to enlist in Fraser's...

Early Newspaper Accounts for the 78th Regiment [2nd Highland Battalion]

In the English-speaking world, the earliest predecessors of the newspaper were corantos, or small news pamphlets produced only when some event worthy of notice occurred. The first successively published title was The Weekly Newes of 1622. It was followed in the 1640s and 1650s by a plethora of different titles in the similar newsbook form. The first true newspaper in English was the London Gazette...