Jim McGookin
I am searching for the origins of my Great Grandfather Jim McGookin. He fathered a daughter, Emily, with Sarah Fraser who lived in Renfrew Street in Belfast. The daughter, my grandmother, was born in 1879. Emily McGookin never met her father, Jim McGookin. He was a soldier with the British Army and died of "the fever" in Indiawhen Emily was "about two years old." He was supposed to be in an elite unit and wore a " special" hat. I hired a military researcher who narrowed down the elite units in India during that time period and did find a James McGuckin who was with the Rifle Brigade. He was posted to return to England in 1883 but disappears off the records and never returns, nor does he appear on the ships' transport records. The assumption is he died on the march to the port in India. My military researcher told me that enlistment records were destroyed for those who died while in service. They were only saved for those men who would receive a pension. Therefore, I don't know where he enlisted, where or when he was born. Sarah Frazer and her daughter, Emily McGookin, were Church of Ireland but I don't know if Jim McGookin was also a member. Not much to go on. Any suggestions as to how I can find out about Jim McGookin's origins?
Thank you!