Fenian Raids Bounty Applications, 1866-1871

Sample of what can be found in
Fenian Bounty Applications

Good news for anyone who has an ancestor who fought in the Fenian Raids. Ancestry has brought the records for Fenian Raids Bounty Applications, 1866-1871 online.

This database fits very nicely with the Olive Tree Genealogy exclusive database Committee of Safety Minutes from June 1st 1866 in Welland, in the 24 hours preceding the Battle of Ridgeway

Ancestry explains the database:

This database consists of bounty applications for veterans having served during the Fenian Raids of 1866 to 1871 in Canada.

Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian Brotherhood, Irish nationalists based in the United States, launched raids against Canada in an effort to force the British government to withdraw from Ireland. The raids took place at Campobello Island, New Brunswick; Ridgeway, Ontario; along the Quebec/US border at Eccles Hill and Huntingdon; and in 1871, an attempt was made to invade the province of Manitoba. To combat the Fenian threat, the Canadian Militia in both Ontario and Quebec was called out on several occasions, often for only a few days at a time. The Fenian scare was so widespread in British North America that the Nova Scotia Militia was also called out from time to time, although no raid took place in the colony. 

Decades later, the federal government decided that all those who participated in the defence of Canada during the Fenian raids (and who were still living) would be provided a grant or bounty of $100 upon application under the terms of the Fenian Raid Volunteer Bounty Act (1912). 

Fenian Bounty Applications Index to "D" Names

This database consists of lists of names, applications (2 sided), both allowed and disallowed, for the bounty as well as some records relating to pensions for those who were wounded, taken ill or killed while on active duty.
Application details available may include:

• Name of Veteran
• Muster Date
• Muster Place
• Discharge Date
• Battalion