Harry's infancy

We know next to nothing about Harry Wighton - simply Amy Louisa (Hutcheon) Wighton's passing reference that John Baxter Wighton and Catherine Latta had had four children and that Harry was born in India, died there, and was buried in Simla.

In researching John Baxter Wighton's military service, I found that John initially enlisted in the 72nd Highlanders regiment where he served in Canada, the Crimea, and in India. However, the 72nd never served in Simla, India. In 1860, John transferred from the 72nd Highlanders to the 3rd Bombay Infantry Regiment - a unit of the Honorable East India Company that was part of the Central India Task Force in which John served from 1858-1859. At about this time, the British government was taking over the colonial government of India and the East India Company would be no more. All of its army units were taken over by the British Army. In 1861, the 3rd Bombay Infantry became the 109th Bombay Infantry Regiment and it was stationed in Simla.

It's doubtful that John would have transferred out of the 72nd Highlanders where he had served for 17 years without a good reason. The fact that he was going to an East India Company regiment and that this regiment would be taken over by the British army was not likely a reason for his decision. Possibly, John would have been motivated to transfer if he had known in advance that his new regiment was going to be transferred to Simla. You see, the 72nd Regiment remained stationed in Central India in a British army camp called MHOW (named from military-speak, MHOW means Military Headquarters of War). The climate in Central India was challenging, especially in the summer. However, Simla was located in the Himalaya Hills of Northern India at an altitude of 7,000 feet, and its climate was suitable enough (cooler, no risk of malarial infection) for army wives to be stationed there.

All of this is just speculation, of course, but we do know that JBW's position in the army's hierarchy would likely have given him have advance warning of troop relocations. He was also highly enough placed to be able to earn a transfer to a desirable posting like Simla, and to receive permission for his wife to join him there. I've guessed that Harry was born in 1861 since that was the year in which JBW earned his promotion to Sergeant-Major, but Harrry's birth and death could have been anywhere between 1861 to 1864.

Here's some more information on Simla or as it is known now, Shimla.

Where to now? To read more about Generation 6 John Murray Wighton's immediate family, just click top to make a selection from Generation 6's genealogical table at the top of this page. The navigation buttons just below will give you quick access to biographies in other generations.