Private of the 37th North Hampshire Regiment of Foot, Second Battalion, who came to Canada in 1817. Discharged at Montreal in 1820. Land Grant 'Perth Settlement' given to soldiers, 21 Dec 1821, Conc 3, NE Half Lot 3 in Beckwith Township, Lanark County.

Biography
Thomas was born c.1792 in England, likely somewhere in northern England. His parents and precise birthplace remain unknown as of Jan. 2019.

Thomas Lawford came to Canada in 1817 as a soldier in the 37th Regiment. Following his discharge, Thomas made his way to Perth, Ontario, at the time a military settlement encampment. Receiving a 100 acre land grant in Beckwith Township (East half of lot 3, Conc. 3), Thomas set to work transforming his land into a productive farm operation.

Thomas married Margaret Cameron at Perth in 1825 and they raised a large family of six boys and six girls. Thomas passed away 6 Dec 1880, aged 88, and Margaret died in June 1891, aged 86. On his civil death record, the registrar wrote: "An old soldier and pensioner."[1]

The following account was written by Scott Manning based on search of British military records:

Thomas was a discharged British soldier who served with the 2nd Battalion of the 37th Regiment of Foot, otherwise known as the North Hampshire Regiment. Hoping to learn where Thomas was from in England, I retained a researcher in 1983 to search Thomas' military service records at the National Archives in London, England. His findings are summarized as follows.

Thomas enlisted as a volunteer at Northumberland, the most northerly English county bordering Scotland. When the 2nd Battalion was formed in May 1813 Thomas' name appears on the muster rolls as returning from furlough but there is no mention of where he was stationed beforehand. The thread of his whereabouts disappears prior to 1813 as the researcher was unable to find any trace of Thomas before that time, having checked muster rolls of both the 1st Battalion and the Northumberland militia.

Regarding Thomas' service with the 2nd Battalion, he was stationed in Belgium (Antwerp) from late 1814 into 1815. Later in 1815, his battalion was stationed at Fermoy, Ireland, a garrison town where a large number of British troops were massed prior to their departure for the battlefield near Waterloo, Belgium. So on June 18, 1815 at the age of 23, Thomas fought in the Duke of Wellington's army at the Battle of Waterloo and a family story passed down confirms that Thomas was wounded on the battlefield.

After Waterloo, Thomas was again stationed at Fermoy Barracks until early 1817 when his Battalion was disbanded and the remaining 432 men were sent to Canada to join the 37th Regiment's 1st Battalion. Arriving in the summer of 1817, Thomas was stationed in Montréal from June 1818 until his discharge on 3 May 1820.

Following his discharge, Thomas received a land grant to the East 1/2 Lot 3, Conc. 3, Beckwith Township, Lanark County, ON.

Given his enlistment in Northumberland, Thomas Lawford could have actually come from somewhere in northern England. Moreover, his civil death record and gravestone strongly suggest he was born in 1792.

Sources

↑ Short bio written Jan. 2019 by Scott Manning. Account based on confirmed historical records (Canada census, British military records, civil/ church records) and extensive family history research. Manning-3281, Wed, January 9, 2019.