Hi Nancy and Susan! I can jump in here with some documentation of my ancestor Alexander Pride:
I have a birth/baptism record from the Scotland's People site - it's GROS (General Register Of Scotland) #663/00 0040 0154 :
07/11/1790 PRIDE ALEXANDER WILLIAM PRIDE/JEAN SMITH FR1193 (FR1193) M BO'NESS /WEST LOTHIAN
This is the sibling of my 5th great-grandmother, Jean Pride/Pryde, who married Robert Seth/Seath.
Again - I haven't been able to find any documentation that confirms this is the Edward Phillips to whom you're related, however... would really love to know if anyone has any.
I do have a war metal record listing an Alexander Pride as an artillery driver having fought in the Battles of Orthes and Toulouse in 1814.
On the opposite page of the same record is a listing for an Edward Philips, a member of the artillery, listed as having been in the following battles: Busaco (1810), Fuentes De Onoro (1811),Ciudad Rodrigo (1812), Badajos (1812), Salamanca (1812) and Vitoria (1813).
So, there's no overlap in the service of these two men.
I have another record in the "UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Registers of Soldiers Who Served in Canada, 1743-1882" for an Alexander Pride, admitted to the pension rolls on 1 Jul 1816. This record not only places the man in Canada, it lists him as an artillery driver (matching the war medal record mentioned above), says is residence is Dumferline, Stirling, and notes his death on 22 Jun 1862.
If the legend is correct, the man collecting the pension is actually (the real) Edward Philips, having taken the place of Alex Pride, as Alex took his place in Canada?
This Alex-Pride-in-Dumferline-Stirling marries:
Alexander Pride
Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 14 Aug 1825
Marriage Place: Dunfermline,Fife,Scotland
Spouse: Sophia Robertson
FHL Film Number: 1040106, 102191, 102194
and has children with Sophia in the 1841 Census:
Alex Pride
Age: 61
Estimated birth year: abt 1780
Gender: Male
Where born: Scotland
Civil Parish: Dunfermline
County: Fife
Address: Priory Lane St
Occupation: Table Linen H S W
Parish Number: 424
Household Members:
Name Age
Alex Pride 61
Sophia Pride 45
John Pride 14
James Pride 12
Andres Pride 10
Robe Pride 6
...And appears again in the 1861 Census:
Sanders Pride
Age: 81
Estimated birth year: abt 1780
Relationship: Head
Spouse's name : Sophia Pride
Gender: Male
Where born: London, Midlothian
Registration Number: 424/1
Registration district: Dunfermline Burgh
Civil Parish: Dunfermline Burgh
County: Fife
Address: Abbey Park Pla
Occupation: Chelsea Pensioner Artillery
ED: 8
Household schedule number: 190
LINE: 23
Roll: CSSCT1861_55
Household Members:
Name Age
Sanders Pride 81
Sophia Pride 67
James Pride 32
It's possible this is not the same man - both names (Alex Pride and Edward Philips) are common enough that there were likely several in the same area at the same time. So it's possible none of these military records are related to our potentially-shared relative. Again - if anyone has records for the Alex/Edward man, I'd love to see them. :)
Has anyone run across a legend covering the OTHER side of the story? Does anyone have any record of an Edward Philips becoming Alex Pride?
Best...
Anita (in MD)