I have found Abraham Danes (surname is spelled Dains) who was with the 96th in Van Diemen’s Land in 1841. He had the number 699 and so enlisted considerably before Robert – it’s hard to say exactly when. The regiment’s headquarters were at Bolton-Le-Moors, Salford in 1839-40 which ties in with the birth of Martha.
From Robert Neal’s Army number, I would estimate that he enlisted in the 96th Foot in 1840-41
The 96th embarked in 26 different detachments for New South Wales between July 1839 and August 1841 acting as escorts on convict ships. The first detachment sailing from the UK on 4 July 1839. The regiment’s headquarters moved to New South Wales in September 1841 and the headquarters was stationed in Windsor in 1841, moving in 1842 to Parramatta, to Launceston, Van Diemen’s Land in 1843 and then to Hobart in 1846. The last six detachments sailed direct to Hobart, Van Diemen’s Land, and some moved from there to Adelaide, South Australia. By 1843 the regiment was distributed among 22 different places and garrisons such as Norfolk Island, New Zealand, Adelaide and 19 locations in Tasmania.
The Regiment remained in Tasmania until 1848 sailing from George Town, Tasmania to India early in 1849 (one ship stopping at Swan River, Western Australia to pick up a detachment from there). The regiment remained in India until December 1854 when it returned to the UK.
So, the birth of Martha in Salford in 1840 and the next three siblings being born in Tasmania between 1842 and 1847 ties in with the movements of the 96th. However, it was not in Victoria in 1850-51. This may mean that Robert left (deserted?) the 96th when it left Tasmania or, more likely, he transferred to another regiment in Tasmania on the departure of the 96th. This would all be visible in the monthly muster rolls.
With regard to the place of birth being given as ‘Pentridge’ I think it is quite possible that some of the soldiers served as prison guards, especially after escorting convicts to Australia – what else would they be doing apart from building settlements, protecting the settlers and guarding convicts? However, I note that the prison wasn't built until 1851 but there may have been some sort of structure there before then.
As Robert enlisted in the 96th around 1840-41, he would probably have been born around 1818-22 and so would have been considerably older than Martha but I guess that there weren’t a lot of potential partners for either Robert or Martha to choose from!
I hope this all helps.
Best wishes.
Bob B.
