Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hello Rachelle…happy new year!
Thank you for the hint re: James Dixon, the Fifer, who married Maria in 1838…although worth a look, my James Dixon married in c.1858 when he was 26 years of age…meaning that he was born in c 1826, so would have been too young to marry in 1838…James’ marriage record lists his father as James Dixon…a FBIS volunteer is currently researching a James Dixon who married Katherine, a native christian, in 1817 and who might therefore be ancestral, although so far I have not been able to locate any children associated with their marriage…which I guess is my ‘brick wall’…good luck with your research…
JamesJim
Hi Rachelle,
My understanding is that the India office records are c70% complete, which of course means that c30% are missing and I guess probably remain somewhere in India gathering dust or unfortunately are now lost…I’ve been successful in tracing some of my ancestors who were ‘Eurasian’… specifically children of soldiers who were serving in the British Army in the mid 1800s….luckily birth records exist for two of them (Anderson and Cousins) confirming that the Mother was India. For example, the wife Robert Anderson, Private, 1st and 55th Regiment of Foot, is described as a ‘heathen concubine woman’ and was later known as Mary Ann, presumably after she converted to Christianity, which was common practice then…
So, birth/baptism records for children of mixed race do indeed exist…
However, I’ve hit a bit of a brick wall with one of my ancestors, James Dixon, born c1826, who was a Fife Major in the Madras Native Infantry and most likely of mixed race (bandsmen in Native regiments were often Eurasian)…James’ father was also James Dixon, although so far I have been unable to find the birth/baptism records for him…
Looking at the Ancestry.Co records I see that there is an entry for what looks like your ancestor, Maud’s marriage to Francis;
Name: Maud M. Martelli
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Single
Age: 16
Birth Date: 1879
Marriage Date: 18 Feb 1895
Marriage Place: Belgaum, Madras, India
Father: John H. MartelliSpouse: Frak Peter Scott
FHL Film Number: 527456
You might want to try the FBIS database for a birth record for Francis…
In the meantime I hope the above helps and that your research is productive…
kind regards, James
Jim
Hello Rachelle…in reading your post I am wondering if Francis was not only born in India but may in fact have been of mixed race…’Eurasion’ is a term often used to decribe someone of mixed ‘anglo-indian’ descent i.e. the paternal line was Male/British and the maternal line Female/Indian/Asian or of mixed European/Asian…(see Researching Ancestors – FBIS Guide No 1 page 33, section 9.3 A Note on Anglo-Indians)…just wondered if this may, or may not, be relevant to your research…Kind regards, James
Jim
