Link: INDIA: Resources for Ancestors in British India

[Berlin-Bob]

This topic will list some resource which you can use for searching for ancestors from British India.

You may need to know, or ask, Why were the ancestors in India ??

• Military service
• Government service
• Employess of the British India Company
• etc, etc

Please do not put requests on this topic.

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FIBIS -  Families In British India Society:  http://www.fibis.org 

at http://search.fibis.org you can search their database of transcribed records (BMD, military, etc, etc)

see the full list here: http://search.fibis.org/what_s_on_this_site.html

Lots of information here, including a searchable database.

The data presented here have been contributed by a number of hardworking and enthusiastic individuals and a small army of ‘FIBIS Volunteers’.  The data are very largely taken from sources within the British Library’s India Office Records Section (IOR) to whom thanks are also due for authority to publish them here.

[Berlin-Bob]

This might help, too:

Moving Here  http://www.movinghere.org.uk

in particular: http://www.movinghere.org.uk/galleries/roots/asian/angloindians/angloindians.htm

and any other references to South Asia

[Berlin-Bob]

I found a clue to one of my family mysteries in this very useful site:  however any other useful sites would be appreciated.

Archive link http://web.archive.org/web/20050912230923/http://members.ozemail.com.au/~clday/

[Berlin-Bob]

more info here:

Topic: British Army in India, 1810-1820
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,148756.0.html

Topic: Birth in India
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,156280.0.html

Have you tried 1837 online? it's free to search but pay to view but it does have these overseas records: GRO Army death indices (1881-1955) and the GRO Army Chaplain's Birth indices (1796-1880).

http://www.1837online.com/Trace2web/OverseasStartSearchServlet

Mick

Colonial armies — forces raised in other countries and such records are usually in the country where the forces were raised, except the Indian Army, for which many records are held at the

India Office Library,
197 Blackfriars Road,
London Se1 8NG.

[Berlin-Bob]

Topic: Online & Searchable - The India Office Records at British Library
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,265978.0.html

Hello all, unable to sleep & trawling the web, I came across this searchable website for 'The India Office Records' at the British Library.  Haven't seen any reference to this on Rootschat, so here's the link.  The following information in qoutes is direct from the British Library website.

http://indiafamily.bl.uk/UI/Home.aspx

"Use this website to search: 300,000 births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials in the India Office Records

biographical notes from a variety of sources for mainly British and European people in India c.1600-1949.

for people in other countries connected with the history of the British in India

About tells you what is and is not in this index.

Dictionary explains abbreviations, references and unusual terms

The India Office Records is the custodian of the archives of
East India Company (1600-1858)
Board of Control (1784-1858)
India Office (1858-1947)
Burma Office (1937-1948 )

The India Office Records’ collections contain much information of great interest to family historians, mainly relating to European and Eurasian people.

There are biographical sources for official and non-official inhabitants of the many overseas areas where the East India Company and India Office had influence, and also for home staff based in Britain The records include details for

civil servants
military personnel
mariners
medical staff
chaplains
railway workers
law officers
non-official inhabitants such as merchants and planters, free mariners, and missionaries.

The main British Library website includes details of all India Office Records, not just those of interest to family historians".

As a non-military person, I found the dictionary particularly useful, as it explains what units / regiments the abbreviations used refer to.

I'm not sure, but maybe some of the records could tie in nicely with Kevwood's offer of searching the 'Indian Mutiny Rolls', perhaps Kev could let us know.  Enjoy & good luck.  Regards, TonyR.

[Berlin-Bob]

British India Family History
http://valmayukuk.tripod.com

includes many interesting "data" pages,

e.g.  Census information:
http://valmayukuk.tripod.com/id32.html
including
1851 Bombay Census
"Returns Of Europeans Residing in Districts Under the Bombay Presidency on 30 March 1851"
http://valmayukuk.tripod.com/1851bombaycensus

OIOC Baptisms, Marriage and Burials
http://valmayukuk.tripod.com/id10.html

Passenger lists
http://valmayukuk.tripod.com/id38.html

Bengal Civil Service Gradation List 1869
http://valmayukuk.tripod.com/id41.html

etc, etc.

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Indian Cemeteries

Preserving the memory of historic cemeteries in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Burma

http://www.indian-cemeteries.org

[Berlin-Bob]

This book sounds like a useful resource:

Topic: INDIA: "Last Children of The Raj"
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,80883.0.html

Bob

[Berlin-Bob]

The Department of Asia Pacific & Africa Collections at the British Library is the place to find out about those things .... they have in their collections I think about 70% of the Ecclesiastical Returns .... good place for you to go Keith .... you'd love it !!  some searches can be done on line .... or try FIBIS !!

http://www.bl.uk

[Berlin-Bob]

The new FamilySearchWiki site has some links (most of the links above), and also some addresses for archives in India.

https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/India

This site is on-going, so it's worth checking it regularly to see what's been added.

Bob