Tag Archives: British India

Tracing ancestors from British India

Everytime I hear anything about British India, like when I posted about a recent press release the other day, it reminds me that I want to research some objects in my possession.

I inherited this locket from my paternal Grandmother. It features an Indian god on the front, the back is plain. Inside are two locks of hair behind glass. It measures about 4cm in height and doesn’t bear any hallmarks.

indian locket

I prised it open when I was much younger in the hope there would be a secret note stored behind the locks of hair, but there was nothing, except some re-used card.

I have absolutely no information about the locket, no way of dating it or knowing who it belonged to.

I also have an unusual coin.

half rupee coin

It’s a half rupee coin issued in 1840 by the East India Company.

Both of these items suggest I have an ancestor who visited India. But I’m unsure where to start….

New British India records released

There’s exciting news for anyone researching ancestors in British India. The website findmypast.co.uk has, in partnership with the British Library, today exclusively added 2.5 million records covering over 200 years of history of the British in India, published online for the first time.

These records covering 1698-1947 give real insight into the heart warming and heart breaking stories of British citizens living in India during the tenure of the East India Company and the British Raj.

Debra Chatfield, Brand Manager at findmypast.co.uk said of the release: “The new British in India records at findmypast are a great opportunity to find ancestors that previously were considered missing, as so many of our relatives sought their fortune on the subcontinent. Whether your relatives were clergy, aristocracy, tradespeople, merchants, civil servants or soldiers, the lowest and the landed all have stories to be told with these records.”

These 2.5 million records include:

Baptisms, Marriages & Burials (Catholic, Anglican & Civil registers)
Army officers’ marriage notifications
Records for other locations administered by the India office (Aden, Burma, Kuwait, St Helena)
Civil service records
Pension registers
Probate records & wills

British in India records are available on all findmypast sites and can be searched at http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-united-kingdom-records/british-india-office-births-and-baptisms