Wednesday 29 January 2014

British India Office records on FindmyPast

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has released the British India Office collections, composed of birth and baptism, marriage, and death and burial records, as well as probate records, all sourced from the British Library in London. The records include holdings from India, Pakistan, Burma, Bangladesh, St Helena, Sumatra, Aden, Penang and Macao.

A quick trial search has easily found the marriage record of two of my four times great grandparents in Bangalore in 1826, and the births of two of their children there subsequently, including one of my three times great grandfathers.

Many of the records available are freely indexed on FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org), and a very useful guide to all of them is Emma Jolly's Tracing Your British Indian Ancestors (www.pen-and-sword.co.uk).

UPDATE: Here's the full press release...

FindmyPast releases British in India collection

2.5 million records launched today providing a fascinating glimpse into life on the Indian subcontinent

Leading family history 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

(With thanks to Myko Clelland)

Chris

My latest genealogy books are Tracing Your Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records, and Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet. My next Pharos course is Scottish Research Online, which commences Feb 27th 2014, 5 weeks, price £45.99.

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