Death in India

[Jocie]

I have a Constance Lancaster born in Sussex in 1859 and was still  there in 1891.
She died in Agra North West Territories India on 9th February 1896.
There is no other family that I know of in India and I have no idea why she was there.
They were not a military family.
Any suggestions as to how I can find out more about when and why she went to India and  her death and burial place would be a huge help!
Jo

[brionne]

Constance came from a hugh family furniture business I see in Sussex.
She would have been rather too old to have ventured out to Northern India for marriage after 1891.
Would her fathers firm be the answer I wonder, ie buying teak,or whatever,but doubt if she was unaccompanied.
Have had a look at the British India Office Records on line but theres nothing that ties in at all,ie the marriage of one of her brothers/sisters etc,giving reason for a visit.

Not much help,but may give you a new line of thought.

Brionne.

[brionne]

A certain Miss Lancaster aged 33 embarked at London on the Goorka on 4th Nov 1891,
with two children.One child age 7,plus an infant.They disembarked at Madras,India.
Miss Lancaster is described as a Lady,and single.

Brionne.

[Jocie]

Brionne

Thanks for your help. As you say she came from a huge family and most of the boys either stayed in the business or went into the Army. The girls either married or worked as secretaries but I'm wondering if she was working as nanny and escorting the children to India. The dates and age all fit.
I'm really grateful for your help it gets me thinking on another track. Athough where I go from here I'm not sure!!
I can't trace any other family members as being in India so I doubt if she was related to the children.

Jo

[charlotteCH]

Jo,
I think you've got it right- that she could well have been acting as a nanny and escorting the children to India.

Good piece of info brione

There is an Agra a famous tourist place, not far from Delhi- but I would not have described it as NWFP... maybe more tha one Agra.

charlotte

[Jocie]

Thanks Charlotte
The things feamily history makes you do. I spent yesterday evening brushing up on my geography of India!!
I agree with you that Agra doesn't look like NW territories but that is how it is described on various websites I checked    Fort Agra was being used by the British Army at the time so she could well have been employed by an army family.  It would all fit but I don't expect I will ever know for sure.
I found the original details of her death in the probate index.
Thank you and Brionne for all your help
Jo

[charlotteCH]

Hi, Agree family history covers such a range of things and one learns so much.  No one can say it's dull.
I've been to Agra- a train ride from Delhi- was built and then they figured out it had no water supply- that cheers me up a bit as it's not just our govts who get it wrong!
So it could well be that she was employed by a Bristish Army family... there was also the ICS... the brightest and best of Brits who entered the Indian Civil Service and ran India- it's govt in what we call the days of the Raj.   She may have been employed by one such family.   Or there were Brits there in Commerce and Trade- thos in Commerce were admitted to the Clubs- thos in Trade weren't.  Highly stratified society amongst the Brisitsh in India...

Give me  bit of time and I'll check a map of Indian Provinces in19th early 20th C and see where NWFP ended... the map isn't here- so will take maybe a week.

charlotte

[toby webb]

How Agra came to be  in North West Provinces is perhaps answered by the way postal districts in India were set up. After many years when different places did their own thing, an All India  system was set up in 1873. There were 14  'Circles' as these areas were known and the letter A denoted the North West Provinces Circle with headquarters in Allahabad. Agra was in this circle.Stamps on letters were cancelled  as seen.
Toby

[charlotteCH]

Toby,
 That's fascinating... thanks for that ...

 for me,  things to do with the Raj are wonderfully interesting.   The whole ICS were a very gifted bunch of administrators.

charlotte