Can you help to solve an Indian mystery?

[nicdigby]

Hi,

Tales of British India run through one side of the family, in particular one man whose wife left him and sailed back to England with her son. He then had at least six children with an unknown woman, and the story goes that she was Indian and he was part of the white British India society so it wasn't spoken about back then. Strangely we have all his diaries for his whole life except for 13 years covering his first wife's departure and the birth of all his next children - we think someone got rid of them at some point to cover up what happened. His later diaries acknowledge all the new children - but NEVER mention a second wife, or her name, or who she is, or that she is living with him; he seems to do all the journeys to school etc for the children.

I have found one extra sister who I hadn't found on Ancestry and the photo shows a lady of Indian descent, but I have no way of verifying how accurate that Ancestry member is in claiming the same man fathered that sister.

Wondering if anyone fancies trying to solve a 200 year old mystery please?

What I know:

Robert Smith COOMBS b 5 Jul 1793 Kent. his father was William (a vicar) and his mother was Susannah. Robert joined the Navy and then went to India, landing in 1815.

He married Louisa Charlotte CARTER, b 27 Apr 1806 in Bengal, India the daughter of Philip Carter.

Louisa and Robert Smith Coombs had one son together: Robert William Coombs, born 27 Aug 1829. Ancestry members say he was born in Chittagong, in modern day Bangladesh.

Louisa and the son left India in about 1846, and worked at Somerset House in London.

His father stayed in India, in the area of Bhojeepore, Buxar and Dinapore towns, later moving to Gahmun. His diaries mention they travelled by horse-drawn vehicles and only latterly by train so I would imagine his children were born locally. But the diaries didn't mention his first son ever again until the 12th of 12 re-writes of his Will when he mentions that Robert should the the executor and guardian of his six 'natural' children. Does this mean that there wasn't a second marriage ceremony? Was she a common-law wife? Was she of Indian descent?

I think (from his diaries) that the six children were:

John Archer Coombs b 1 Aug 1848
Charles James Coombs b 2 Aug 1850
Frances Louisa Coombs b 30 Jul 1852
Catherine Eliza Coombs b 25 Dec 1854
Arthur Henry Coombs b 30 Jan 1857
Frank Smith Coombs (our branch) b 11 Oct 1859

Can anyone find a mother for these children, other than the 'Sophia' that multiple Ancestry members appear to have copied from each other please? Or anything that may solve the mystery why his first wife left and went home to England, never to be mentioned again? (Robert stayed friendly with his MIL apparently but took 15 years to mention his FIL in his diaries again).

Any help from a sleuth much appreciated!

[Stanwix England]

You probably already have this information but from the 'Friend of India and Statesman' newspaper 9 November 1877.

Under deaths

COOMBS - At Goruckpore, on the 26th October, John Archer Coombs, Indigo Planter - Aged 29 years.

[Stanwix England]

There is another newspaper article in the Sussex Agricultural Express, on Jan 12 1907. It's pretty long so I can't copy the whole thing out, but it says that a widow called Mrs Phylis Coombs was seeking compensation for the death of her son, Charles James Coombs who died in an accident at Sussex Portland cement works in October 1906.

Obviously I don't know if that's the one you are writing about.

[nicdigby]

You probably already have this information but from the 'Friend of India and Statesman' newspaper 9 November 1877.

Under deaths

COOMBS - At Goruckpore, on the 26th October, John Archer Coombs, Indigo Planter - Aged 29 years.

Yes, this one is in his father’s diary - John died in a pig-sticking accident which means some form of hunting accident I think. Thank you.

[nicdigby]

There is another newspaper article in the Sussex Agricultural Express, on Jan 12 1907. It's pretty long so I can't copy the whole thing out, but it says that a widow called Mrs Phylis Coombs was seeking compensation for the death of her son, Charles James Coombs who died in an accident at Sussex Portland cement works in October 1906.

Obviously I don't know if that's the one you are writing about.

Thank you but it’s not the right one, my Charles James Coombs died in India in April 1913.

It’s really who their mother is that I’m after!

[bearkat]

The India Office records have the following death Louisa Coombe, age 35, 7th August 1941 at Buxar the wife of Mr R S Coombs Indigo planter.

[nicdigby]

The India Office records have the following death Louisa Coombe, age 35, 7th August 1941 at Buxar the wife of Mr R S Coombs Indigo planter.

Now that is interesting because a relation who tried to track the family tree in the 1990s has stated she came back with her son to England.

But the record you’ve found would suggest that didn’t happen ?

[mckha489]

Robert should the the executor and guardian of his six 'natural' children. Does this mean that there wasn't a second marriage ceremony? Was she a common-law wife? Was she of Indian descent?

Yes. natural children means the parents were not married.

Of Indian descent? Well, if Frank Smith Coombs is  your branch…are you?

[nicdigby]

I just found the marriage record of the son from the first marriage, June 1862 in Jersey. Place of birth, Buxar, East Indies so it’s the correct person. Age 33. Bachelor. So the son definitely left India.

But I wonder why my relative in the 1990s has found / stipulated that Louisa came back with her son when he would have been quite young, if she actually died. The father literally NEVER mentions his first son in the diaries except when he is near death and then he suddenly makes him the executor of his 12th will.

I wonder if anyone can find the emigration of the son, Robert William Coombs, out of India, to see if he travelled alone or with his mother?

And am still wanting to find the mother of the other six “natural” children to find out if the gossip that she was of Indian race is correct…..not the done thing back then in white British colonial society, but interesting that if that happened, then none of the family today show any visual signs of it, and none of our grandparents etc either….all white, blue eyes, fair complexion etc.