Sacred to the memory of
Jane Hewett, wife of Serjt. Major Jim. Adamson,
of the 2nd Bn. 16th Regt. N. I.,
who departed this life on the 18th of June 1819,
aged 22 years.
This memento is raised by her beloved husband to
commemorate her many virtues
(Rice #728)

Jane was the Anglo-Indian daughter of Charles Hewett, also of this station. She was only 16 when she married Adamson and she probably died in childbirth. Their one child, Jane, born at Chitradurga in 1818, died at Gooty a year later. Adamson married again several years after his wife’s death.

Sacred to Alexander Anderson, Esquire, Superintending Surgeon of Mysore, who died in this vicinity 29th April 1805. His death is to be lamented as a public loss,—for he united with much ability, greater humanity and much general information. In private life he was liberal and affectionate. This tribute of affection is erected by his daughter and son-in-law, Mrs. and Major F. R. West, of His Majesty’s 74th Regt. of Foot
(Rice #717)

Chitradurga would have rated no more than a lowly assistant surgeon so I am curious why Alexander was here. I suspect that he had a son or brother living at Chitradurga. His daughter and son-in-law left him a nice monument, but as far as I know they did not live here or have other ties to the place. OIOC Shelfmark R/E/537 gives the date of death as 20 April 1805.

Sacred to the memory of
Esdale Anderson and Robert Nickson,
the former Grandson and the latter Son of Conductor Nickson.
The former aged 7 years and the latter 7 days.
(Rice #742 & 743)

It was common for parents and grandparents of the early 1800s to experience the heartbreaking loss of one or more children and grandchildren. Infant mortality rates remaining high for many parts of the work into the twentieth century.

Sacred to the memory of
Ann, the wife of Mr. Conductor W. Bates,
who departed this life on
the 22nd day of May 1820,
aged 27 years
(Rice #733)

Sacred to the memory of
Eliza Browne
Aged one year forty seven days
Died 17th March 1810
(Rice #720)

Sacred to the memory of
Lieut. Bt. Capt. Thomas Casey,
of the 2nd Battn XIVth Regt,
who died on the 9th day of December 1822.
Respected by his brother officers,
by whom this tomb has been erected
from regard to the memory of the deceased

OIOC Shelfmark R/E/537 incorrectly gives the date of death as 20 Dec 1822. (Rice #739)

Sacred to the memory of
Lieutenant Stephen Winden Fox,
Adjutant of the 2nd Bn. 14th Regt N. I.,
who died on the 22nd January 1822.
This tomb was erected by his brother officers as a
tribute of the estimation in which they held him

OIOC Shelfmark R/E/537 incorrectly gives the middle name as “Dinden”. (Rice #736)

Here rest the remains of Mrs. Major [Elinor] Frith,
who departed this life on the 1st April 1810.
Blessed and ever to be regretted by all who knew her.
This monument, dedicated to eminent virtue,
is erected to her revered memory by her
much afflicted and most affectionate husband.
(Rice #721)

Major Arthur Frith commanded the Chitradurga garrison and also the 2/13th N. I. at Chitradurga. He also caused a great deal of trouble while in command here. I was not surprised to see that he buried his wife stripped of all individual identity except as “Mrs. Major Frith”. I found her given name, Elinor, elsewhere and added it here. Frith married again a year after Elinor’s death.

Underneath lie the remains of
the infant daughter of Capt. N. H. Hatherly,
who departed this life on
22nd September 1823, aged 20 days
(Rice #739)

Sacred to the memory of
Key Sergt. Charles Hewett, of the Garrison of Chitaldroog,
who departed this life on the 1st of April 1826,
aged 63 years.
Blessed is the poor in spirit,
for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
(Rice #745)

Hewett was another man who remained in the garrison at Chitradurga for many years. He and his Indian or Anglo-Indian wife had several daughters, at least two of whom married men in the Madras military service at Chitradurga.

Sacred to the memory of
Lt. and Adjt. Samuel Hodder
of the 2nd Battn. 16th Regt. N. I.,
who departed this life on the 6th of May 1819, aged 25.
This memento is raised by his Brother Officers
to commemorate his many virtues.

OIOC Shelfmark R/E/537 gives the last name as “Hodder”, which seems so much more likely than Rice’s “Hoololer” that I have taken the liberty of so changing it. On the other hand, R/E/537 gives the regiment as “116th Regt. N. I.”, which is obviously wrong. (Rice #727)

Sacred to the memory of
Lieut. John Briggs Howard,
2nd Batn. XIVth Regt. N. I.,
who died on the 31st August 1822.
Sincerely regretted by the officers of his Corps.
(Rice #738)

Sacred to the memory of
James and George Jackson, who departed this life,
the former on the 27th May 1818,
aged 11 days,
and the latter on the 7th Feb. 1819,
aged 2 years 3 months and 18 days.
(Rice #724-725)

Sacred to the memory of
Martha, wife of Wm. Jackson, Depy. Comy. of Stores,
who departed this life on
the 12th of April 1819,
aged 34 years (Rice #726)

Martha’s tomb is on the left; her husband William is the next tomb to the right. The Jackson’s lost three sons and their own lives at Chitradurga; they left at least one orphaned daughter.

Sacred to the memory of
Thomas Jackson,
who departed this life the 19th of August 1817,
aged 2 years 8 months.
The Lord gave and the Lord taketh away,
blessed be the name of the Lord
(Rice #729)

Sacred to the memory of
Mr. William Jackson, Deputy Commissary of Stores,
who departed this life on the 25th August 1819,
aged 50 years|
(Rice #730)

Sacred to the memory of
Major John McDougall,
2nd Batn. 6th Regt. N. I.
Died 2nd March 1813.
Aged 37 years

OIOC Shelfmark R/E/537 gives the last name as “MacDongall”. (Rice #722)

Sacred to the memory of
Lt. Reginald Milburn,
1st Batn. 10th Regt. N. I.,
who departed this life Novr. 23rd 1805,
aged 27
This stone was placed by his brother officers
as a sincere mark of their esteem
for his many amiable qualities (Rice #718)

Sacred to the memory of
Claude Russell Morris, 2nd son of Lieut. C. L. Morris,
8th Regt. M. L. C.
Died 17th January 1864,
aged 1 year 6 months and 14 days.
He shall gather the lambs with his arm
and carry them in his bosom. (Rice #747)

Sacred to the memory of
Capt. Lieut. Geo. Munro, of the 1st Bt. 13th Regt. N. I.,
who departed this life the 7th May 1803, aged 21 years.
This tomb was erected by his Brother Officers as a sincere token
of their esteem for his many benign and social virtues. (Rice #716)

Sacred to the memory of
Brevet Captain Christian Leonard Nelthropp,
the 2nd Battn. 14th Regt. N. I., who was deprived of life
by an accidental explosion of gunpowder on the 16th day of July 1821.
This tomb was erected by his brother officers from esteem and regard for his memory. (Rice #734)

OIOC Shelfmark R/E/537 gives the name as “Brevet Capt. & Lt. C. L. Nalthropp”.

Gunpowder storage was a chronic problem during the black powder era.  In 1821, the improper disposal of damaged gunpowder at Chitradurga Fort took the lives of Nelthropp, Ensign Powell, and their Indian servants. As reported in the Asiatic Journal the following year, these men were on the hill as part of a picnic party.  Separated from the others, “their path lay by a magazine of some damaged gunpowder, which had been emptied; near this was a cave into which the lascars, from idleness, and thinking no harm could arise, had thrown part of the powder, instead of depositing the whole in a well used for that purpose. Some of the party had segars, and it is supposed that an end was thrown into the cave by one of them, unconscious of any danger. The whole exploded, and these unfortunate officers, with two of their servants, were in an instant hurled into eternity” Excerpted from: Asiatic Journal (1822) “Further Particulars of the Death of Capt. Nelthropp and Ensign Powell”, in The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, Vol. 13, p. 185.

To the memory of
Mr. Peter Nickson,
Invalid Conductor of Ordnance,
who departed this life on
the 28th November 1823,
aged 69 years (Rice #741)

Nickson appears to have lived at Chitradurga for several decades, much of it spent as a member of the Invalid European Company of the garrison. He raised his family here and at least some of his children began their own families here too. In his will he bequeathed all but a small fraction of his worldly possessions to Kaumashee, the Indian woman with whom he had lived for many years.

Sacred to the memory of
Lieut. Thos. Noble,
2nd Battn, 6th Regt, N.I.,
who departed this life on
the 24th March 1814,
aged 25 years (Rice #723)

To the memory of
Barrack Staff Sergeant Phillip Norbury,
of the Garrison of Chitaldroog,
who departed this life on
the 10th July 1824,
aged 69 years (Rice #744)

Like Nickson, Hewett, and several others buried here, Norbury appears to have been content to be a member of the Chitradurga garrison for many years. I suspect that, in his view at least, he died at home.

Sacred to the memory of
Florence Louisa Alexandra,
the beloved daughter of Nathan and Anne Page.
She departed this life on the 6th April 1864,
aged 11 months and 17 days.
This lovely bud so young and fair, Called hence by early doom,
Just came to show how sweet a flower, In Paradise would bloom. (Rice #748)

Sacred Record
Ensign J. M. Powell, 2nd Battn, 14th Regt. Native Infy,
perished at Chitaldroog by the accidental explosion of gunpowder
on the 16th of July 1821,
and was thus awfully summoned from this transitory life
at the tender age of 18 years.
He was an amiable youth of great promise. (Rice #735)

See entry for Nelthropp, who died in the same explosion.

This tomb was erected by the
Officers of the 5th Regiment Light Cavalry,
to the memory of Lieutenant George William Russel of that Corps,
who died of cholera at Chitaldroog on the 24th November 1839,
aged 25 years, as a testimony of their affectionate regard

OIOC R/E/537 gives the name as “Russell” and death as 20 Nov 1839. (Rice #746)

Sacred to the memory of
Mr. Assistant Surgeon William Ritchie Selby,
who died on the 18th June 1822
as a testimony of their affectionate regard

OIOC Shelfmark R/E/537 gives the last name as “Silby” and the date of death as 13 June 1822. (Rice #744)

Sacred to the memory of
Lieut. John Stuart,
2nd Battn. 13th Regt. N. I.
who departed this life
the 8th December 1809
(Rice #719)

Sacred to the memory of
Richard Julian, the beloved son
of Charles Edward and Maria White,
who departed this life on the 22nd October 1866,
aged 2 years and 3 months
(Rice #749)

Sacred to the memory of
Eleanor, infant daughter
of Captn. Willows,
2nd Bn. 16th Regiment,
aged 5 weeks
Died 19th Sept. 1819
(Rice #731)

Sacred to the memory of
Frances Ann, daughter
of Captn. J. Enza Willows,
who died on
the 8th day of Octr. 1819,
aged 1 year 9 months 16 days
(Rice #732)

In memory of
Levi, infant son
of Walter and Fanny Winckler,
who fell asleep 19th November 1879, aged 7 months.
If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them
also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (Rice #750)