British Lives at Chitradurga

The Madras Army’s withdrawal in the 1830s effectively ended the British community in Chitradurga. The last British marriages at Chitradurga were held in 1812 and there was about a 50 year gap between babies born in 1820 and the next batch of births in the 1870s. The cemetery continued to receive the occasional new grave into the 1870s, most of which were the remains of local civil administrators (e.g., a jailer and the head clerk of the district offices) and Christian missionaries.

The tables in this section list every British man, woman, and child for which I can find primary documentary evidence. The reader is advised that the people named represent only a small fraction of the British population who lived at various times in Chitradurga between the 1760s and the 1880s. We have the few names that we do because these people married, died, or were born or baptised in Chitradurga, all acts that left footprints in official records. The others, like most people, vanished namelessly into the past.

In the tables below, please note that the data sources beginning with “IOR” represent British Library shelfmarks by which one can retrieve the original referenced documents. Bibliographical information for other source documents can be found in the “Additional Reading” section at the end of this webpage.

Readers may find it helpful to read Chitradurga British History, 1780s-1880s and the Chitradurga Cemetery pages for additional information about some of the people mentioned here.

Please send corrections and additional names along with bibliographical references or copies of supporting documentary evidence to me at blewis@illinois.edu.

Marriages

If one steps back from consideration of the political implications of the British presence in India and simply looks at these soldiers as lonely men who were so far away from their homes and relatives that many were unlikely ever to see them again, it is not surprising that some of them married and began their own families during their time at Chitradurga. In the early 1800s, the men would have found few prospective brides who were European or of European descent; most of their brides were Indian or Anglo-Indian.

Marriages were usually celebrated by the Fort Adjutant. After his signature in the marriage record, the attending officer would add an appropriate explanatory phrase, such as “officiating where no ordained clergyman resides”. Rarely the Commanding Officer would take the duty, as Major Arthur Frith did on 23 Apr 1811, when he officiated at the marriage of Mary Irwin and John St. George Ferns, his brother. In the one instance when a clergyman came to Chitradurga, probably for the wedding of the Commanding Officer, Arthur Frith, three marriages were celebrated on the same day, 14 Sep 1811.

All but two of the Chitradurga British marriages took place between the end of August and the beginning of December, a pattern strikingly reminiscent of the traditional marriage seasons of some parts of India. Why the latter should be true in British marriages defies simple explanation if one considers it only from the British perspective. However, since most of the brides were born and raised in India, they may well have chosen the auspicious season that followed Indian social norms for their weddings.

The available evidence suggests that the Chitradurga marriages differed little from the devotion and commitment that these men and women would have found in marriages contracted in their native countries. Take, for example, the marriage of Sgt. Major John Adamson, who must have been at least in his thirties or forties when he wed Jane Hewett, who was 19 years old. Described in the records as a “Nat. Spins.”, or “native spinster”, Jane was probably one of the Anglo-Indian daughters of Charles Hewett, Key Sgt of the Chitradurga garrison for many years. Sadly, the marriage ended in Jane’s death three years later, possibly in child birth. Her gravestone in the Chitradurga Cemetery reads, “Sacred to the memory of Jane Hewett, wife of Serjt. Major Jno. 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.” Adamson clearly grieved the loss of his young wife.

Not all enduring relationships were celebrated by marriage. In his last will and testament, Peter Nickson, Conductor of Ordnance in the Chitradurga garrison for many years, recognized two heirs. First, he bequeathed the lump sum of 400 Star Pagodas to his granddaughter Maria. Second, he wrote, “I give and bequest to a Native Woman known by the Name of Kaumashee and who has lived with me many years the whole of the remainder of my property of every description, both Houses and Gardens, Cattle and Carriages, Plate and furniture and all monies and goods aforesaid that may belong to me at the time of my Decease or that may be due to me by any other person or persons or that may become due thereafter.” For all we know, they did not marry because Kaumashee refused to have him. Regardless, Nickson felt a strong bond with Kaumashee. He rests in Chitradurga Cemetery, buried near his son and grandson.

Date	Husband	Wife	Witnesses	Source
1807-12-03	Hunter, Edward; Bandmaster, 1/15th N.I.	Ruth Hewitt; "European"	David Greig, Sgt Major, 1/8th N. I.; * Douglas, Gunner, Madras Artillery	IOR/N/2/3 p 274
1808-05-10	Smart, Daniel; Matross, 3rd Garrison Co. of European Invalids	Mary; "Native"	George Lock, Wm Angel, Matrosses	IOR/N/2/3 p 385
1808-08-27	Bradford, John; Store Sgt	Margaret Hobart; "Country-born widow"	J. Stephens, Dpty. Comy. Store; J. Victory, Condr of Ordnance	IOR/N/2/3 p 292
1808-10-14	Brown, George; Lt., 1/15th N.I.	Eliza Martin	S. Lloyd Williams, Lt. 1/15th N.I.; Wm. Herring, Lt. 1/15th N. I.	IOR/N/2/3 p 482
1809-09-21	Sandon, John William Hilaro; Musician	Margaret Bradford	H. A. Miller, Lt., 8th Regt. N.I.; J. R. Gibson, Lt. 1/15th N. I.	IOR/N/2/4 p 276
1810-09-26	Nicholls, John; Gunner 2nd Garrison Co. of European Invalids	Mary; "Native"	J. Fraser; T Cramer; Elizabeth Lewis	IOR/N/2/4 p 410
1811-04-23	Ferns, John St. George; Lt., 2/13th N.I.	Mary Irwin	H. Wilkinson; C. Macdonald; R. Frome; M. Harris	IOR/N/2/4 p 510
1811-09-14	Kelly, John; Matross, 1st Btn, Madras Artillery	Antonia Browning; "Widow, a native of Ceylon"	Robert Jordon, Corporal, 1st Btn Madras Artillery; John Fox, Sgt., HM 80th[?] Regt.; Theresa Connor	IOR/N/2/2 p 575
1811-09-14	Frith, Arthur; Major, 2/13th N. I., Comdg. Chitaldroog	Jane Ellis Kerr	Charles Harris; J. Ferns	IOR/N/2/2 p 575
1811-09-14	Wilkinson, Henry; Lt., 2/13th N.I.	Harriett Forme	Charles Harris; Harriet Forme	IOR/N/2/2 p 575
1815-09-23	Ficker, Frederick Richard; Asst. Surveyor in the Surveyor General's Office	Amelia Fowler; "Native"	Peter Nickson (Conductor); John Faulkner	IOR/N/2/5 p 629
1816-11-24	Adamson, John; Sgt Major, 2/16th N. I.	Jane Hewett; "Native Spinster"	P. Nickson (Conductor); P. Norbury (Barrack Sgt); Elizabeth Anderson	IOR/N/2/11 p 693-694
1818-08-22	Newman, Thomas; Corporal, 1st Btn, Madras Artillery	Anne Hewett; "Native"	John Adamson (Sgt Major); Chas. Hewitt (Key Sgt); Phillip Norbury (Barrack Sgt)	IOR/N/2/11 p 697-698
1819-11-12	Murray, John; Qr. Mr. Sgt, 2/16th N. I.	Jane Watkins	John Adamson; Phillip Norbury	IOR/N/2/6 p 614-615
1819-11-13	Norbury, P.; Barrack Sgt.	Magdaline Lindsay	Wm. Bates; Ann Bates	IOR/N/2/6 p 614-615
1822-09-17	McNab, Alexander; Sgt Major, 2/14th N. I.	Mary Smith	Phillip Norburry; Magdalene Norburry; J. J. Malvery	IOR/N/2/8 p 538-539

Births & Baptisms

Most Chitradurga British births date between 1800-1820s, the peak years of the military presence there. Following a gap of more than 50 years, eight more European children were born at Chitradurga during the 1870s. Infant mortality was high in Britain and India alike during the nineteenth century and the large proportion of children in Chitradurga Cemetery is not unusual. One rough yardstick by which to estimate the health of Christian newborns during this era is to compare the dates of birth and baptism. Where these dates are close together, the parents were probably concerned that the child was not going to survive. Compare, for example, the birth and baptism dates for Capt. Hatherly’s daughter or James Jackson. Both soon found places in Chitradurga Cemetery.

Baptism records often can help to identify relatives and close family friends of a given baby’s parents. Consider, for example, Catherine Nicholas, daughter of John Nicholas, who was baptized in 1808 when she was about six years old. No mother is mentioned in the record, which is not unusual for the period in question when “country marriages” were common. The mother may have been a non-Christian Indian, an inference bolstered by the names of Catherine’s three baptismal sponsors: “John Nicholas, Annamah, Bubuppiah”. Were the latter Catherine’s maternal grandparents or other close relatives? We will never know for certain, but it seems likely.

Name	Father	Mother	Birth	Place	Baptism	Place	Source	Comments
Adamson, Jane Mary Anne	John	Jane	1818-11-02	Chitaldroog	1818-11-08	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/7 p 638-639	Died 9 Mar 1820 at Gooty (IOR/N/2/6 p 592-593)
Angel, Margaret	William	Elizabeth	1808-09-08	Chitaldroog	1808-09-19	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/3 p 456
Chillingworth, Florence Emily	Joseph Edwin	Mary Anne Wilhelmina	1870-04-16		1874-07-01	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/55 p 131
Chillingworth, Edwin Andrew	Joseph Edwin	Mary Anne Wilhelmina	1873-04-12		1874-07-01	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/55 p 131
Corry, Catherine Ann	Andrew	Elizabeth Ann	1873-11-15		1874-07-01	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/55 p 131
Cross, Ann	James	Jane			1803-04-17	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/2 p 560
Davis, Richard	Richard	Jane			1803-05-04	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/2 p 560
Ellms, Lilian Blanche	James	Margaret	1876-01-29	Chitaldroog	1876-02-06	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/57 p 8
Frith, Richard	Arthur				1803-05-28	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/2 p 560
Fraser, Ann	John	Mary			1806-05-26	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/3 p 104
Fraser, James	John				1811-01-11	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/2 p 618
Grey, William	William				1803-08-19	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/2 p 561
Hellein, William Victor Wontersz	Caesar Augustus	Clementina	1874-10-26		1874-12-20	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/55 p 200
Hewett, Elisabeth	Charles	Sandy	1813-03-24		1815-09-24	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/5 p 608
Hewitt, Maria	Charles	Sandy			1809-04-03	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/4 p 162
Jackson, James	William	Martha	1818-05-17	Chitaldroog	1818-05-27	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/11 p 283-284
Jackson, Jane Sara	William	Martha			1810-12-04	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/4 p 376
Lock, Mary	George	Anna	1786-00-00		1808-05-10	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/3 p 340
Long, Jane Mary Anne	Richard	Wilhelminah	1815-04-20		1815-09-24	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/5 p 607
Mackintosh, Christie	Angus				1803-04-09	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/2 p 559
McDonagh, Sarah	John	Ann			1803-07-05	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/2 p 560
Martin, William Francis George	George	Catharine	1807-09-02		1808-10-15	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/3 p 465
Nicholas, Catherine	John		1802-00-00		1808-03-25	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/3 p 329
Nicholls, George	John	Elisabeth			1806-08-14	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/3 p 106
Norbury, Sarah Elizabeth	Philllip	Magdalene	1820-11-22		1821-02-01	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/11 p 303-304
Peters, Maria	Frederick	Peternella			1809-03-09	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/4 p 156
Sears, Francis	John	Elizabeth			1808-12-30	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/4 p 141	Illegitimate child of John Sears, gunner 3rd Gn. Co. European Invalids and Elisabeth
Shaw, Clemos Edith	George Samuel	Elizabeth	1879-01-08		1879-02-23	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/60 p 8
Tyres, Elizabeth	John				1804-12-26	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/2 p 647
Tyres, James	John				1804-12-26	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/2 p 647
Watkins, John	John	Jane	1818-07-23		1819-10-04	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/7 p 644-645
White, Elizabeth Mary Ann	Charles Edward	Mary Ann	1879-04-11		1879-06-22	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/60 p 118
White, Margaret	William Edward	Juliana	1874-05-04		1874-07-01	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/55 p 131
Willows, Eleanor	J. J. A.	Eleanor	1819-09-12	Chitaldroog	1819-09-17	Chitaldroog	IOR/N/2/6 p 644-645

Deaths

Theon Wilkinson was a native of Kanpur, his family having been merchants there for several generations. After serving throughout WWII as an officer in the 3rd Gurkhas, Indian Army, he left India to study in England. When he returned to India in the 1970s, he was appalled at the decrepit state of most Christian cemeteries and was driven to found the British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia to care for them. In his book Two Monsoons, which Wilkinson wrote to stimulate interest in preserving the old British cemeteries, he explained that the title refers to the average life expectancy of those who came to the subcontinent from Europe in the early colonial period. Such an observation would undoubtedly have resonated with the early nineteenth century British residents at Chitradurga, who died at a rate that suggests Wilkinson was not being overly dramatic. Life could be nasty, painful, and short for foreigners and Indians alike given the rudimentary state of the medical sciences and the effects of decades of chronic warfare that swept across Karnataka over and over again in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

The table given below identifies 67 men, women, and children of European origin or descent who died at Chitradurga, mostly between 1800-1830. Most of these names were gleaned from India Office records in the British Library, supplemented by the gravestones in the Chitradurga Cemetery and the Indian Army service lists compiled by Dodwell and Miles (1938, 1939).

For the oldest British non-prisoner deaths at Chitradurga, we have only a few documents to guide us; where these men were buried at Chitradurga is unknown. The oldest recorded death is that of George Muat of the Madras Infantry. Promoted to Colonel shortly after the fall of Srirangapatna, Muat unfortunately died at Chitradurga within days of it passing into British hands. In his will, which he made earlier that year, he left everything to his close relatives, most of whom were back in Scotland. Unlike many of his peers in the service, he is nearly invisible in historical records and one cannot help but wonder if he was a rather quiet man. William Bazett (or Basset) Isacke, a Captain in the artillery who died roughly 10 months after Muat, is a bit more interesting. His will made provisions for each of his four children and for Philippina Frederica Pollich, his wife, who was pregnant with their fifth child. How Mrs. Isacke and her soon-to-be five children fared after William’s death is unknown, but it was a hard time and place to be stranded as a widowed, single parent without an income.

The first documented grave in the Chitradurga Cemetery is that of Capt.-Lt. George Munro, a very young officer in the 1/13th Madras Native Infantry, who died in the hot season of 1803. Chitradurga would see a lot of the 13th N. I., which garrisoned Chitradurga, Hullial, Hurryhur, and Paughur (modern Haliyal, Harihar, and Pavagada) during the first decade or so of the 1800s.

Also in the Chitradurga Cemetery is John McDougall, Major, 2/6th N. I., who passed away in early March, 1813, probably in camp near Harihar. McDougall’s will has a bit of an edge to it, unlike that of his peers. While he left most of his material possessions to his wife, he added the following note: “I also bequeath to my said Wife Zulime McDougall my Jegue Horse [Jegue is “donkey” in Portuguese] and Bandy and all my Palanquins and I request my Executors will pay her full Expences of Travelling with her Servants to wherever her friends may be. I further bequeath unto my Said Wife Zulime McDougall the Sum of one hundred Pounds Sterling to be paid unto her after her joining her friends for the purpose of purchasing a Mourning ring having Secured her full advantage of the Military Fund.” Odd that McDougall specifically paid Zulime to go away “to wherever her friends may be”. One can only wonder if the McDougalls were on the best of terms with each other. This aside, he was kind enough to remember his servants in his will, all of whom were to receive three months pay, but not his butler “Pylny Audy who has no claims on me.”

William Bennett, Capt. 1/13th N. I., left a more compassionate will in which he remembered with monetary gifts many friends and mentors, as well as the families of the 5th Battalion Company (to which he belonged) “whose husbands or Brothers dyed in the Wynaud Country.”

One of the most unfortunate cases in the Chitradurga Cemetery is that of the Jackson family. William Jackson was tied to Chitradurga by the nature of his job as Deputy Commissary of Stores. He, his wife Martha and their three sons all died, probably from cholera, within two years of each other, leaving a nine year old daughter, Jane Sara Jackson, who had been born at Chitradurga, as an orphan.

Also in the cemetery are the graves of Capt. C. L. Nelthropp and Ensign John Moore Powell, both of whom lost their lives in an accidental explosion in the upper fort on 16 July 1821. The explosion was apparently caused by one of the men tossing a lighted cigar into a cave where labourers had irresponsibly discarded a supply of damaged gunpowder pulled from a nearby magazine. Gunpowder is a predictable but unforgiving substance when exposed to fire in a tight space. The blast killed both officers and at least one Indian servant. The best account of this unfortunate accident is that of The Asiatic Journal and Register for 1822.

Name	Birth	Death	Burial	Source	Comments
Adamson, Jane	1797-00-00	1819-06-18	1819-06-19	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/N/2/7 p 582-583	Wife of John Adamson, Sgt. Maj., 2/16th N. I.
Allen, George			1808-07-05	IOR/N/2/3 p 425; Dodwell & Miles 1838:4-5
Anderson, Alexander		1805-04-28	1805-04-29	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/N/2/2 p 679; IOR/L/AG/34/29/205 p 23; IOR/L/AG/34/29/207 p 97-98; Dodwell & Miles 1839:70-71	Superintending Surgeon of Mysore
Anderson, Esdale				Chitradurga Cemetery	7 yrs old, grandson of P. Nickson; buried with Robert Nickson, son of P. Nickson
Anderson, Isabella			1817-07-07	IOR/N/2/6 p 550-551
Angel, John			1807-09-24	IOR/N/2/3 p 235
Angle, William			1812-03-05	IOR/N/2/5 p 190
Baker, Samuel			1810-02-23	IOR/N/2/4 p 428
Barbor, Samuel			1802-07-17	IOR/L/AG/34/29/202 p 65-66; IOR/L/AG/34/29/203 p 4
Bates, Ann	1793-00-00	1820-05-22	1820-05-22	Chitradurga Cemetery
Beckerly, Charles			1818-03-22	IOR/N/2/6 p 558-559
Bennett, William			1812-11-16	IOR/L/AG/34/29/213 p 27; Dodwell & Miles 1838:12-13	Capt., 1/13th N. I.
Blackie, J. C.			1803-07-08	IOR/N/2/2 p 563
Browne, Eliza	1809-01-28	1810-03-17	1810-03-17	Chitradurga Cemetery
Casey, Thomas		1822-12-09	1822-12-09	Chitradurga Cemetery; Dodwell & Miles 1838:36-37	Lt. Bt. Capt., 2/14th N. I.
Fox, Stephen Warden		1822-01-22	1822-01-22	Chitradurga Cemetery; Dodwell & Miles 1838:62-63	Lt. & Adjt., 2/14th N. I.
Francis, ?			1810-06-04	IOR/N/2/4 p 438	Conductor of Stores
Frith, Elinor		1810-04-01	1810-04-01	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/N/2/4 p 432	Wife of John Frith, Major, Cmg Chitaldroog
Harvey, Henry			1819-05-06	Dodwell & Miles 1838:84-85
Hatherly, ?	1823-09-02	1823-09-22	1823-09-22	Chitradurga Cemetery	Daughter of Capt. N. H. Hatherly
Hawkins, Paul			1805-05-16	IOR/N/2/2 p 679
Hewett, Charles	1763-00-00		1826-04-01	Chitradurga Cemetery	Key Sgt., Chitaldroog Garrison
Herkins, J.			1817-05-12	IOR/N/2/6 p 550-551
Hodder, Samuel	1794-00-00	1819-05-06	1819-05-07	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/N/2/6 p 580-581; IOR/L/AG/34/29/220 p 240	Lt. & Adjt., 2/16th N. I. - died intestate
Home, W. J.		1809-12-08	1809-12-08	IOR/L/AG/23/10/1
Howard, John Briggs		1822-08-31	1822-08-31	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/L/AG/34/29/220 p 67; Dodwell & Miles 1838:86-87	Lt., 2/14th N. I. - died intestate
Hurrell, Charles Gainsborough			1825-05-04	Dodwell & Miles 1838:88-89
Isacke, William Bazett			1801-06-07	IOR/L/AG/34/29/201 p 286; Dodwell & Miles 1838:92-93	Capt., 1st Bn, Madras Artillery
Jackson, George	1816-10-20	1819-02-07	1819-02-07	Chitradurga Cemetery;	Son of Wm. & Martha Jackson; buried with his brother James
Jackson, James	1818-05-06	1818-05-27	1818-05-28	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/N/2/6 p 564-565	Son of Wm. & Martha Jackson; buried with his brother George
Jackson, Martha	1785-00-00	1819-04-12	1819-04-13	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/N/2/6 p 580-581	Wife of Wm. Jackson
Jackson, Thomas	1815-01-00	1817-08-19	1817-08-19	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/N/2/6 p 550-551	Son of Wm. & Martha Jackson
Jackson, William	1769-00-00	1819-08-25	1819-08-26	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/N/2/11 p 959-960	Deputy Commissary of Stores, Chitaldroog
Jeffries, ?			1809-11-20	IOR/N/2/4 p 294
Johnston, Jack			1805-11-30	IOR/N/2/2 p 683
Leighton, John			1818-04-15	IOR/N/2/11 p 935-936
Macleod, Alexander			1808-01-08	Dodwell & Miles 1838:110-111
McDougall, John	1776-00-00	1813-03-02	1813-03-02	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/L/AG/34/29/213 p 43	Major, 2/6th N. I.
Milburn, Reginald	1778-00-00	1805-11-23	1805-11-23	IOR/N/2/2 p 683; Dodwell & Miles 1838:116-117	Lt., 1/10th N. I.
Morris, Claude Russell	1862-07-03	1864-01-17	1864-01-17	Chitradurga Cemetery	2nd son of C. L. Morris, Lt., 8th Madras Light Cavalry
Muat, George			1799-08-17	IOR/L/AG/34/29/201 p 93; IOR/L/AG/34/29/202 p 62; Dodwell & Miles 1838:110-111	Colonel, Madras Infantry
Munro, George			1803-05-07	Chitradurga Cemetery	Capt. Lt., 1/13th N. I.
Nelthropp, Christian L.		1821-07-16	1821-07-16	Dodwell & Miles 1838:130-131	Bvt. Capt., 2/14th N. I.
Newland, W. J.			1816-05-27	IOR/N/2/7 p 540-541
Newton, James			1805-04-30	IOR/N/2/2 p 679
Nicholls, William			1817-06-06	IOR/N/2/6 p 550-551
Nickson, Peter	1754-00-00	1823-11-28	1823-11-28	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/L/AG/34/29/223 p 69	Invalid Conductor of Ordnance
Nickson, Robert				Chitradurga Cemetery	7 days old, son of P. Nickson; buried with Esdale Anderson, grandson of P. Nickson
Noble, Thomas	1789-00-00	1814-03-24	1814-03-28	Chitradurga Cemetery; Dodwell & Miles 1838:130-131	Lt., 2/6th N. I.
Norbury, P.	1764-00-00	1824-07-10	1824-07-10	Chitradurga Cemetery	Barrack Staff Sgt., Chitaldroog
Page, Florence Louisa Alexandra	1863-04-20	1864-04-06	1864-04-06	Chitradurga Cemetery
Piercy, John			1803-06-15	IOR/N/2/2 p 563
Powell, John Moore			1821-07-00	Dodwell & Miles 1838:142-143
Robertson, Margaret			1807-02-16	IOR/N/2/3 p 200
Rose, Alexander			1807-04-15	IOR/N/2/3 p 209
Russel, George	1814-00-00	1839-11-24	1839-11-24	Chitradurga Cemetery	Lt., 5th Light Cavalry; died of cholera
Selby, William Ritchie		1822-06-18	1822-06-18	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/L/AG/34/29/222 p 118; IOR/L/AG/34/27/254 p 776; Dodwell & Miles 1839:106-107	Asst. Surgeon
Serjeant, William			1806-03-11	IOR/N/2/3 p 110
Stillo, Daniel			1818-09-14	IOR/N/2/6 p 568-569
Stillo, Edward			1817-06-23	IOR/N/2/6 p 550-551
Stuart, John		1809-12-08	1809-12-09	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/N/2/4 p 420	Lt., 2/13th N. I.
Sweetland, Edward Seore			1809-07-28	Dodwell & Miles 1838:160-161
White, Richard Julian	1864-07-00	1866-10-22	1866-10-22	Chitradurga Cemetery	Son of Charles Edward & Maria White
Willows, Eleanor	1819-08-00	1819-09-19	1819-09-19	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/N/2/7 p 586-587	Daughter of J. Enza Willows, Capt., 2/16th N. I.
Willows, Frances Ann	1817-12-27	1819-10-08	1819-10-10	Chitradurga Cemetery; IOR/N/2/7 p 588-589	Daughter of J. Enza Willows, Capt., 2/16th N. I.
Winckler, Levi	1879-04-00	1879-11-19	1879-11-19	Chitradurga Cemetery	Son of Walter & Fanny Winckler
Wittle, Jeremiah			1807-02-26	IOR/N/2/3 p 202

Conclusions

The British presence at Chitradurga is more than a curiosity or another artifact of British oppression, it is a legitimate part of the city’s rich history. Between the late 1700s and the early 1830s in particular, the British lived here as mercenaries and captive soldiers in Tipu Sultan’s army, as prisoners of war in the hundreds, and as soldiers fighting for the East India Company. During their time at Chitradurga, young British men and women of British and Indian descent also found each other and got on with their lives, sometimes against parental wishes, race, religion, and a host of other constraints. They established homes at Chitradurga, had children here, died here. They kept mostly to themselves, built no great monuments, left no memorable inscriptions. Their most visible legacy is some of their tombs, which now look so old, foreign, out of place. Less visible but equally likely is their genetic legacy. Some modern Chitradurga citizens are probably descendants of men and women buried in these tombs or listed in the tables above. The past is a complex place full of twists, turns, and surprises.

Additional Reading

Archaeological Survey of India. 2003. Chitradurga Fort. Bangalore: Archaeological Survey of India, Bangalore Circle.

Dodwell, Edward, and James Samuel Miles, eds. 1838. Alphabetical List of the Officers of the Indian Army: With the Dates of Their Respective Promotion, Retirement, Resignation, Or Death, Whether in India Or in Europe, from the Year 1760 to the Year 1834 Inclusive, Corrected to September 30, 1837. London: Longman, Orme, Brown.

———, eds. 1839. Alphabetical List of the Medical Officers of the Indian Army: With the Dates of Their Respective Appointment, Promotion, Retirement, Resignation, Or Death, Whether in India Or in Europe; from the Year 1764, to the Year 1838. Longman, Orme, Brown.

The Asiatic Journal. 1822. “Further Particulars of the Death of Capt. Nelthropp and Ensign Powell.” The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India 13: 185.

Wilkinson, Theon. 1976. Two Monsoons. London: Duckworth.