The Honorable East India Co

Finding East India Company Ancestors

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Last updated: 28 Sept 07

This website mainly contains birth, marriage and death notices of people who worked for or were associated with the Honourable East India Company and their families, collected from various newspapers and publications. To view a list of the names of people who appear in the notices click Index here or in the menu. This website also contains a little bit of history and background of the Honourable East India Company and has a list of Governor Generals and Viceroys of India.

London merchants incorporated their Asian trading venture on 31 December 1600 under the name of the Honourable Company of London Merchants Trading to the East Indies. Stockholders in England became so wealthy an appeal was made to Parliament against its monopoly. In 1869 a rival company was formed. The compeition inflicted so much harm on one another's trade in 1708 the two companies merged into a new company called the Honourable United Company of Merchants Trading in the East Indies. In 1784, Prime Minister William Pitt created a Board of Control in London to supervise the Company's activies. One year after the 1875 Indian Mutiny an Act for the Better Government of India brought the Company to an end. From then until 1950 India was governed by a Viceroy in firstly Calcutta and later Delhi in conjunction with the India Office in London. In 1950 India became an independent country within the British Commonwealth.

Many British families became involved with the East India Company, often for several generations. Applicants tended to be younger members of British upper middle class families. Entry into the Company often depended upon influence and recommendation from family members already holding senior positions within the Company. The main types of employment were: The Mercantile Marine, Factors and Civil Service, Supracagoes, Soliders, and staff in London. Employment within the East India Company, affectionately known as "John Company," was highly sought after because of the opportunities it afforded to become wealthy. Although the salaries were not high, employees were allowed to trade on their own account. Many employees, in particular senior traders (Factors) and sea captains, retired early to live in style in England, where they were nicknamed "Nabobs."