INDIA-L Archives

From: "John C. McMichan" <>
Subject: McMICHAN - Sctland to India
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2000 11:24:07 -0700
References: <200004020821.AAA25437@bl-14.rootsweb.com>

I am searching for the birth and details of the early years of my
grandfather, James Archibald McMICHAN.

The earliest record I have is of his wedding in Coonamble, New South Wales
in 1887. He died in that State in 1932. In 1917, he enlisted in the
Australian Imperial Forces and stated on his papers that he was born in
Calcutta. It was probably in 1863.

In the LDS records and in the British Library in London on two visits I have
searched for any McMICHAN in the Presidency of Bengal and have found none
about that time.

Just recently, I have found a J. McMICHAN, aged 22, who arrived in
Melbourne, Australia in November, 1884 on board the "Mirzapore". This ship
travelled between England, India and Australia and frequently made stops in
Colombo and Calcutta. I am awaiting further details of this person, but I am
assuming that it is my grandfather.

He had a older brother named Andrew who died in Tasmania aged 32 in 1894. I
have no other record of him apart from his dc.

My theory - James Archibald and Andrew were the products of a liason between
their father and an Indian woman. Two professional genealogists,
independently, on seeing a photo of James said he looked part Indian.

Family anecdote says the family originated from a village near Castle
Douglas in Scotland. Last year, I visited Parton on the banks of Loch Ken
and found the farm "Whitehill" which had been the location of McMICHANs as
tenant farmers from the early 1800s till 1920. (The name of the family home
in Sydney, NSW was "Whitehill"). Some are buried in the local churchyard.
One of the sons, Andrew McMICHAN, was born in 1838 and is mentioned in the
census of 1841 and 1851 - and then he disappears.
My theory - While his brothers Peter and John, worked the farms in Parton
and Neww Dairy, Andrew went to India to seek his fortune and there produced
by grandfather and great uncle.

Question - Where can I obtain the passenger lists for ships sailing between
Scotland and India in the late 1850s or early 1860s? I hope to find Andrew
McMICHAN as a passenger to India.

Thank you for any help.

John.

John Carruthers McMichan
Scottsdale, AZ, USA.
tel. 1 480 860 1012
fax. 1 480 860 6897

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