Boat to Indian Tea Plantation - Records?

[hmcullum]

I just heard a very interesting story about a relative who left England in the 1800s to work at an Indian Tea Plantation. I would love to find out more about this including the boat he may have left and returned to England on and even tea platation records if they exist.

I believe that the gentleman's name may have been William Cullum (the christian name may be recorded as something different) and I guess he would have left England in the mid-late 1800s. We do believe that either he and/or a crate containing his belogings docked at Tilbury dock during this period.

Are there any passenger lists that exist for this kind of journey?
Can I find out more about the tea plantation that he may have worked on?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Helen

[Megan Roberts]

Findmypast has passenger lists leaving the UK between 1890 and 1960. I had a quick look, but there was nothing obvious that leapt out at me, and that might be because they don't start until 1890.

Ancestry has incoming passenger lists 1878-1960. Again nothing obvious jumped out at me, but I know from my own family that the port of departure is not necessarily correct. I had family in the colonial service in India and Pakistan after WW2. One of their trips home is listed as departing Sydney, Australia.

There is another site called "movinghere" which is down at the moment, and I think that it may have the same records as Ancestry.

I would recommend that you have a look at the sites mentioned, because you say that he may not have been listed as "William" and therefore I think that you are more likely to spot something that might be a connection.

[Peter Goodey]

Please see the National Archives Research Guide for an explanation of what's available.

[jac65]

Ancestry has incoming passenger lists 1878-1960. Again nothing obvious jumped out at me, but I know from my own family that the port of departure is not necessarily correct. I had family in the colonial service in India and Pakistan after WW2. One of their trips home is listed as departing Sydney, Australia.

.

Unfortunately with Ancestry (and on some other sites) the Port of Departure often relates to the ship rather than the passenger so always check for ports beyond your country of interest, for example if you are looking for someone from India or South Africa also look at passengers from Australia, New Zealand or the Far East etc, the image will usually tell you where they actually boarded.

Andy

[Coromandel]

Many of those travelling to India saved time by travelling by rail to Marseilles (and, later, to Venice or Brindisi) and then boarding ships there. These voyages, as they didn't begin in a UK port, aren't covered by the Board of Trade records from which Findmypast's database of outgoing passenger lists was created.

P&O (who operated steamers on these routes) did keep their own lists of passengers, but unfortunately very few of these have survived. What there is is in the P&O Archive at the National Maritime Museum. See the last page of the guide to 'Passengers and Emigration' here:

http://www.
poheritage.com/our-archive/research-guides