Record of Services of the Honourable East India Company's Civil Servants in the Madras Presidency from 1741 to 1858

1599 under the title of " The Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading to the East Indies." Courten's Association, the Assada Merchants, established in 1635, united with the London Company in 1650. The "Merchant Adventurers," chartered in 1654-55, united with the London Company in 1656-57. The "English Company" (or "the General Society") trading to the East Indies was incorporated in 1698. The aforesaid Company of Merchants of London, and the English Company, were finally incorporated under the title of "The United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies" in 1708, and thus was founded the East India Company, which title it maintained until 1858 (an unbroken period of one hundred and fifty years), when the transfer of Indian affairs to the Crown was effected.

Fort St. George, Madras, was erected in the year 1640, and in 1653 the possessions of the East India Company along the Coromandel Coast, comprising the settlements (as they were then termed) of Fort St. George, Fort St. David, Vizagapatam, and Mechlipatam (Masulipatam), were raised to the rank of a Presidency.

In offering to the public a record of the services of the Madras Covenanted Civilians the compiler has no desire to credit himself with being the first to have initiated such a work, for Messrs. Dodwell and Miles prepared a similar register (now out of print and unobtainable), commencing with civilians who were in the service in 1780 and ending with the year 1839, the date of publication; but notwithstanding its excellence, there is a want of completeness as a work of reference at the present time to the general reader, thus rendering further work necessary, which it has been the object of the compiler herein to achieve.

The present register will therefore contain the names of civilians who were in the service of the East India Company from the year 1741, at which date they appear in the Indian registers, including those contained in Messrs. Dodwell and Miles' register of services, with more complete information, and with the addition of those who have subsequently entered the Civil Service up to 1862 and a few names given in the Madras Almanac of that year, when the record of services of Madras civilians was first made public by permission of that Government. It is to be regretted that the present work is still not so complete as it might have been made, for since going to press manuscript lists of services of civilians from 1700 have been discovered to exist, too late however for insertion in the present volume; but it may be hoped that these new sources of information will be placed before the public at some future time.

In all cases the dates of death have been given where the information has been accessible.

The services of civilians not recorded in this work will be found in a "History of Services of all Gazetted Officers in the Civil Department," covenanted, uncovenanted, and military officers in civil employ, annually published by each administration or province in India.

Further information of a varied character, extracted from the Old Court Books of the East India Company, public consultations of the respective Governments in India, and other valuable records in the India Office, has been appended, so as to render the work a more useful one for general reference, and to increase the interest of officers still living, as well as of relatives of deceased persons, in those who have played their parts so prominently, and

added lustre to a record of services performed by civil servants, in India.

In conclusion, the compiler desires to express his sense of the valuable and willing assistance rendered by Colonel Laurie, of the Royal (late Madras) Artillery, in the laborious searches that had to be made in following up each individual name through nearly 200 volumes of registers and other books of reference, and without whose practical experience of India, and of Madras in particular, the publication of this record of services would have been much retarded.

INDIA OFFICE, 19th February 1885.

ALPHABETICAL LIST

DIRECTORS OF THE UNITED COMPANY OF MERCHANTS OF ENGLAND TRADING TO THE EAST INDIES

(Incorporated under Act, Queen Anne, in 1708),

OTHERWISE ENTITLED THE EAST INDIA COMPANY,
FROM 1708 TO 1858.

NOTE.Previous to the year 1773, the twenty-four Directors were elected every year, and the day of election was in the month of April. In 1773 (Act 13 Geo. III. cap. 63) the system of election was changed. It was then provided that six Directors should be chosen for 4 years, six for 3 years, six for 2 years, and six for 1 year, and at every Annual Election six new Directors were to be chosen for the term of 4 years, and no longer. Subsequently, Act 17 Geo. III. cap. 8, of 1777, fixed the second Wednesday in April as the date of the Annual Election. The qualification of a Director was £2000 East India stock. In the event of a vacancy by death or otherwise, another Director had to be chosen within 40 days of the declaration of such vacancy, the new Director succeeding to the unexpired portion of his predecessor's term of office. The salaries of Directors were regulated by the Bye-laws. In earlier years each Director received £150 per annum, in 1794 the amount was increased to £300, and in 1854 to £500, a year.

Names.

ADAMS, ROBERT

Addams, Abraham

Agnew, Patrick Vans (C.B.)

Aislabie, William

Alexander, Josias du Pré

Alexander, Henry