Tracing Adam Colquhoun

[LesleyB]

I almost hesitiate to post this... but could this be the same Adam?
Seems to be about the 1870s or so...

MADRAS PENITENTIARY (Continued).
PRISONERS I HAVE KNOWN.
....Adam Colquhoun had been a Sub-Engineer in the
Department of Public Works, and was found guilty, and

188

sentenced by the Tinnevelly Sessions Court on two separate
charges of Criminal Breach of Trust as public servant, for
each of which he received five years' rigorous imprisonment and
ten thousand rupees fine. He was transferred from Tinnevelly
to H. M.'s Penitentiary at Madras to undergo his sentence.
Being by profession an Engineer, Colonel Bowen who was in
charge of the Jail at the time, employed him in connection
with the erection of the new buildings which were being put
up, viz., the Printing Press, Carpenters' Shop, etc., where as
he thoroughly understood his work, he was found most useful.
Before his trial and conviction at Tinnevelly, Colquhoun had
been in jail previously for a period of eight months on a
charge of having committed adultery...

....After the lapse of a certain period
after their first confinement, convicts are allowed to see their
friends, and this Colquhoun, in common with others was
allowed to do. I remember the application made by his wife
one Saturday evening to be permitted to see him. She came
with her children, and a Mrs. Lloyd who she said was his aunt.
Mrs. Lloyd was a good looking woman and seemed to me
rather young to be Colquhoun's aunt ; but I allowed the visit.
A few days afterwards I discovered that this " Mrs. Lloyd"
was really his old flame, Mrs. Coleman. She was really a
prepossessing woman, and might have turned the brain of
many a better principled man than Colquhoun...

There are many more mentions in the book.

[LesleyB]

Hi Proctor

Would like information on Mary Isabella DANVERS who lived in Madras India in 1870/1880's. She was a Doctor/Apothercary and may have adopted two children, George and James 1878 and 1880. She was described as the wife of Adam Frank COLQUHOUN, Station Master, Madras Railway Station, India. Would like to hear from any relatives.

I take it the above post by you on Genes Reunited boards refers to the same family - if so, this puts a different angle on any searches.

Best wishes
Lesley

[LesleyB]

Hi Proctor
The post below also seems to be yours - it gives us more useful information.

I have in fact been through the BMD's for Madras with
no success for him but have managed to get the birth entries for his sons
and their birth records show them as having been baptized at St Andrews's Church, Madras. I appear to have hit a wall both with Adam's birth and death records,

I have now also discovered that at the baptism of another son 14 years
earlier lists his profession as Sub Engineer PWD, this entry is at BlackTown Church Madras Emmanuel Chapel.

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/t ... 1154532414

...so going by the occupation of sub-engineer, it looks like the book quoted a couple of posts above does mention the same Adam. I am struggling to find him in Scotland - do you have anything in particular which suggests that he originated in Scotland?

Best wishes
Lesley

[Proctor]

Hi Lesley,

I too have read Isaac Tyrrell's book and feel that he could very well be referring to the same Adam in his colourful tales of Adam's outlandish behaviour. Nevertheless, Mr Tyrrell refers to him quite clearly as a Scot, an experienced engineer, who died in Ootycumand, before his book was published in 1902. Adam would therefore have died in the 1890's, but I have never been able to find his birth record; I have recently, had those records checked in Ootycumand, with no success. Hence looking at Scotland again

For your information, Adam was involved apparently, in the construction of some well known buildings in Madras and family legend has it that two Colquhoun brothers built the original lighthouse at Tuticorin, within close proximity of Madras.

As you can see, we appear to be very close yet no nearer to finding Adam. If only I could find his date of birth, to enable me to trace his family in Scotland.

Kind regards and thanks,

Proctor

[JustJean]

Hello again

Mr. Tyrrell's book certainly provides some interesting clues. Whether he is your Adam or not there certainly is evidence of the Colquhoun name in that region of India. I noted that at one point the story indicated Adam Colquhoun's own father was serving time. If this were true and if this were your family then perhaps it's not Adam's generation that was born in Scotland. This would most probably push dates to pre-statutory and even pre-census times and consequently greatly diminish the opportunities to obtain vital information. While a daunting task, you might have to consider a wide ranged research of the Colquhoun name in Scotland around the early to mid 1800's and look for any small clues. Perhaps narrow that up to the use of Adam as a given name. At this stage of the game grogress by elimination can be just as critical as progress by postiive identification.

Best wishes
Jean

[Proctor]

Hi Jean
Re your last email, Isaac Tyrrell's book mentions only one Adam, the clever but troublesome prisoner; he makes a reference to Adam's young son, in the context of a fellow Scot prisoner, visiting his son on his release, and the son not wanting him in the house. I cannot see any reference to Adam's father at any point in the book. Moreover Adam is also referred to in another book, called 'Imperial Conversations-Indo-Britons and the architecture of Southern India' by Shanti Pillai. published more recently on the subject of British influence on Indian/Mogul Architure. I have contacted the Author some time ago, but she has not replied. This is most important as it ties down the period in question which is 1874. I have also tracked down the descendents of that son, also called Adam born in India in 1864 and they too have no idea of Adam's origins.
Regarding your earlier email and questions, the following are some answers:
1. My grandfather's given names are Francis George Danvers, he was known as George Colquhoun.
2. I have a copy of his baptismal certificate, which gives his date of birth as 3/08/1878. He was baptised at St Andrews Church, Madras
3. His parents names were given as Adam Frank and Mary Isabella.
4.My grandfather had a brother named James Adam Frank.
5.My grandfather died in the Colonial service in Burma in 1922.

I hope the above will shed some light.

Best wishes and regards.

Proctor

[JustJean]

Hmmm....indeed you are correct in that it only refers to a "young man named Colquhoun whose father was in prison.

QUOTE
Shaw asked for and was shown into a shop where he could
procure opium, and purchased enough of the drug to poison a
dozen men. They then went back to the arrack shop, and
had some more arrack. By this time, it was growing dark,
and Shaw who had not been about the town before asked to
be driven to the house of a young man named Colquhoun who
resided in Ohintadripettah, and whose father was then doing
time in the Penitentiary. Shaw had swallowed two large
doses of opium on the way, and with the spirit in him began
to get troublesome, so much so that the jutka driver was
anxious to get rid of him. When they got to Colquhoun's
house this young man on seeing Shaw's condition declined to
take him in.
ENDQUOTE

I only read bits and pieces of the book and had presumed this might have occured prior to Adam's incarceration and he was the young man!!!

So if Shaw knew Adam Colquhoun well enough to know the exact address to be delievered to and also to know this son who must have been old enough to receive adult visitors then it makes one wonder if Shaw knew the Colquhoun family prior to his jail time. Is there anything to be gained by looking at this possible connection or have you already exhausted this??

Best wishes
Jean

[LesleyB]

...he makes a reference to Adam's young son, in the context of a fellow Scot prisoner,

Sorry if I'm being really dense here...I've probably skipped over it, but can someone quote here the bit of the book that mentions the Colquhoun Scottish connection please? Also forgot to give the link in a previous post for the version I was looking at which is here:
http://www.archive.org/stream/fromengla ... h_djvu.txt

Best wishes
Lesley

[LesleyB]

Sent via PM in error -

Hi Lesley
There are various are references to Adam being a European.locked up with other Europen prisoners, in Tyrrell's book, in particular on page 204, I quote:"The senior Warder, Daniel Sreele, a Scotsman, who although entirely innocent of all collusion in Colquhoun's schemes, had yet a lingering pity for his countryman.... etc". I have a full copy of the book, in which Adam is given much mention in various chapters, especially with reference to his eloquent writing skills in exchanges with the local British Press and the Judiciary, in the form of appeals for himself and on behalf of other European prisoners. In the same book it mentions that he died in Ootycumand, India, "in the service of a senior law officer woring as a manager of his land and ectate".. But, again, I am not able to find any such record of his death in church records in Ootycumand for the operiod.
Did he get get deported back to the UK?

Best wishes

Proctor

[JustJean]

Another post from Proctor.....

Hi Jean
Thanks for the quote. Adam was obviously a popular, troublesome and rebelious person, whose home was apparently frequented by friends and officials alike (he was according to Tyrrell quite affluent) and it is a quite feasable that Adam who was a friend of Shaw, would have given him his address, possibly as a stopover, prior to Shaw's return (deportation?) to England; nothing more.
The son in question was about 12/13 years old, and if my research is correct, he would have been Adam's eldest son, also called Adam Bittlestone Colquhoun, whose BMD records are well documented. But frustratingly, no reference to the Adam in the book. Please also read my email to Lesley today.

Regards

Proctor