Genealogy Chat

I wonder if anyone can help answer this question: My gtx3 grandfather married an Indian woman, in India, in 1864. They then came back to England to live in 1870. In the 1881 and 1891 census, my gtx3 grandmother's birth place is given as India, but in 1901 the words 'Naturalised British Indian Subject' are used. Would she have had to apply for naturalisation or would she have been regarded as a British subject because she was married to an Englishman?

If you Google search with the words... Naturalised British Subject.... there is information about this. By an Act of 1844, a woman marrying a British born subject was deemed to be British herself. Gwyn

OK - thanks for that information. I really hoped that she might've applied for naturalisation as it would help me find her parents' names. Back to the drawing board! :-)

Have you had no luck finding her marriage certificate then?

Unfortunately not. The only reason I know the date of the marriage is because on their 50th wedding anniversary in Mansfield, Notts, in 1914 they gave an interview to the local paper (my gtx3 grandfather had been involved in the Indian Mutiny and was something of a well-known veteran). Luckily I managed to get a photocopy of the article :-) The article says that they were married in a 'little Church Mission Station' near Benares in the Bengal Province. I've looked and looked at all possible marriage returns at the LDS Family History Centre, the chaplain, regimental, overseas, etc. etc. and can't find any GRO reference. I've heard via a distant relative that my gtx3 grandmother's surname was Paddam, although I don't know how this information was discovered as the person who told me is no longer contactable. I can't even discover what sort of mission station was involved, what the denomination was or anything, hence my reliance on the naturalisation certificate.