Monday, September 3, 2018

Ceylon (Sri Lanka) birth and burial records

I have finally been able to track down some records for the time that my gggrandfather and his family were in Ceylon.  Thanks to Eileen Hewson at the Kabristan Archives (kabristan.org.uk) I now have this information.  And thanks to my cousin Judy for pointing me to the website!

These are the bits of information I received:

Source St Paul’s Church Kandy register.
SMITH
Frances daughter of Thomas Smith Corporal HM 58th Regt and Elizabeth Mary his wife 
Born Oct 9 1831 baptised Oct 16 1831 at St Paul’s Kandy
By me Thomas Ireland Colonial Chaplain of the Forces
SPONSORS
William Cranfield Sergeant HM 58th Regt
Isabella Baillie
Catherine Stafford

SMITH
Martha Ann daughter of Thomas Smith Sergeant HM 58th Regt and Elizabeth Mary Smith his wife
Born Oct 24 1833 baptised Nov 3 1833 at St Paul’s Kandy
By me Norman Garstin Colonial Chaplain
SPONSORS
Sergeant James Stafford
Mrs Catherine Stafford
Mrs Martha Butcher

NOTE:  Catherine Stafford was a sponsor for both of these children.  Mrs. Martha Butcher could be Elizabeth’s mother.
Bible records have Martha’s death as March 16, 1836 in Colombo, Ceylon.  No online records have been found to confirm this.

St Stephen’s Church Trincomalee Sri Lanka Burials
SMITH
Sergt Thomas Smith HM 58th Regt aged 36 years
Buried Mar 24 1838

I've done a summary of what I know so far about Thomas Henry Smith 1800-1838,  This information comes from Bible pages and also from the birth-burial records I found online.

Thomas Henry Smith
June 24, 1800 – March 23, 1838

Thomas was born June 24, 1800 in Munden, County Kent, England according to family Bible records kept by his wife.
He married Elizabeth Mary Butcher on April 4, 1827 at St. Paul’s Church, Dublin, Ireland (again from family Bible).  This information is also confirmed in church records viewed online.

Thomas was a member of the 58th Regiment of Foot that was deployed to Ceylon in 1828. 
In 1830, per the death record of Sidney, his rank was Private.
In 1831, per birth record of Frances, his rank was Corporal.
In 1833, per birth record of Martha, his rank was Sargent.
In 1838, per his death record, his rank was Sargent.  His age is listed as 36 years.

Their first child, Mary Isabella, was born April 11, 1828 in Portsmouth, England (family Bible record).
She married Leonard Vessey November 13, 1853 in Washington, DC and died February 4, 1863 in Washington, DC and is interred in Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, DC.

His second child, Sidney John Smith, was born June 14, 1830 at the Garrison of Colombo, Ceylon and died age 2 months, 22 days.  Bible records have his death date as Sept. 29, 1830 but burial records have him buried Sept. 5, 1830 in Galle Face Burial Ground, Colombo, Ceylon.  The Sept. 5 burial date fits better with the age if the family Bible records birth date is correct.

Frances Lenetta Smith was born October 9, 1831
She married John Meany June 9, 1856 at St. Mark’s Church, New York, New York.
Known as Fanny, she died in Washington, DC February 26, 1870. 

Martha Ann Smith was born October 24, 1833  I found no burial records for her on the Kabristan Archives website.

Thomas Henry Smith, the last child, was born October 14, 1835 in Colombo, Ceylon. He died November 3, 1926 and is interred at Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, DC.  I did not find any birth records for him on the Kabristan Archives website.



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