These records are the pre-1947 returns of the administration of India and other territories formally governed by the HEIC, and they form part of the remarkable and amazing Oriental and India Office Collections. They're not just restricted to the civil and commercial activities of the HEIC in the UK and the Indian sub-continent, South Asia, China and Japan, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, St Helena, and the Gulf States and Australia, they contain a great deal of biographical details about HEIC Covenanted and Un-Covenanted Civil Servants, HEIC Military personnel for both Officers and other ranks in both the Army and Navy, Surgeons and Apothecaries, Clergy,and even criminals.

Quite often, even in the driest of records some biographical information can be found, but for the family historian, following is a brief description of both primary and secondary source documents which contain the most information.
 

Ecclesiastical Records

These are the Index Registers of Baptism/births, Marriages and Burials of most European Christians and Eurasian Christians in India and territories controlled by the HEIC and then the India Office.

Biographical Card Index

This is a secondary source reference of some 300,000 cards which mainly contain brief ecclesiastical and sometimes other information on European individuals residing in India and territories.

Wills and Administrations

This set of records also include Probate Returns, Inventories (this is where a researcher may find out just how many "Star Pagodas" their ancestor may have left), Treasury Deposits, and Military Estate Papers.

Pension Funds

With the exception of the Ecclesiastical Records, these probably contain the most information for the Family Researcher, there is so much relevant biographical detail in them, and they cover such areas as:

• Poplar Pension Fund - for Mariners of the HEIC Mercantile Marine
• Lord Clive Pension Fund - which was set up in the mid 1700's as an ex-gracia award to many Officers, the soldiers and some widows of the HEIC Armies.
• Bengal, Madras and Bombay Military Funds - provided pensions for Officers, Chaplains, Surgeons, their widows and children to marriageable age.
• Bengal, Madras and Bombay Civil Funds - these are the pension funds for the widows and children of the HEIC and Indian Civil Service

Military Service Records

Although the HEIC Armies, Navy and Marines swore allegiance to the Crown they were separate to their British counterparts, therefore the entry documents for the HEIC Military will not be found through British Military records. Records in this group include

• Cadet Entry Papers
• Indian Army Cadetships and Commissions
• Service Records for Officers, Surgeons, Warrant Officers, other NCO and Privates
• Maritime Service Statements

Civil Service

These records give details of

• Writer's Petitions
• Service Records for Civil Servants
• Un-Covenanted Civil Servants - these are the Police, Public Works
• Department, Railway and Post-Office employees

Biographical Series

This grouping of records contains the Articles of Agreements, Covenants of Employment, of authorised Europeans wishing to work for the HEIC or Government of India

Europeans in India to 1830

Court Minute Books and Proceedings

This is a vast grouping of two classes of records which are difficult to research but have in the a wealth of both historical and biographical material.