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Scots in Burma DARWOOD/DURWOOD and SNOWBALL

Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 2:35 pm
by Narelle
Hello All,
I am researching my husband's line of DARWOOD. It begins with John Darwood born c 1800's in Scotland possibly Angus - Monikie or Forfar.

John was an engineer on the paddlesteamer "Diana" that was used in the first Burma War of 1824. John lost his leg during the attack on Martaban and was pensioned off. He stayed in Burma and married Margaret Snowball in Burma in 1833. The family lived in Burma for at least 3 generations and the last John Darwood born 1873 was knighted for his services to the British in Burma.

The Darwood's were great enterpreneurs and were involved in the teak and shipping industries and developed the Rangoon Electric Tramway and Supply Company.

If anyone has any knowledge of the DARWOOD/DURWOOD (or other variations) family living in Scotland I would love to hear from you.
Kindest regards
Narelle

Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 3:52 pm
by joette
Hi Narelle & a Warm Welcome to TalkingScot.It is nice when we have a well documented family history & the Scots were aye ones to roam the world.
I love the name Snowball never heard of it being used as a surname.
Do you know the names,birth order of John/Margaret's children?This often gives a clue as to parentage as it was often the custom to name the children in a particular way-usually eldest son for Father's Father,Eldest Daughter for Mother's Mother & so on.
I would have a look at the OPR's which are searchable on-line for a small fee at http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk.This may give you clues as to where & when he was born.Stat.Reg did not come into effect in Scotland until 1855 so long after your John's time.
With him being a well documented person it may be possible that some descendants will be aware of him & be able to give info re his origins.
I was unaware that a ancestor had gone off to Malaysia & Indonesia as a soldier but his descendant was able to give this info & I in turn was able to make her aware of his origins & parentage etc.It's great when things come together.This was with a very common name so we may hope that your more unusual one may produce some results.
Have a look around the site for sources & help it is a very easy site to use & with some helpful people here too.
I don't know if you have tried the IGI?It's free & is at http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/.

Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 4:12 pm
by AnneM
Hi Narelle

Welcome to Talking Scot!! [talkingscot] [scotland-flag]. I've had a quick look at the International Genealogical Index and at Scotland's People. There seems to be only a handful of Darwoods/ Durwoods and Dorwoods around, including a family in Angus.

Do you have some evidence that they come from there or is it because there are a few on the IGI that you think that might be them. I do hope someone comes along who has some link to your family.

Anne

PS Watch out for the more common Durward.

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 6:18 am
by Narelle
Hello Joette and Anne,
Many thanks for your warm welcomes. I did not mention earlier that a LOT of research has gone into this family and I am not the only person who is researching them at the moment but we have all come to a standstill. We have managed to cover many family lines back to John Darwood and some are still being debated.

Our problem is with John himself. We are unsure of his origins and how and why he ended up in Burma. My thought was that he was from a "well off" family as he was educated as an engineer. I also thought that he may have had to be a "gentleman's son" to be employed by the EIC but I have no idea if this was the case.

Research done in the 1980's by a professional researcher put the original John Darwood as coming from Monikie - I think in 1803. This information was then added to the book by Alister McRae titled "The Scots in Burma". It is believed that John belonged to the Bombay Marine but we have been unable to find him on any military records of the time or the East India Co. John also received a pension of 150 Rupees a month I assume from the EIC but cannot confirm.

There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding whether he was from England or Scotland and although there are quite a few Darwood's in England around that time he would not appear in any of the UK census as he was living in Burma by c 1824.

John and Margaret's children where John William b. 15 Aug 1835, Jane b. 1836 and Charles William b. 1840 all in Moulmein Burma. The boy's second name I think reflects their mother Margaret's, father who was also a William.

Again Many Thanks
Narelle

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 10:24 am
by AnneM
I'm not sure how educated an engineer on a paddle steamer would be. Certainly engineers on board steamers on the Clyde would not necessarily have formal qualifications. He could even be a 'Dan McPhail' character (see numerous google references for 'The Vital Spark' or 'Para Handy'.) OK maybe not.

One of my grandmother's uncles born in the 1840s appears as a marine engineer and he certainly came from a relatively poor family. His father was a joiner. It was just one of those families which were set to get on in life. One of his brothers also became a teacher. Yours certainly sounds like a family with ambition as well so I would not rule out, for example, the Angus family for not being rich.

Unfortunately if it is not clear whether he was English or Scots he may well have been English as the name is very uncommon in Scotland.

All the best with your search. I have to say however that I'm not convinced by the John Darwood/ Dorwood or whatever born in Angus in the early 1800s as I think he appears in 1841 as a gardener in Dundee. Could be another of the same name of course.

Having had another look at SP and the censuses it seems to me that there are a lot of Dorwards and Durwards including a John born in Monikie in 1804/05. I guess that could conceivably be him but difficult to be sure it is the same person who ended spelling his name as Dorwood. Don't think this one is easy in the slightest.

Anne

Anne

Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:41 am
by Narelle
Hi Anne,
It is interesting that you say being an engineer didn't necessarily make him a son of a wealthy family. Maybe I am looking in the wrong places.

I am also glad that you came across the John Darwood from Monikie born c 1804. Is there any way I can find out more about that family? Who do I speak to or where do I look? It is not impossible that this is our John but in the Scots in Burma by McRae he says that "Darwood was 26 when he joined the Bombay Marine". As he was injured in 1824 it seems that his birth date is more like 1798 and not 1804. I know that is not much of a deviation but it may be significant. Surely he would still have been able to join at the age of 20 so changing his age to 26 seems pointless.

Many thanks for your help. It is a difficult one but I guess I just have to be patient.
Kindest regards
Narelle

Re: Scots in Burma DARWOOD/DURWOOD and SNOWBALL

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 9:08 am
by Ferme
Hello Darwoods,
I am a William Darwood Ferme. My mother was Jessie Darwood & her Uncle was Danny Darwood. My mother was born in Edinburgh & lived her adult life in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland & her uncle Danny lived in West Wemyss, Fife, Scotland. I am under the impression that the Darwoods came from Newcastle? Danny Darwood told me he was visited in West Wemyss in about 1900 by a Darwood from Burma who was an officer there.
Regards,
William Darwood Ferme

Re: Scots in Burma DARWOOD/DURWOOD and SNOWBALL

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 4:27 pm
by SarahND
Hello William and [TS_welcome]

Narelle hasn't been on the forum since July of 2010, but here's hoping your message will get through nonetheless. In the meantime, have a look around the forum! Hope you find other topics of interest and don't hesitate to post if you have a question or genealogical puzzle.

All the best,
Sarah