The photo is of an Honourable East India Company - Horse Artillery crew in 1860. The uniforms and equipment would be very similar to that used by Sgt Maj James Millard in the 1840s in India.
We will likely never determine the true ancestry of Sgt Maj James Millard who served in India in the Honourable East India Company - British Army, married in India, had his children in India, and died in India in 1881. James joined the 4th Troop Brigade Horse Artillery in Buckingham in 1825... as a Corporal, indicating he had some previous arrangement (enlisted men always started in the Army as Private, in the 1800s all officers were purchased as a commission). A Corporal is a non-commission rank, but still senior to Private.
Birth records were often lost, misplaced, or never entered for various reasons; a child born out of wedlock, a misplaced or damaged or lost record, an extra marital illegitimate birth, a mixed race birth in another country, and so on.
We have two (2) credible candidates for his father, David Millard;
- the first is the David Millard, born 1781 in Perthshire Scotland, and who served in India for the Honourable East India Company (recorded as a Cadet in 1798). Many mixed race children were born to British soldiers in India, some returned to England with their father and mother when their father mustered out, some were orphaned but raised and educated as British subjects, etc. We have no proof that any of this happened, only circumstantial information and speculation.
- the second credible candidate appears to be David James Winyford Millard, born in Bisham, Berkshire in 1769. There were very few 'David Millard' christenings in England during the 1700s, and only 2 that seem reasonably close to Buckinghamshire for the Sarah Gray and David Millard marriage at Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire in 1791 (21 miles away on a well traveled route). David and Sarah had 4 documented children between 1794 and 1809. James may have been born before 1794, between 1794 and 1799, or between 1802 and 1809 (before or between other children). We have no proof this happened, only circumstantial information and speculation.
Accordingly, for the first time in English history, both David Millards shown above are recorded as James parents (for purposes of genealogy) in the Geni.com Tree.
We will likely never determine the true ancestry of Sgt Maj James Millard who served in India in the Honourable East India Company - British Army, married in India, had his children in India, and died in India in 1881. James joined the 4th Troop Brigade Horse Artillery in Buckingham in 1825... as a Corporal, indicating he had some previous arrangement (enlisted men always started in the Army as Private, in the 1800s all officers were purchased as a commission). A Corporal is a non-commission rank, but still senior to Private.
Birth records were often lost, misplaced, or never entered for various reasons; a child born out of wedlock, a misplaced or damaged or lost record, an extra marital illegitimate birth, a mixed race birth in another country, and so on.
We have two (2) credible candidates for his father, David Millard;
- the first is the David Millard, born 1781 in Perthshire Scotland, and who served in India for the Honourable East India Company (recorded as a Cadet in 1798). Many mixed race children were born to British soldiers in India, some returned to England with their father and mother when their father mustered out, some were orphaned but raised and educated as British subjects, etc. We have no proof that any of this happened, only circumstantial information and speculation.
- the second credible candidate appears to be David James Winyford Millard, born in Bisham, Berkshire in 1769. There were very few 'David Millard' christenings in England during the 1700s, and only 2 that seem reasonably close to Buckinghamshire for the Sarah Gray and David Millard marriage at Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire in 1791 (21 miles away on a well traveled route). David and Sarah had 4 documented children between 1794 and 1809. James may have been born before 1794, between 1794 and 1799, or between 1802 and 1809 (before or between other children). We have no proof this happened, only circumstantial information and speculation.
Accordingly, for the first time in English history, both David Millards shown above are recorded as James parents (for purposes of genealogy) in the Geni.com Tree.