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This, my first input into the India List, seeks to find birth, marriage and death details of my family roots in Anglo-India. The Essai family all lived and worked in India for several generations. Around 1947 they emigrated, some to Australia, one to USA and many to England. I am seeking information on John Essai, his son William John Essai and their respective spouses, and children covering the period approximately 1800 to 1900. Thereafter, we are reasonably certain of further family developments. We have a marriage certificate for W.J.Essai, a merchant who seems to have spent much of his life in Bombay and Karachi. He was also at Jhansi, Bina and possibly Lucknow. WJ married an Annie Hutchinson,a Yorkshire lass. The marriage took place in Bombay, on 8 December 1870,at St Andrew's Kirk. WJ's father, John Essai, possibly also a merchant may have had several brothers and sisters of whom we have no details. He is thought to have ben closely associated with a lady named Catherine Cutts. Catherine Cutts may have been her maiden surname OR she may have married a Mr Cutts after her marriage to WJ ended, possibly at his death. The name Essai is thought to be either Armenian (the name appears on certain BUSHIRE records) or French. There is no certain proof either way. Grateful for any information/ advice that may help to make clearer who our forbears were and whence they came.We are aware and currently searching through LDS (Utah) and Reading (England) records as well as preparing to look at the Oriental and India Office Records in London, England. Ian Essai, UK.