Hello List Frances said: Has anyone come across a family member with the first name of Yorrick? I have discovered such a person who was born in India around 1797. >From my research it appears to be a very uncommon name. I'd be interested to hear from listsers as to why a father with the "sensible" name of George, whose father was Alexander, whose brothers were Charles and William, whose uncles were Francis and James and George, would name his son "Yorrick." Yorrick's mother was an Indian lady and that's about all that is known about her--other than the pet names George gave to her. The two were not married and George's father Alexander was not happy about the attachment between the two.. Would it be anything to do with Shakespeare's words "Alas, poor Yorick"? http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/alas-poor-yorick-knew-him-horatio or http://tinyurl.com/3e4v3v Cheers Maureen (Sydney)

Maureen suggested that the name is an allusion to Shakespeare. Yes, true, and there is a second literary allusion. The other is to a character in a novel called Tristram Shandy, which is mid-18th century, and was and is considered very bizarre. Not the kind of novel that people would have lapped up. It just strikes me as odd that a Writer in the EIC would name his son Yorrick unless the kid or he were moribund or he had a mordant sense of humor or he wanted to really irritate his family back in Scotland. His daughter, by the way, has a very ordinary name: Jane. Frances PS. I found out this child's name via the EIC ships' records which are in the IOR. They are a treasure trove and the sooner they get digitized the better for folks like us. I also learned some specifics about the death of Yorrick's father on board the Anna. Apparently,his effects were sealed up in the presence of the gentlemen on board and transferred to a Danish ship. The captain, however, is not clear as to where the transfer took place and his grammar is such that I can't tell if the body was transferred as well.