Hi Maureen, Thanks for replying. When he married in 1911, John Topper was employed as a railway guard. The certificate suggests they were married in the "Office of the Marriage Registration, Bombay", if I'm reading the handwriting correctly! I don't see any mention of a church on that paperwork. http://search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_detail.php?id=234112 The White/Swartzes wedding took place between 1906 and 1911 (I don't know where I got that 1930 date from), in Poona: http://search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_detail.php?id=233016 - this appears to be an index transcript rather than scans of the original certificate, so I don't know the specific church or George's occupation at this point. Polly and George were both witnesses at the 1911 wedding of John and Eva. Levi Foorman could well be German / Eastern European / Jewish. I'll expand my search in that direction. Jon On 19 July 2015 at 23:19, Maureen Evers <maureen.evers@bigpond.com> wrote: > Hello List > > Jon, what was John Topper's occupation when he married in 1911 and what > church was he married in? > What do you know about the marriage of George White, and Polly Swartzes? > . What church were they married in, and what was the occupation of George > White? This data may give you an indication of what type of church records > you need to be looking for. > > Also you advise the White wedding was in 1930, but they were both > witnesses at the 1911 wedding. Is that correct? > > Perhaps there is some connection from the time John Topper was in South > Africa, but could the name Levi Foorman be German/Eastern European/Jewish? > > Cheers > Maureen > > > > > On 19/07/2015, at 7:32 PM, Jon Topper via <india@rootsweb.com> wrote: > > > Hello India list members, > > > > My family and I are currently trying to trace our family history. My > great > > grandfather, John Topper served with the East Lancs regiment first in > South > > Africa, and then in India from April 1902 until August 1906, after which > he > > was transferred to the Army Reserves in Poona. > > > > In Bombay, February 1911, he was married to one Eva Foorman, my great > > grandmother, daughter of Levi Foorman. My grandfather Harry John Topper > > was born in 1917, and we believe Eva Foorman to have died in 1919. John > > later remarried, in 1924, to Annie Joseph. > > > > We know nothing further about Eva Foorman or Annie Joseph. Searches on > > FIBIS, FindMyPast and Ancestry have turned up nothing. Our assumption is > > that there are other data source relating to India that have not been > > digitised, or that relate to non-British interests and therefore may be > > available on other international genealogy sites. Where else should we > be > > searching from here? > > > > The only other potentially relevant information is that the > Topper/Foorman > > wedding was witnessed by George White and Polly White (ne Swartzes), > whose > > own wedding (1930, Poona) I was able to find documented. Both "Foorman" > > and "Swartzes" sound to me possibly Dutch or Afrikaans. Does that sound > > plausible? > > > > Thanks in advance for any help you can offer! > > > > > > Jon Topper > > London, England > > > >

Hello List Jon, both the Hopper and White marriage records are available as images on find my past. Both marriages appear to have been performed in, or by, the Office of the Marriage Registrar. The White marriage record is as follows: 10th /(18th ?) March 1908. Married in the Office of the Marriage Registrar Poona.The groom George White was a Foreman GIPR, of Bombay. The bride Polly Swartzes was of Poona. Witnesses W Townsend and Elick Shikman. The fact that both marriages were in the Office of the Marriage Registrar suggests that the couples were not both Anglicans, Roman Catholic or belonged to the Church of Scotland. One or both were possibly not Lutheran, as at least some Lutherans attended the Church of Scotland. Both grooms were employed by the GIPR. The impression I get is that people came from all over the world to be employed on the railways. The brides Eva Foorman and Polly Swartzes could have been children of other railway employees and perhaps born anywhere in the world. I do wonder whether there is some Jewish connection- perhaps others may be able to comment whether they think the name of one of the witnesses at the White marriage Elick Shikman sounds Jewish. However, even if there is a Jewish connection, I cannot suggest anything from a records perspective, apart from the fact that there were synagogues in both Bombay and Poona. Cheers Maureen On 24/07/2015, at 2:09 AM, Jon Topper <jon@topper.me.uk> wrote: > Hi Maureen, > > Thanks for replying. > > When he married in 1911, John Topper was employed as a railway guard. The certificate suggests they were married in the "Office of the Marriage Registration, Bombay", if I'm reading the handwriting correctly! I don't see any mention of a church on that paperwork. http://search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_detail.php?id=234112 > > The White/Swartzes wedding took place between 1906 and 1911 (I don't know where I got that 1930 date from), in Poona: http://search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_detail.php?id=233016 - this appears to be an index transcript rather than scans of the original certificate, so I don't know the specific church or George's occupation at this point. > > > > Jon >