Chris Thanks for this lead. I see that this online site has only about 10% of the Indian records available at the British Library, although more info. will be added soon, so maybe I will need to make a visit there to get much further. Even so, I've discovered my grandfather, who is the Bertram Edward Sackett you refer to below, and 4 of his children (my uncles and aunts) - Dennis, Dulcie, Ivan, and Mavis. My father and eldest child, Bertram Willliam Dudley Sackett, and his brother Trevor Sackett and sister, the youngest in the family, Audrey Sackett, do not feature on the site. I need to find out if my grandfather had any sisters or brothers, because Edward William Sackett and Frank Colyer Sackett seem to be of around the same age. Edward William shares one of his Christian names with my father and another with my grandfather, so that might be a clue. My grandfather married a Wordsworth, but although I found many Wordsworths on the site, I didn't find my grandmother, who's name I think was Alice May Wordsworth - but I need to check that. My grandfather held an important position in the Indian railways, I think in the province of Sind, so it should be possble to track him down in those railway employee records. And I found this reference in Wikipedia to a quote from Frank Colyer Sackett, the missionary, about 'ungodly lust': Madiga priestesses Coyler Sackett, an Anglican missionary, for whom possibility of women-priest was an anathema, describes the attire of Dalit priestess. Mark her bold manner, impudent stare, fine figure, and the roll of matted hair lying as an ensign of her trade upon her proud head. She was given to the service of the gods early in life, and what she does not know of immorality, bestiality, and brazen-faced evil can be learnt. Her body belongs to the God. See her in her mad frenzy as, with hair flung free, she serves the deity, face aflame with ungodly lust. Madiga priestesses were consecrated for the purpose early in their life and no restriction of propriety was imposed on them throughout their life. They were free to choose their mates but they usually settle with Baindla priests. The role these priestesses play can be illustrated in the narration of P.Y. Luke and John Carman about a ceremony of sacrifice to Goddess of cholera A winnowing fan is put on the pot and clay lid on the fan; some oil is poured onto it. and then a wick is put in and lit. A Kolpula woman sits facing this light inside the enclosure, and she stares steadily at the light. All the goddesses were thought to appear to her through that light. Outside the enclosure, the Baindla priests stand and invoke the goddess, beating their special drums. The Kolpula woman goes into trance, closes her eyes, and is taken possession of by one of the goddesses. The people outside break a coconut, kill a chicken and pour a libation of toddy on the ground where the sacrifice takes place. The women’s face is washed with toddy. Before she becomes unconscious she utters the name of the goddess In the following rite, the Kolpula woman gets into the platform near the shrine to the goddess Uradamma. A sheep is let loose as an offering to Uradamma, and priestess pierces its stomach with her sword. The entrails, liver, and the lungs are removed. The lungs and liver will be put in the Kolpula woman’s mouth and the intestines around her neck. A new sari and blouse are dipped in the blood of this sheep and then the Kolpula woman put them on. Lime, vermilion, black ash bottlu are put on her whole body, a broken pot on her head. She holds a broomstick in her left hand, a winnowing fan in her right hand, and goes through all the streets of the village, starting from the shrine of Uradamma. Her brother and the Baindla priests follow her, and the Magidas beat drum in front of her. Madigas also incorporated some of the Sanskrit heroin into their pantheon and deified them. Goddess Gonti or Gontellamma is Madiga version of Sanskrit Kunti. While in Hindu mythologies these women loyally serve their gods, in the Madiga interpretation gods serve these deities._[6]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madiga#endnote_3) Regards Peter In a message dated 28/02/2009 22:36:51 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Peter, The British Library have published some India Office Family History records at http://indiafamily.bl.uk/UI/. Perhaps you would take a look and see if you recognise any of the names. (Searching on Sackett should produce 25 hits). I see there was a Bertram Edward Sackett in these records, but we are looking for Bertram William Dudley Sackett. The only name I can place with our British records so far is Frank Colyer Sackett who was the missionary I mentioned to you in my email of Dec 2007. All the other names are new to me, so we are going to need to do some detective work to figure all this out. Regards, Chris At 18:14 28/02/2009, you wrote: > >Hi Chris > >That's me, Peter Sackett, Membership No. 190. > >Best regards > >Peter > >In a message dated 28/02/2009 10:42:36 GMT Standard Time, >[email protected] writes: > >Would the Sackett descendant born in India who was in contact with >this list some months ago please email me. > >Thanks, >Chris Sackett SACKETT is a Discussion list for Sackett/Sacket Family Genealogy. 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Peter Sackett wrote: > Chris Thanks for this lead. I see that this online site has only > about 10% of the Indian records available at the British Library, > although more info. will be added soon, so maybe I will need to > make a visit there to get much further. Even so, I've discovered > my grandfather, who is the Bertram Edward Sackett you refer to > below, and 4 of his children (my uncles and aunts) - Dennis, > Dulcie, Ivan, and Mavis. Peter, Thanks for confirming the identity of your grandfather, Bertram Edward Sackett. Based on the birth dates of his children, he would have been born in about 1885. I do not find a birth record for him in the GRO records in England, so it appears likely that he was also born in India. I was interested to note that the "Aldridge" name in Dennis George Aldridge Sackett, b. in about 1910, also appears in the marriage of Lyman Beecher Sackett and Caroline Lydia Aldridge sometime between 1866 and 1870. Might be a clue? I have no records anywhere in the UK of the name "Lyman" - just does not sound like a British name. There were however quite a few Lymans in the US. Do you think it at all possible that your Indian Sacketts got there by way of the US? Although I have not yet posted a sketch of Rev Frank Colyer Sackett he is well known to us and is close to my Sackett line. His father Jeremiah is at http://www.sackettfamily.info/p13582.htm and there is also a picture of Frank Colyer on that page. As far as I know, you would not be connected to Frank Colyer's line. Regards, Chris