“Do you know them?”

I was very excited when a Parsi lady responded to my letter "Do you know them?” (Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, December 7, 2007). She is interested in genealogy and recognizing the quote "I am a Patel of Bombay” and two names, contacted me. We have since exchanged a lot of correspondence and have managed to piece a bit more of the puzzle together.

The story starts with Sir Cawasji Patel, a trustee of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet and direct descendent of Rustomjee Dorabji Patel, the first Patel of Bombay. Sir Cawasji married for the second time when he was 80. His wife was a young Iranian refugee, with whom he had one daughter and four sons. The eldest son was named Rustom Hirjee and his son Heerjeebhoy Rustomjee (or Hirjee Rustom), born 1810-11, seems to be the great-great-grandfather I am looking for.

Heerjeebhoy was married three times. His first marriage was to Jerbai Readymoney. There are no details, but they must have had children. He was a widower when he remarried at 47. His second marriage was to a "Chinese Princess.” Again, there are no details, but I think she must be my Eurasian great-great-grandmother Mary O’Connell. They had a daughter, Soonabai, and a son Francis Joseph Jehangier (my great-grandfather). Heerjeebhoy’s third marriage was to an "English Countess,” with whom he apparently had a daughter who was a talented violinist and a son who became a famous barrister.

Heerjeebhoy was renowned as much for his adventurous business travels to faraway lands, as he was recognized for his philanthropic charities and flamboyant lifestyle. He was also referred to as "Duke of China.”

He made separate wills for his children in their different countries. The Countess’ children contested the Bombay will of their half-siblings, aunt Soonabai Limji Daver and her brother and in a court case presided over by Sir Dinsha Davar — who was Soonabai’s nephew — were awarded a larger amount. This must have been towards the end of the century. This is where the Parsi lady’s account ends.

I know that Heerjeebhoy was a very good friend of the painter George Chinnery who died in 1852. He painted many beautiful scenes of Macau life and also many portraits, so he surely must have painted one of Heerjeebhoy at some point. I don’t know how long Heerjee­bhoy stayed in England, or whether he went home to Bom­bay, or returned to Hong Kong or Singa­pore, to where he had transferred his business enterprises after the Opium Wars. I only know that his son Francis was born in London in 1862.

Well, this is everything that I know to date, and I put the titles "Chinese Princess” and "English Countess” down to Heerjeebhoy’s sense of humor. I hope a name or event here will ring a bell with somebody, as it did with the lady who told me all this. I’d be grateful for the tiniest bit of information, even if it’s just hearsay. I would also like to emphasize that I am doing this purely out of interest in my family roots and for no other reason. My address is: Bastian-Schmid-Platz 12, 81477 Munich, Germany; tel: 0049-89-75080028.

JOY SCHNEIDER

Munich, Germany

joy.schneider@gmx.de