Abt 1777 - 1856 (~ 79 years)
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Name |
Thomas Hall |
Prefix |
Major |
Birth |
Abt 1777 |
Fulham, London |
|
Gender |
Male |
Death |
1856 |
Kensington, Middlesex, England |
Person ID |
I126763 |
My Genealogy |
Last Modified |
7 Jan 2022 |
Family |
Ellen (Eleanor) du Bois, b. Abt 1790, India d. Yes, date unknown |
Marriage |
Mar 1803 |
Fatehgarh (Futtyghur), northern India |
Children |
| 1. Jane Margaret Hall, b. 1808, Bareilly, India d. 4 Feb 1891, Camberwell, Surrey, England (Age 83 years) |
|
Family ID |
F49098 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
Last Modified |
7 Jan 2022 |
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Notes |
- The son of a wealthy London attorney.
In 1797 he entered the service of the Bengal Army
In 1814 a Captain Thomas Hall of the Bengal Army published a book of poetry, Songs and Occasional Poems on Various Subjects. The book gives us no clues as to whether the writer was 'our' Thomas Hall, but in the official records of Bengal officers there is only one Thomas Hall with the rank of captain in 1814. The poems are about subjects familiar to all officers of the East India Company, such as smoking, drinking, boredom, and mosquitoes.
Thomas Hall never fully acclimatised to life in India. From as early as 1800 he took lengthy periods of sick leave. No hints are given about the cause of his sufferings, but one possibility is malaria. After a series of furloughs starting in 1811, he returned to duty in 1816 with the recommendation 'in consequence of his severe sufferings, that he be only employed in a manner the least likely to affect the impaired state of his health'. In 1820/1821, newly promoted to major, he was officially put on the Bengal Army's invalid register and appointed as commander of the Bareilly Provincial Regiment, presumably considered a light duty. But before taking up this new appointment he was allowed to spend six months in Mauritius for the sake of his health. In 1830 he spent yet another six months in Mauritius, accompanied by his daughter Ellen and grandson John, then aged three. In April 1831 he was given eight months leave to go to the military sanatorium near Mussoorie, a recently founded British settlement in the bracing climate of the Himalayan foothills. In 1832, finally, he left India for Europe, never to return, and two years later he retired.
Research by: Beth Baxter, 13 June 2015
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