In search of genealogy

I found Madras Musings on the internet when I was searching for information about Christopher Breithaupt of Parry Pugh and Breithaupt, and discovered from the list of Madras street names a message about Breithaupt Road and how it got its name.

I live in Italy and am involved in genealogical research on several families who lived and served in the Madras Presidency and Madras city from about 1740 onwards. Unfortunately, early information (before 1800) is sometimes very hard to come by, and I wonder if any of your readers would be able to help me with details, however seemingly insignificant, on any of them.

Many of the people I am researching on were early missionaries in the region, and their descendants became army officers, civil servants and wealthy merchants, intermarrying, and some descendants remaining in India until today. Many were residents of Vepery.

The names below are all connected to one another by marriage.

Edmund PASCAL or PASCALL and descendants (from 1747 – Major in the Madras European Regiment, and perhaps Town Major of Madras, owned land in Vepery in 1767, first Masonic Provincial Grand Master for Madras and the Coromandel Coast).

BREITHAUPT and descendants (from the mid 1700s – Rev J.C. Breithaupt died 1782, father of Christopher Breithaupt, merchant who owned land in Vepery).

Rev C.T.E. RHENIUS and descendants (in Madras from 1812 and then at Tinnevelly).

Godlieb or George VAN SOMEREN and descendants (Negapatam and Madras from 1775, merchant in Madras, living in Royapuram).

Captain Robert Wright NORFOR and descendants (Mariner and Asst. Master Attendant in Madras in 1827).

I hope I am not being presumptuous in sending this message. While I have no chance of visiting Madras in the near future, I have exhausted all avenues open to me such as the British Library, Google Books, genealogical programmes on the Internet and sundry other sources and I do not want to give up hope now, particularly after coming across Madras Musings column. I am fascinated by their lives and would like to get more detail. I hope someone among your readers may help me.

Liz Wilde
Coreglia Antelminelli
Italia
lizwilde@tin.it