28. James and Ann Bolton of Northern British India

Bolton probably comes a place (meaning dwelling settlement) - probably the town in Lancashire. Blaney is rather similar, etymologically, to Picot, in that it means 'point' or 'tip' topographically. It is an Irish name but derives from the British (or Welsh) blaenau.

James Bolton (1795) married Mary Anne Blaney (1808) in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh, India in 1828. His parents may have been Jacobi Boulton and Honoria Keating, and hers were probably Peter Blaney (1779) and Charlotte Caston (1795-1844)

Allahabad Cathedral (credit)

In 1833 Allahabad became the seat of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces region before its capital was moved to Agra in 1835. It later remained at the forefront of the struggle for Indian independence. The City is now the state capital and the 13th most populous district in India.

At the time of his marriage James was a sergeant with the 11th Light Dragoons. This regiment was stationed in Ireland in 1811, meaning that he may have joined up, close to home, when he was 16. He would then have been sent to the Peninsula War, then Waterloo, and then - in 1819 - on to India, initially to Cawnpore. In 1825 they took part of the Siege of Bhurtpore. Here they were victorious against an apparently impregnable fortress, at the cost of 2 men killed, 13 wounded and 4 horses killed.

There is a matching James, born in Tipperary to Jacobi (Roman Catholic?) Bolton and Honoria Keating. My photos of Tipperary are here.

Tipperary (my photo)

Mary Anne's father may have been Peter Blaney. Going by our DNA ethnicity estimate, her mother may have been mixed race.

The couple had two children:

• 46.2.1 - Matilda Bolton (1829)
• 46.2.2 - James Bolton (1832)

More on these individuals in Chapter 46.

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