1890s India Geography Question

Question

I’m gathering sources to create the profile for Samuel Alle, the father of Frank Allie, but I’m uncertain about his birth location.

He was born in the 1890s in India, and emigrated to Savannah, Georgia prior to the First World War.

The earliest sources I have found for him come from his military draft registration and service in 1917 and 1918. They say he was born in “Africanistan, East India.” While he was serving, he petitioned for Naturalization, and his birthplace on the petition is “Hindustan, East India.”

His death certificate, ten years later, is no help. His widow knew nothing about his parents, and said his birthplace was “Punjab, India” which is nothing like East India.

I have tried searching the internet to figure out what region of “East India” they could have meant, without success. I’m hoping someone here, who is more familiar with that region and time period, can lend me a hand.

Answer 1

After reading the Wikipedia article on the British East India Company. I suspect the term “East India” evolved from “East Indies” as distinguished from “West Indies,” which is the Caribbean. The British East India Company either directly controlled, or was in alliance with most of the remaining independent Princely States of India, by the mid 1800s. And then, the whole are was considered East India.

The Punjab is in the northwest of India bordering on modern Pakistan (which did  not exist as a country before 1948); in the past the border between northwestern India  and Afghanistan was likely ill-defined. There were at least a couple of wars between Afghanistan and British India, thus the British were certainly in the area and could have had a number of garrisons in the Punjab, or perhaps even further west. Eventually resulting in some confusion as to where your person was born.

Hindustan is a Persian term for India, and refers colloquially to all of India.

Comments

I really don’t think that he was from the Punjab area, though. That was what his widow said on his death certificate.

Sources for him during his lifetime say either “Hindustan” or “Africanistan”.

Answer 2

Hello,

I do not know  anything about India - but googling “Africanistan, East India.” gives me the suggestion Afghanistan, East India. (The German Wikipedia site https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschichte_Afghanistans has a map "Zentralasien am Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts" that might help) Here East India could mean "area of the East India Company" which was not only in the East of India.

Can you please post the military draft registration here? Can  it just be a transcription error? Probably not Afghanistan...

Bst rgds
Bettina

Comments

I got the same suggestion when I googled. It clearly says “Africanistan.” His military records are typed and also say the same.

Answer 3

I did a quick look on Find My Past (which has many original records from British India). There are some  death records for Allie S, between 1912 and 1942, but they don't help you I suppose.

I recommend joining and posting on the Facebook group British India Family History; someone there may be of help!