James Matthew Lang 1856 - 1920

James Matthew Lang was born on 20 November 1856, in Belgaum, Presidency of Bombay, India.  I had always been intrigued by him and his wife Mary Ellen (Crowley) because my mother had a funeral ‘card’ with photos of them both. This little card was slipped under the protective glass of her dressing table in her bedroom all her life for as long as I could remember. In my childish way, I thought to myself, they appeared very good looking and well to do. Who were they? My mum said they were her grandfather and grandmother. They were part of the puzzle of my mother’s family background. Where she had got the card from I never found out, but I realised that this photo was very significant and I had to find out more.

So on one of my many visits to the India Office records, British Library, I was on the hunt, to find out as much as I could about James Matthew and Mary Ellen. As it happened, I was flying into Bombay the very next day. My plan was to trace the very steps that they would have trodden. 

The researcher at the British Library directed me to Thackers 1919, the year before James Matthew’s death.  I searched for the Bombay Company Ltd. The entry for 1919 was as follows: 3, Wallace St., merchants. MANG DIRS, - S.J. Gillum, R.H.R. Goodall, H.F. Hearson, Bombay; F.S. Kerr, Calcutta; and H.P.M. Rae, Madras; ASSTS. A.W. Oliver, A.D. Clarke and H.F. Bush. Calcutta Asst H.S.Bul?  J.M. Lang and G.N.R. Morgan. Madras assts. G.R.L. Goffe and B. May. London Correspdts.- Wallace Bros & Co. Ltd.Tel ad Phone No. 15 P.O. Box No 201.

On my visit to Bombay, I tracked down the Bombay Company which in 1994 merged to become the Bombay Burmah Company. I was very lucky, because I met an old retainer at the company; an 85 year old man who had actually worked in the Karachi Office in the 1940’s. He was able to tell me about the office which then had about 100 employees. The company he said, dealt in exporting raw cotton, wool and importing piece goods and metal. It was also an insurance and shipping agency. It had ginning and pressing cotton factories in the Punjab, Sind Province. He told me that the Karachi office of the Bombay Company was much more important than the Bombay office. 

YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS OLD FILM. https://www.facebook.com/OldKarachi/videos/1247638668676589/?t=13 It's taken in Karachi in  1929 and shows the hustle and bustle of the place. On a personal note our great grandfather, James had his house in Karachi, and was the Karachi Manager of the Bombay Company which as a major trading company, shipped raw cotton out to Manchester and brought back the small goods eg. the processed cotton, to Karachi. Many of the children were baptised at St Patricks Church, Karachi, went to school at St Joseph's, Karachi, and were buried at the church there too. One of the cars he had bore a number plate with the letters KAR on it!

LOOK AT THE CAMELS - IS THAT THE RAW COTTON ON THEM? 

It was with this company that James Matthew seems to have made a substantial income, (sending his children to private schooling in England, running a motor car, and living in a large house: Hornichi Hall) by importing  and exporting goods. 

James met an untimely death in December 1930 of pneumonia; he was 64. He is buried in St Patrick’s Church, Karachi. 

I have seen his probate which is held at the India Office and amounted to 159,100 -00 rupees.

Note

On my visit to the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Limited, Wallace Street, (named after the founders of the Bombay Company) Bombay I was given some very interesting Booklets. If you’ve read The Glass Palace, by Amitav Ghosh it was this very company which traded in teak, in Burma. Then tea, coffee, cardamon…you name it, this company did it and is still trading strongly today.

It’s interesting to note that in 1918 three on the Board of Directors were Indian: 

Chairman : R. W. Harter Esq.

And the following board members were: Leslie Crawford, Esq. The Hon’ble Mr. S.J. Gillum and F. R. Wadia Esq, and Mathuradas Vissanji Esq.