Looking for POULSON family emigrants to India 1750-1796 ?

[Rick Desmier]

Hi I suspect that my ancestor with the surname POULSON went to India around 1750-1796. Probably Frederiksnsgore. This is based on the DNA of several lines of his descendants showing trace Danish/Swedish ethnicity. He first turns up in British records in 1796 as a merchantile assistant in Calcutta but later he is an Indigo Planter.
Are there any records, censuses, ships passenger lists etc that I can search or have searched to find him (or an ancestor of his) that travelled to one of the Danish colonies in India during this time period. I have been unable to find anything of help using FamilySearch, Ancestry or FindMyPast.
Thanks in advance
Rick Desmier

[Niels Just Rasmussen]

It would be like a needle in a haystack as the name is quite common [variants Poulsen, Paulsen, Pouelsen, Povelsen].

Generally ships passanger lists are not preserved from this time period and often it's only the administrative and military leadership, who are mentioned by name (NOT the simple sailors and soldiers) in both archives and newspapers.

If you have a possible hint from 1796 in Calcutta - can we see it? Does it say he is Danish?

Perhaps searching in British archives and British newspapers in India might give us more information that makes a search in Danish archives more viable.

I have found the following in the Calcutta Gazette 8. January 1795:
"Edw. Paulsen" according to the transcription. Seems like some kind of list for 1794?
Source: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results?basicsearch=paulsen&exactsearch=false&retrievecountrycounts=false&newspapertitle=calcutta%20gazette
NB: I can't see the whole article itself so it could just be a transcription error for "Paulson" (which could make him all English).

For instance Calcutta Gazette 1812 has a "James Paulson".
Source: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results?basicsearch=%22paulson%22&exactsearch=false&retrievecountrycounts=false&newspapertitle=calcutta%20gazette

As both an assistant and as an Indigo Planter it should be possible to follow in British archives to establish a time period.
Also he is likely at some point registred in some church books of Calcutta either as married, father, godfather or death?

That could give enough information to trace him back to Denmark.

[Christina Kaul]

Hi Rick,

I know this is a very old post and you might not check on it any longer.

In case your Poulsen ancestor really was Danish / Swedish, the name would simply indicate that his father's first name was Paul and unfortunately not much more. 

By shere coincidence my family tree (or actually the family tree of my Danish husband) includes a Poul that undertook several merchant journeys to China and was therefore called 'Kinafarer'. We do not have too much details about his trips but it is very likely that he took some of his sons with him. He is also known to have traded in India. His name is Poul Jacobsen. He was born in 1717 in Svanninge, Fåborg, Fyn and died in in 1775 in Fåborg. He probably had about 15 children and not all of them are fully researched.

Regards, Christina