Ancestor search

Have you tried searching for Mahomed Arab in the Carl Smith Collection? Instructions at https://gwulo.com/carl-smith-collection

Hi Ken,

This is right up my alley.

You sound exactly like me. My father's English ancestors are easy to trace (relatively speaking). My mother's side is somewhat difficult. My story is just like yours, suffice to say. I started with very little knowledge of my mother's side of the family but have built up my understanding slowly over the years. In a nutshell the Alarakias are not my blood relations but I have come across their names many times (they have socialised with my wider family in HK in the past) and it's been on my 'to do list' to make a study of them. The 'Arab', 'Markar', 'Wahab'', 'Minu' and 'Kitchell' are other names on my to do list. I am also looking into 'Moosdeen' as well. 

You are light years ahead of me as this is your family and have had years to compile your information. The work below is just 48hrs of  internet searching but I hope there may be something new for you. 

The Alarakia name is a great one to study as it is unusual and small in number. Looking at British newspapers focusing on news on the East, the name 'Alarakia' seemed to be used as a first name or part of a name eg. in 1881 on a report of a defamation case of a certain 'Alarakia Ebramani' in India he was mentioned as a Memon (as opposed to other 'Mahomedans'), the mercantile Muslim caste in NW India, centered where Kutch was. Their mercantile nature caused them to spread out from India throughout the 18th and 19th century settling in various places including East Asia. So you might have a point on the general geographic origin of the HK branch of the 'Alarakia' line. And once they collided with the bureaucracy of the British Empire the need for documentation may have caused the HK branch or proto-branch before arriving in HK to have used 'Alarakia' as a surname. If you really want this question answered it can be done through a 'Y' chromosome haplogroup mapping (a simple swab test of DNA from the cheek) of the male surnamed Alarakias from around the world to see if there is any common male ancestor relation. But looking at the tree I am not sure if there are any living male Alarakias from HK?   

Below is a sketch of the tree. I have omitted everyone from generation 5 and later in case there are living individuals who value their privacy. 

1. Sewjee Alarakia (1843-21^st Jun 1890) b. India d. Hong Kong

…+ (?) (18??-?)

…2. Mahomed Sewjee Alarakia (1866-22^nd Oct 1920) b. India d. Hong Kong

……+ (?) Arab (18??-19??)                                                                              (married Hong Kong 1884)  

……3. Fatima Mohamed (Mahomed) Alarakia (1886-11^th Jan 1965) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong dsp

……3. (?) (‘Cherry’) Alarakia (188?-19??)

………+ (?) Moosdeen (18??-19??) b. Hong Kong

……3. Zanab Alarakia (14^th Feb 1889-20^th Feb 1889) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

……3. Cassim Mahomed Alarakia (3^rd Apr 1890-13^th Nov 1946) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

………+ Rubiya (?) (6^th Jun 1896-24^th Mar 1947) d. Hong Kong

………4. Mahomed C. Alarakia (6^th Jul 1931-8^th Jul 1931) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

………4. Salamar C. Alarakia (27^th Mar 1933-31^st Aug 1933) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

………4. Female Alarakia (19??->1947) b. Hong Kong

………4. Female Alarakia (19??->1947) b. Hong Kong

………4. Female Alarakia (19??->1947) b. Hong Kong

………4. Female Alarakia (19??->1947) b. Hong Kong

……3. Hanifa Alarakia (14^th Oct 1891-20^th Oct 1891) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

……3. Mariam (‘Mary’) Alarakia (3^rd Sep 1892-14^th Nov 1969) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong dsp

……3. Jaf (‘Jack’) Mohamed Alarakia (18??->1965) b. Hong Kong

………+ (?) (19??->1939)

……3. Ebrahim Mahomed Alarakia (1895-11^th Jun 1939) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

………+(1) (?) Yeung (Mahomed) (18??-19??) b. Canton, China

………4. Abdoola (Abdool) Ebrahim Mohamed Alarakia (1922-9^th May 1925) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

………4. Hanifa Alarakia (192?-?) b. Hong Kong

…………+ Omar B. Wahab (19??-?)

………4. Abbas Mohamed Alaraka (1925-18^th Aug 1945) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong dsp

………4. Rubia Alarakia (20^th Aug 1927-22^nd Feb 1955) b. Hong Kong d. Barrow in Furness, Lancashire

…………+ Edwin (‘Eddie’) Joseph Charles (23^rd Apr 1926-19^th Apr 1985) b. Barrow in Furness d. Barrow in Furness (m. 15^th Jun 1949 HK)

………+(2) Sharifa Mahomed (1904-22^nd Nov 1943) d. Hong Kong

………4. Fatima Alarakia (1929-2005) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

………4. Zahara (Zaharia) Alarakia (1931-) b. Hong Kong

………4. Hayim Alarakia (3^rd Jul 1930-26^th Dec 1976) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

…………+ Hafisha Law (19??-?)

………4. Fazul Ebrahim Mohamed Alarakia (Apr 1933-24^th May 1933) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

………4. Kayum Mohamed Alarakia (1934-30^th Dec 1938) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

……3. Ismail (‘Iki’) Mohamed Alarakia (1897-28^th Sep 1974) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong dsp

…....3. Sophia (‘Sophie’) Mohamed Alarakia (18??->1935) b. Hong Kong

………+ Antonio.(‘Tony’) Carlos Neves (1904->1947)                                                   (married Hong Kong c.1932)

………4. Rookiyah Gertrude Neves (Jul 1934-26^th Nov 1934) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

………4. (?) Neves (19??->1946)

………4. (?) Neves (19??->1946)

……3. Rhamatulla (‘Ray’) Mohamed Alarakia (1900-30^th May 1974) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

……3. Sakina Mohamed Alarakia (1901-19^th Feb 1935) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong dsp

……3. Suleiman (Sulieman) (‘Sonny’) Mohamed (Mahomed) Alarakia (1908-16^th Jul 1936) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

……3. Halima (‘Helen’) Alarakia (22^nd Feb 1912->1965) b. Hong Kong

…2. Abdulla Sewjee Alarakia (1872-26^th May 1898) d. Hong Kong

……+ (?) (18??-1905) d. Hong Kong

……2. Saliman Alarakia (1898-19??) b. Hong Kong

……2. Sulieman Alarakia (Sep 1898-6^th May 1899) b. Hong Kong d. Hong Kong

I have a number of names I'm not sure where they fit eg.

1) Alfred A. Alarakia, who went to school (DBS) in HK at the turn of the century and later married a Japanese in Shanghai in the 1920s (Masako Gotoda 1898-1973 Osaka, Japan)

2) U. Alarakia who worked as a stenographer for Thomas Cook and Sons at the Grand Hotel in Peking in 1922. Not sure if this was the same Usuff Alarakia who was a focus of a medical study as a lunatic in Canton in 1938. 

3) I think Bibi Alarakia (1871-24th August 1952 Hong Kong) was most likely the wife of Mahomed Sewjee Alarakia (yet to find corroborative evidence). I have gone through the Muslim Cemetery records in Happy Valley, HK and she is the only person whose name and age fits ie her maiden name was therefore 'Bibi Arab' based on your 1884 marriage newspaper notice. Of course that makes her a child when she gave birth to her first child. But 1) Age reported at death have been known to be inaccurate esp for the real elderly (she was  documented as 81 years old at time of burial hence born c.1871) 2) Some girls were really married young in the nascent Muslim community in HK. I know she was styled as 'Mr and Mrs S Alarakia' in the papers and the assumption her first name began with 'S' but I wonder if she was styled as 'Mr and Mrs Sewjee Alarakia' so 'S' was not necessarily her first name. 

Anyway much food for thought. Keep plugging at the blog and good luck. You never know - someone, somewhere may be able to help unravel some of the questions you want answered. 

best wishes

David  

Oh yes, Anita M. Weiss's study "South Asian Muslims in Hong Kong: Creation of a 'Local Boy' Identitty" from Modern Asian Studies, Vol 25, No. 3 (July 1991) on pages 424-425 the Alarakia family tree are mentioned but its information you already largely know. though the paper may be of interest to you. A.C. Neves was a Portuguese who embraced Islam when he married Sophie. 

Hi Ken,

Professor Anita Weiss mentioned in her study that your greatgrandfather Mohamed Allarakia (sic) was a merchant of cloth. I don't know if she meant your great great grandfather as she did oral interviews with living descendants in HK back in the 1980s. Maybe its worth contacting her - she might still have some notes that may prove valuable to you?

 https://pages.uoregon.edu/aweiss/

I found a few things that give supporting evidence that the Alarakias may have come from NW India near Kutch as you suggested: 

1) This webmaster below seemed to have built up a database of the Memons who migrated from Kutch, India to Zanzibar and Tanzania. He has a long list of surnames of which I note 'Alarakhia'. Maybe worth contacting him for your studies. 

https://taheerkassam.tribalpages.com/

2) This one has 'Alarakhia' in the middle part of his name and came from the Sind Province originally (right next to/part of what was Kutch) and was described as a cloth merchant! 

http://ismaili.net/heritage/node/20671

I note you have an account on ancestry. The tree I drew up was a quick ad-hoc one to help me understand the individuals so its not published anywhere.I can contact you on ancestry and make further conact that way if you'd like. 

Hi Ken,

I'm sad to see you've taken down the blog as I was looking forward to reading your insights and findings due to my interest in researching the South Asian Muslim community in HK. Hopefully you will re-consider or use this thread to pursue your research. 

A few updates for your research into your family:

1) On my simplified tree, I use the notation '>' (greater than) on a date eg. '>1947' to indicate to myself that this person was still alive at that date to help me narrow or locate the death date in the future. So it does not mean the person died in that year. 

2) Alfred Arthur Alarakia's father was Abdoola Alarakia (ie. I assume it's Adbulla Sewjee Alarakia 1872-26th May 1898). This information was on his marraige certificate of 17th October 1921 at the British Consulate General in Shanghai. Alfred Alarakia's occupation was a Stenographer and Clerical Assistant, he was a Bachelor and he lived at 775 East Yalu Road, Shanghai. His father was deceased by that date and his occupation was listed as Clerical Assistant. His wife was Gotoda Masano (sic), she was a spinster, lived at 775 East Yalu Road, Shanghai and her father was 'Gotoda' and his occupation was a 'Storekeeper'. The marriage at the British Consulate meant he was a British citizen - ie. he was born in a British territory eg, Hong Kong OR his father was a British citizen. Alfred Arthur Alarkia was in fact born in Hong Kong 25th October 1897 (from Masako [sic] Alarakia's death certificate, with her death on 20th December 1972 in Kuwamura Ohe-gun Tokoshima, Japan) 

3) Masako Alarakia died on 20th December 1972 at Kuwamura, Ohe-gun Tokoshima, Japan. The death was registered, curiously at the British Consul in Osaka on 11th Janaury 1973, via a letter from a Father Bonang, a Roman Catholic Priest who enclosed a local death certificate. Father  Bonang was living at the Catholic Mission 2-chrome, Tokushima-honcho, Takushima-shi, Shikoku, Japan. By extension of her marriage to a British subject., Masako was a British citizen. 

4) At this stage I do not know when or where Alfred Arthur Alarakia died and whether he had issue. 

5) Omar Moosdeen, born in Canton on 19th November 1908, was the son of Aboo Bakr Moosdeen (sic) BUT his mother was Marriam Madar and not Zaitun ('Cherry') Alarakia. At this stage I do not know when and where Marriam Moosdeen (nee Madar) died. 

6) Abu Bakr Moosdeen was a merchant and born in Hong Kong on 22nd February 1877 (info from his death certificate) and he died in Apartment 2, 34 Rue de France, Tientsin on 8th March 1946. This was the address of A.A. Rumjahn (a distant cousin of mine) who registered his death the next day at the British Consulate in Tientsin. Abu Bakr Moosdeen's address at the time of his death was No. 36, 47th Road, ex British Concession, Tientsin. 

All this is a work in progress, I hope this helps

Cheers

David

More info:

https://www.chinafamilies.net/directories/

Alfred Arthur J Alarakia was interned at Great Western Road, Shanghai in June 1943 and later transferred to Yangtzepoo April 1945. He was a Godown Superintendent at the China Printing Company. 

His wife Gotoda Alarakia was deemed an enemy national (British) and lived at 42 Kungping Terrace. She was 47 years old in 1944 and of no occupation. Interestingly she may have escaped the internment camp because she was ethnically Japanese. 

They had an adopted son, a student called John Stephen Alarakia, who was 18 years old in 1945. He was classed as British and interned the same places and times as his adopted father. 

Yes, I agree (about needing corroborating evidence). It's like having at least 3 pieces of information to triangulate the facts, like the 3 legs of a stool. For some things you can never be 100% sure but working towards the most probable is the best that can be done at times. 

For Alfred Arthur and John Stephen, they were initially interned at the Columbia Country Club Camp at 301 Great Western Road

https://www.fepow.family/Research/Far_East_Internees/html/columbia_country_club.htm

I was intrigued about your comment about the styling of the name. The notes of the intrnees from that webpage were after all transcribed from original documents (which I haven't seen). Over the years I have seen numerous times the letters 'J' and 'S' being mis-transcribed. If Alfred Arthur J Alarakia was actually Alfred Arthur S Alarakia, that would be even more tantalising! 

There was a John Stephen Joseph Alarakia in the 1958 Australia Electoral Rolls living at 111 Dolphin Street, Coogee, Phillip, New South Wales. 

Yes, there was another A. Bakr Moosdeen in Hong Kong who was well alive in the 1980s. He was the next of kin for Zahara Moosdeen (nee ?) (1896-16th May 1980) who was in HK. 

Yes, I will keep looking and keep you posted if I find anything. Thanks for chipping in with any bits of info and thoughts.

Hi Ken, I have come across a Yahara Alarakia. See below newspaper clipping. The birth year should be about the mid 1890s. Would you know where this individual fits into the tree?

“BELILIOS PUBLIC SCHOOL.

               ------------------

The prizes so kindly given annually by Mr. R.E. Belilios to the pupils in Belilios Public School who excel in the subject of English composition were yesterday presented to the successful candidates by Mr. Edward Irving, Inspector of Schools. The following are the names of the prize winners: -

Mabel Long, Rose Ablong, Mabel Mooney, Yahara Alarakia, (?)ung A. Nui, Cheung Fook To, Li Tsing Lim, and Chan Bik Harm.

A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Belilios and Mr. Irving on the motion of Mabel Long, the dux of the school.”  

Source: The Hong Kong Weekly Press and China Overland Report, page 530, 21st June 1909

Edit: Just re-read my older post above on 16th July 2020. I wonder if the wife of A. Bakr Moosdeen, called Zahara Moosdeen (nee?) (1896-16th May 1980) was actually nee Yahara Alarakia. Zahara and Yahara are two differnt names though, but the date of birth would fit. 

Yes, totally agree about how they are all intertwined! The Rumjahns mentioned (they were brothers) are my family:

Ahmet Rumjahn (16th May 1863-30th November 1925)

Ayesha (Aisha) Moosdeen (1864-15th Janaury 1935)

Usuff Rumjahn (2nd February 1865-27th February 1947)

Fatima Madar (6th January 1872-22nd June 1932)

Here is another little find from The China Mail, page 3, 13th July 1885:

Kwangtung Inundation Fund The China Mail, page 3, 13th July 1885.png, by The China Mail

A. Alarachia would be in the generation with Sewjee Alarakia (1843-21st Jun 1890). He gave $5 to the relief fund of the devastating Guangdong Flood of 1885 where an estimated 10,000 people lost their lives. I recognise some of the names there. To give you a potential age bracket for A. Alarachia, we have Mohamed Haji Madar (1845 Hong Kong-23rd Jun 1894 Hong Kong) and Abdullah Fuckeera (18th Oct 1857 Hong Kong-3rd Sept 1920 Hong Kong). It's possible A. Alarachia was a brother of Sewjee. Will continue to keep a lookout for more Alarakias. 

Hi,

Would Alarakia Mahomed whose name is in the 1905 China Directory under the shop name hajee mahomed 51,52 rua central be connected to your family in any way?

Hi

I'm just starting off on my journey to reconnect with my ancestors, all I know is that Hajee Mahomed Rana was my 5th Great Grand Father,

I think Hajee Mahomed Ranas sons name was Rhamtoola Hajee Mahomed even though the directory states he was a shop assistant,

Also, I think he's connected to Rhamtoola (Ray) Mahomed Alarakia but this is just guessing due to the similarity in names and because his name features in the 1912 directory  alongside R. Elias (who i think is the son of rhamtoola hajee mahomed) he'd be 12 years old though,

This is just pure conjecture still but I am on the look out for anything that could connect the dots

I will keep you posted if I find anything worth sharing, hope you will do the same

Thanks

Hi, I'd recently got the dna test of a male descendent of H Mahomed Rana done the paternal haplogroup is R-Y1334, since I read in the comments that it might be possible to link the male  descendants through haplogroup

Regards

Hi

I'm researching my family tree and I think Alfred Alarakia may have been the son of my Great Grandmother, Annie Hazel Asger from her first marriage.

On my Grandmother's marriage certificate to Henry Bone in 1904 Hong Kong, it states she was a widower and her surname when she married Henry was Alarakia.  She was 27 years old.

I've been told that she had 2 sons from her first marriage.  My mother thinks one of them was called Alfred and he married a Japanese girl who my mum thinks was called Daisy.  (My mum is 83 so her memory isn't as clear as it was).  They lived in Hong Kong.

My Great Grandmother was interned whilst in Shanghai in the 1940s.

This is all I know, but I am wondering if they are the same people?

If these are the Alarakia's I am searching for, I was told they were merchants training in silk, spices and jewels.

Hi,

Found this record on Abdoola Allarakhia while going through the records in search of Mahomed Rana https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSV8-Z41R?i=77&cat=567172

Not sure what it is but thought it might be of use

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSV8-Z6QM?i=129&cat=567...

So another resource i've been using is the fibis database, they've transcribed old indian papers and made the data searchable,

https://fibis.ourarchives.online/bin/aps_detail.php?id=1562787 - hope this helps, A.Allarukhias departure from bombay to hong kong

Hey about the autosomal DNA test, I've found a better database of south asians in myhertiage than I have in most other sites, you might want to try uploading the test results there and it might just help

Regards

"Allarakia, Noor Mohamed, Sons & Co." listed as residents of Macao in "The Hong Kong Directory: With List of Foreign Residents in China" published 1859

See page 17 or Image 30 of 111

Ken, when I posted the piece about Mrs Otto Kongsing's funeral (SCMP 13 August, 1925), I meant to mention that R.M. Alarakia was among the group of people who sent floral tributes. Is he the same as Rhamatulla (‘Ray’) Mohamed Alarakia (1900-30^th May 1974) - your grandfather's younger brother? 

Hi Ken,

Go to FindaGrave and punch in 'Alarakia' in the surname search engine and voila

You're welcome. The gravestones do add a few more details here and there. I'd like to point out though that the headstone of Rubyia Alarakia (nee ?), wife of Cassim Mohamed Alarakia has the death date as 24th April 1947 which is an error - it should be 24th March 1947 and she was buried the next day on 25th March 1947, based on the cemetery records, which go by strict chronological order for the grave numbers, so the death of those before and after her buried in the cemetery occured in March so it can not be the April date as per headstone. 

Hi 

This book mentions mohamed alarakhia - https://epdf.pub/early-china-coast-meteorology-the-role-of-hong-kong-188...

See the index

Hi Ken, the reason I was looking up your GG grandfather was to ascertain his connection to my 5th G grandfather Hajee Mahomed Rana, since his name featured in the shop which he owned, I'll be visiting Bhuj, Kutch in Gujarat next month to find out more about Hajee Mahomed Rana , do you happen to know the ancestral home of Alarakia Mohammad ? was he a Memon Muslim?

Mahomed Sewjee Alarakia (1866-1920)

Your greatgrandfather's wedding Hong Kong evening 23rd May 1884 :

“YESTERDAY evening, a novelty in the way of processions delighted and amused a portion of the native population and foreigners resident in the Colony. About nine o’clock, a bridal party of Mohomedans formed up at the bridegroom’s house in Gage Street, and proceeded slowly along the Central streets to the residence of the bride’s parents. To Europeans, the procession presented a very strange appearance from the fact that in it were mixed up, in the strangest manner possible, oriental customs and western ideas. The relatives and friends of the bridegroom, - some in ordinary European carriages, others on foot and others again on horseback – occupied the interior of the procession, the outside of which was formed by a cordon of youthful Celestials, bearing each a gaily coloured lamp. The poles on which the lamps were hung were attached to each other, at an interval of a few yards, by a parti-coloured cord, so that the procession was compelled to move in unison. Those of the relatives and friends who occupied the carriages, were dressed in ordinary European custome, but those who came after on foot and horseback were clothed in the Mahomedan dress. The bridegroom, who brought up the rear, was preceded by a band composed of a violin, melodeon, banjo, and a big drum! The later instrument was drummed at incessantly to the same time, quite regardless of the air being played by the performers. The banjo player was a stalwart Ethiopian, the violinist a little man wearing spectacles, and the melodeon player a young man without any distinctive features. Each seemed to be playing in his own melodious way, and the only harmony that seemed to come from the combination was from the big drum, which made itself heard whether its rivals were audible or not. Whether the band was intended to have a soothing and calming effect on the young bridegroom or not, we cannot say. At any rate he had to endure this sort of thing until he arrived at the bride’s house, where, we have no doubt, he was recompensed for his heroic endurance. The bridegroom himself was the feature of the procession. This was as it ought to be. He was seated on one of the most fiery and tallest steeds the Colony possesses, and he was supported on either side by a relative, or friend (whether to keep him from falling off or not, we cannot say), while another countryman took care that his mount did not run away. His jacket was made of what seemed crimson coloured silk; and his face and head were almost completely hidden by what had the appearance in the dark of extenuated curled shavings. We were afterwards told they were flowers. The effect of the whole was more comical than beautiful. However, we suppose the bridegroom enjoyed himself.

The procession caused great excitement among the Chinese, who expressed their delight in the most approved native fashion.

The marriage took place last night, but we understand the bride, in accordance with ‘olo’ custom, does not leave the parental roof for a day or two.”    

Source: The China Mail, page 3, 24th May 1884

Matches with description in the Japan Daily Mail, Volume 1, page 556, 14th June 1884

And job success a month later:

“Mr Mahomed Alarakia has been appointed, provisionally, to be second assistant in the Observatory, vice Mr Solomon Reuben Solomon, resigned. The appointment was obtained by competition, the winner defeating nine other competitors and counting 1,285 marks out of a possible 1,500. The subjects in which the competitors were examined were reading, handwriting, dictation, copying, composition, and arithmetic.”

Source: The China Mail, page 3, 23rd June 1884

You’re welcome. Ken. It’s remarkable you have at least two descriptions of your greatgrandparents’ wedding recorded. Not many people can say that! The spectacle is like something out of Aladdin. I’m glad you have attempted to reignite your blog. Hopefully we can both learn from each other with more new finds.

I have transcribed the other version of the wedding ceremony here:

“THERE was a great turn-out last night, says the Hongkong Telegraph of the 24^th ult., on the occasion of the marriage of Mr. Alarakia, assistant master in the Government Central School, to a young Indian lady, daughter of the late Mahomed Arab. An imposing procession, in which five carriages, and some half a dozen horses ridden by friends of the happy pair, figured, started from the residence of the bridegroom in Gage-street shortly before nine o’clock, traversing Wellington and D’Aguilar streets, then proceeding down Queen’s Road Central, and turning again into Wellington-street at the corner below No. 5 Police Station, thence wending its way up Graham-street and finally reaching the bride’s residence in Peel Street. Banjoes, violins, drums, concertinas, &c., played by a number of experts, served to enliven matters generally as the procession pursued its course, and some 250 Japanese colored lanterns, all alight, carried on two bamboo poles from which they depended, together with numerous blue-lights, lent additional splendour to the display. A conspicuous figure was the bridegroom himself as he appeared mounted on a lofty Pegasus, arrayed, in Arabian style, in a long crimson colored satin dress and turban. Talk about floral embellishments! The to-day happy man literally revelled in flowers, garlands hanging down in great profusion from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, both in front and rear. A Mahomedan priest made the couple fast at the bride’s house, where the processionists and other friends were regaled with refreshments and music until four or five o’clock this morning. The redoubtable MacBean of the Supreme Court, appeared in the procession driving one of the carriages, and wore an expression almost as solemn and impressive as that of Sir George Phillippo when sentencing a prisoner for libel. Mr. Kennedy of the Horse Repository must have made a good thing out of the affair, as we understand the horses and carriages were all obtained from his stables.

So much information can be gleaned from them:

1) Your 2ggrandfather Mahomed Arab was one of the original 4 representatives who applied for a piece of land from the HK Government, which was granted in 1850, to build a mosque and he then became one of its Trustees. He would be one of the elders of the local Muslim community – he wouldn’t let his daughter get married to someone far from his faith (or in this case, more accurately the mother or another senior male relative, as Mahomed Arab was alerady deceased by this time). So safe to say even though you suspect Mahomed Alarakia may be Parsi in origin ethnically, his religion is Islam and of the Sunni branch.

2) Yes, back then the girls got married real young. As in early teens. I have come across several examples.

3) We now know where each family lived in 1884 – Alarakia – Gage Street; Arab – Peel Street. Worth exploring the communities in these streets.

4) Mahomed Alarakia was clearly a well-educated, bright, ambitious, conscientious and analytical young man. His educational achievements indirectly reflect the high value of education placed by his father – Sewjee Alarakia (1843-1890).

5) The baraat firmly indicated the Alarakia’s customs lay firmly with the Indian sub-continent.

6) The wedding took place at night – traditionally highly recommended according to hadith. My grandparents’ nikkah in Hong Kong 1930s also took place at night.

7) MacBean of the Supreme Court and Kennedy of the Horse Repository’s involvement were mentioned – clues that maybe Mr Sewjee Alarakia knew them well enough for such strings to be pulled. Worth exploring.  

Also for the Central Government School prize giving ceremony on 10th February 1882:

"Anglo-Chinese Class.

First Division, - 1, U. Ramjahn, watch, presented by Acting Chief Justice F. Snowden; 2, M. Alarakia, Cyclopedia, presented by Mr. A.G. Romano.

Second Division, - 1, S.A.J. Mahomet, Natural History, presented by Mr. A.G. Romano; 2, Om. Madar, Little Folks, presented by Mr. A.G. Romano.

Third Division, - 1, A. Alarakia, pocket lens, presented by Dr. Stewart; 2, F. Aguiar, studs."

Source: The China Mail, page 3, 10th February 1882

NB. U. Ramjahn = my greatgranduncle. So again my family knew yours.

Also, at the funeral of your grandfather:

“OBITUARY

                              Mr. E.M. Alarakia Laid To Rest

                        Many friends and relatives attended the funeral at the Mohammedan Cemetery yesterday of Mr. E.M. Alarakia, a member of a well-known Indian family and who passed away on Sunday.

                        Mulvi Noor Shah officiated and besides family mourners those present included Mulvi Ma Tai-ng, Haji A.R. Abbas, Haji M. Azim, Dr. H. el Arculli, Mr. V.C. Labrum, Mr. C.L. Clarke, Mr. A. Remedios, Mr. S.A. Sepher, Dr. S.R.R. Sepher, Mr. H.T. Barma, Mr. Kayamally, Mr. Tyeb, Mr. E.A. Hussain, Mr. Mehdi Nemazee, Mr. C. Rahim, Mr. K.H. Kikabhoy, Mr. R.G. Markar, Mr. A.G. Markar, Mr. E.R. Markar, Mr. J. Anderson, Mr. C.O. Baptista, Mr. M. Sabhan, Mr. R.M. Omar, Mr. K.M. Omar, Mr. O.M. Omar, Mr. A.M. Omar, Mr. M.P. Madar, Mr. S.A. Ismail, Mr. S.F. Ismail, Mr. M.H. Hussain, Mr. A.K. Minu, Mr. A.R. Minu, Mr. S.D. Mehal, Mr. I. Haroon, Mr. N. Nazarin, Mr. K. Nazarin, Mr. J.M.A. Ramjahn, Mr. S.A. Rumjahn, Mr. A. Mannan Rumjahn, Mr. A.M. Rumjahn, Mr. A.R. Dallah, Mr. M.Y. Adal, Mr. A.R.M. Arab, Mr. A.R. Samy, Mr. B.A. Hyder, Mr. A.M. Wahab, Mr. M.A. Wahab, Mr. L.A. Gutierrez, Mr. M.I. Razack, Mr. I.M.A. Razack, Mr. U.A. Esmail, Mr. A. Bux, Mr. S.A.R. Bux, Mr. S.A.D. Rahman, Mr. S.A. Hamid, Mr. T. Ali, Staff of the Ye Olde Printerie and others.

                        Floral tributes were from Mother; Jaf and wife; Cassim, wife and family; Sophie, Tong and family, Fatima, Mary, Helen, Ray, Ikey, Cherry and family.

                        Mr. and Mrs. C.F.Z. da Roza, Mr. and Mrs. Ng Luen-kwong and family, Mr. and Mrs. M. Sabhan, Kwong Yee and family, Mrs. A.H. Abbas and family, Messrs. D. Nickson, Chan Lai-chuen, Chan Man-so, Ho Pah-chi, Kwok Shing, Dr. Wong Chi-po, Hak Kuen-wing, Tsoi To-lung, Yeung Ling-man, Yeung Chi-tong.

                        Ye Olde Printerie, Ltd., the Press Department, the Office Staff, Linotype and Composing Department and Binding Department, of the Ye Olde Printerie Ltd., Man Sun Printing Co., staff of the Ling-nam School, and others.”

Source: The Hong Kong Telegraph (Second Edition), page 12, 13th June 1939 (note page 24 in the digitized archive)

My grandfather (M.I. Razack) was at his funeral. Thus again, another generation of my family knew yours. 

NB Also Sophie Neves (nee Alarakia) was still alive then. She did not die in 1935 - just riffing on your blog post. I put the notation ">1935" as death date meaning the last known mention of her was in 1935 (prior to finding this 1939 obituary where she is mentioned) so she must have died after that date, rather than she died in 1935. It's my notation style to help me narrow my searches. Chances are if she married a Portuguese she may be buried in the Catholic cemetery