I first heard the term Burgher from my father, and later from my mother. My father had shown me a photocopy of my mother's birth certificate, which had the word 'Burgher' for her mother's nation (nationality/ethnicity). I asked my father what it was and he explained what it was.
I could not find the definition of the word Burgher for a long time before the Internet existed.
In late 2016/early 2017, I read the definition of Burgher in a book emailed to me by a relative. It was a small passage. It spelled out in detail the origin and meaning of the word.
On 13 April 2017, I read the definition of Burgher at Bunny Taylor's Family website:
http://bunnytaylor.tribalpages.com/
On 13 April 2017, I accessed the definition of Burgher in Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgher_people
Legal definition
The Burghers were legally defined in 1883 by the Chief Justice of Ceylon, Sir Richard Ottley, given before the Commission, appointed in connection with the establishment of a legislative council in Ceylon. Burghers were defined as those whose father was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), with at least one European ancestor on one's direct paternal side, regardless of the ethnic origin of one's mother, or what other ethnic groups may be found on the father's side. Because of this definition, Burghers almost always have European surnames (mostly of Portuguese, Dutch and British origin, but sometimes German, French or Russian). - Mülle, J.B. "One Nation: diversity and multiculturalism - Part I". The Island (Sri Lanka). Accessed from Wikipedia on 13 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20121012133109/http://www.island.lk/2009/07/20/features1.html
On 28 April 2017, I accessed this Readtiger website for a detailed account of the Burgher people:
https://readtiger.com/wkp/en/Burgher_people
Since there must be a European ancestor (Dutch/ Portuguese/ British/ German/ Austrian/ Swede) born in Ceylon in the patrimonial lineal inheritance, in order to be classified as a Burgher, in my clan, my maternal grandmother (Catherine de Courcy) and her sibs, and my great-grandmother (Emma Frances Horatia Krasse) and her sibs were Dutch Burghers. Their husbands were Burghers too. James Jordan Krasse (Emma's husband) was a Dutch Burgher. Frederick Bulner (Catherine's husband) was a German Burgher.
The Burgher surnames are Bulner, de Courcy, Krasse. My mother (Tulip) and her three sisters (Esther, June and Daisy Yvette) are from a Bengal/ Sindhi/ Pakistani father and a Dutch-Burgher mother.
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