About this site . . . . .

  Hello and welcome to 'De Fonseka Online', the first family history site from Sri Lanka.

These pages contain genealogy and history of the de Fonseka families and the associated families of D'andrado, de Rowel, Thamel, Tissera, and others. It also records the history of the 'Karava  ' caste. The de Fonseka's were one of the six families with a distinct rank and status as chieftains of the Karava  clans. 

With a documented history going back to 1658  in the Dutch period (during the reign of King Raja Singha II), the families were part of the ruling Mudaliyar class in the lowlands. Once considered Aristocrats, they have now integrated with the cosmopolitan community, that is the present day Sri Lanka. This site takes you on their journey thru time.

If you are a first time visitor to this site, you have probably come to the best place to start off your voyage of discovery. The following notes will guide you on the contents of this site, how it is organized, and and how to look for specific information.

Contents:

The site has been structured to show the family genealogy in two separate sections. The Ancestry page traces back the roots from way back in 1658 with the help of the genealogy information found in de Fonseka family documents, ' The Karava of Ceylon' by M. D. Rhaghavan (1961), the D'Andrado Manuscripts ( A collection of historical Dutch Documents ) and other Reference material. In this page we also look at the different branches or segments of 'de Fonseka' families found in Sri Lanka, details of the surname.

The Family section picks up from where the genealogy charts end,  and records in detail more than six further generations of the families with over 400+ entries. These details have been collected from family members, fellow genealogists and by painstakingly researching church and government records. The new medium of the Internet has been utilized to bring the records together from around the globe.

History of the Karava  caste, the caste system in Ceylon and other interesting details, of particular interest to the de Fonseka families can be found in the Karava section. This provides the early historical background, so necessary to understand the information presented elsewhere in the site. This material gives us an idea of the origins and the possible paths, the De Fonseka's  and the other Karava families may have taken over the years.

If you are a visiting 'de Fonseka', please go to the Contact page and help me to enhance these pages further, by providing information or material which may be in your possession. Your feedback is most welcome.

Objectives of the web site:

• To increase our knowledge of our past, by collating and undertaking research, material relating to the 'de Fonseka' and associated families.
• To bring a greater awareness about the 'de Fonseka' and related family genealogies and histories, to persons or groups carrying the family names, and to the community in general.
• To bring a greater awareness of the Karava caste and its history to members of the caste, and there by help in their own genealogical research.
• To be a facilitator and a resource bank to anyone researching their family roots and help and support the genealogy community in their research.
• To be a focal point for all of the de Fonseka families, now geographically distributed over the world.

This Web Site hopes to use the new medium of the Internet and it's associated technologies to achieve the above stated objectives.

The web site is continuously  evolving with contributions from far corners of the world, from people like you who stumble upon it, and contribute in your own different ways to make it grow.

Hope you'll enjoy browsing these pages, as much as I enjoyed bringing it 'Online'. 

This site has been lovingly created in celebration of the
De Fonseka families of Sri Lanka ( Ceylon ).