Individual Details
Captain Henry Templer HEIC
(1784 - 4 May 1838)
Captain in HEIC's service and owned ships Minerva and Inglis. Very wealthy, but lost his fortune in railway speculations about 1837. Bought Buckland Filleigh and Downe Hall in 1836 but sold them shortly after. He was devoted to his brother James. Unmarried. (From paper found in records collected by Cecil Robert Templer - source unknown)
Gentleman's Magazine
Husband surname Thurston
Husband first names Simon
Wife surname Templer
Wife first names Sarah
Marriage date 10 Jul 1845
Place of marriage Paddington
Edition Date Oct 1845
Page number 416
Detail At Paddington, Simon Thurston, esq. of Southampton-st. Bloomsbury-square, to Sarah, widow of Capt. Henry Templer, Hon. East India Company's Service.
Ships of the East India Company, their histories and voyages have been impeccably catalogued by Rowan Hackman from HEIC records. They provide near-primary source documentation of Henry Templer’s maritime career.
In 1811 Captain Henry Templer took command of the ship BARING (2) (756 tons),launched in 1805 by Cooper at Calcutta for Managing Owner, Thomas Garland Murray. Henry would have been approx. 27 years old on the basis of the Templer family records and by then would have worked his way over several years through the ranks to the rank of Captain. This may have been his maiden voyage in that rank. He victualled and made his vessel ready for sea trip to India,commencing in July 1811. Henry’s sailing instructions, journal, ledger and paybook are all lodged in India Office Records (IOR/G/9/19 ff59-88 etc..)
His voyage lasted 16 months and took Henry from Portsmouth (27 July 1811) via Madeira (14 Aug.1811), the Cape (13 Jan. 1812) and Saugor (23 April 1812) to Madras (8 July 1812) and back again via St Helena (11 Sept. 1812) to Gravesend (11 Nov. 1812).
Lady Maria Nugent was a passenger on the leg out to India. She kept a journal in which she diligently logged the “violent and distressing outrages” committed by Henry Templer, which eventually led to her confining herself to her cabin. During the voyage Henry insulted a young officer who demanded satisfaction and a duel was fought on shore near Calcutta. They fired at the same time and both missed, but honour was preserved. Lady Nugent’s journal is recorded in “The East Indiamen”, a book by Russell Miller – one of the Time Life Book series on “The Seafarers” – ISBN 7054 0635 0 (relevant abstract attached from Chapter V – A Passage to India).
After this voyage the Baring returned to private trade in India and the Far East and is not recorded again in HEIC documentation. Her Captain is not recorded but may have been Henry, because he does not appear again in HEIC records for another five years, by when he had become a Managing Owner in his own right.
In 1817 Captain Henry Templer became the Managing Owner of the PERSEVERANCE (2) (1271 tons) (sale price not recorded) and he sailed with her, as Captain, to China, leaving the Downs on 21 April 1818, arriving at Penang on 1 August 1818,returning via Malacca (10 Sept. 1818), Whampoa (11 Oct 1818) the Cape (21 Feb 1819) St Helena (11 March 1819) to the Downs on 12 May 1819. Soon after its return, Henry sold the Perseverance for breaking up. This was probably a prosperous venture for Henry, whose business expanded substantially soon afterwards. Also, whilst abroad, he had been admitted to the prestigious Society of East India Commanders (see notes following) and no doubt his reputation had been enhanced accordingly.
In 1822 Henry became the Managing Owner of the BOMBAY (3) (1243 tons) (sale price not recorded) and this time he was able to appoint his own Captain for the sea trips, remaining at home to organize the necessary trading arrangements. The Bombay made five trips in the next 11 years:
§ 1822/22 to China Captain John Hine
§ 1824/25 to China Captain John Charretie
§ 1826/27 to Madrasand China Captain John Charretie
§ 1830/31 to China Captain James Kellaway
§ 1832/33 to St Helena,Bengal & China Captain Thomas Alexander Johnson
In 1827 Henry was the owner of the WILLIAM MONEY (834 tons), a charter ship which made two voyages for the Company in the next three years:
§ 1827/28 to Bengal Captain William Barker Fulcher
§ 1832/33 to China and Quebec Captain John O’Brien
Henry also owned the MOIRA (650 tons), another charter ship for the HEIC,which made three trading voyages in the same period:
§ 1827/28 to Bengal Captain Robert Thornhill
§ 1830/30 to Bengal Captain Samuel Beadle
§ 1832/33 to China & Halifax Captain Thomas Alexander Johnson
On 30 March 1831 Henry executed an indemnity (cost £46.10) for a £1,000 bond in respect of his ship the William Money (IOR ref. Z/O/1/11), describing himself as Henry Templer, London, Ship Owner.
In 1831 Henry also expanded his fleet further by purchasing the MINERVA (7) (976 tons), from George Palmer . He paid £9,400 for the ship and another £2,400 for the Captain’s stores at sea. The ship made one trip only before Henry sold it on to G. Ireland, London in 1836.
§ 1833/34 to China Captain William Ticehurst
In 1834 Henry purchased one of the most famous and successful ships in the entire HEIC fleet, – the SCALEBY CASTLE(1,242 tons). She had been built in Bombay in 1798 and been in service for 35 years. She had 26 guns and the compliment had been 15 Officers and 115 crew. Constructed in teak, the vessel had undertaken 14 voyages before completing her company service in 1832.
The 1820 painting by Thomas Whitcombe in the Maritime Art collection at Greenwich shows the Scaleby Castle is in the foreground with the Minerva to the left and the Charles Grant to the right, and the Cape in the background. A full description of the work is attached. It is to be noted that the first two of these premier vessels in the HEIC fleet had shaped the career of Henry Templer.
Henry purchased Scaleby Castle simply as a business venture. He purchased it for £6,900 on 6 August 1834 and repaired it, provisioned it and made it ready for sea, before selling it onto James Walkinshaw two months later on 11 October 1834 for £13,500. The ship was then to remain in service for another 13 years before being sold as a hulk at Lloyd’s Coffee House on 1 December 1847.
The Templer family website states that he was also the owner of the INGLIS (1,321 tons) but Henry’s name does not appear in the history of that ship, which made 11 voyages for the Company under two Managing Owners and 4 different Captains.
On the other hand,Tony Fuller, in his research of original EIC sailing lists has identified the vessel,the Sir David Scott (1,439 tons)as having been built in England in 1821 by Henry Templer. Rowan Hackman’s Ships of the EIC contradicts this fact, noting that the Sir David Scott was launched by Jabez Bayley, Ipswich, for Joseph Hare. If Fuller is correct, this would be an important fact, which would identify Henry as a boat builder as well as an owner. However, given that I have found no other references to Henry as a boat builder, I think we should discount the Fuller note, although of course Henry might have played some part in the design and construction process of the Sir David Scott, but not as the builder of it.
The latest reference I have found for Henry is in Miscellaneous Papers on Trade& Finance (IOR/L/AG/50/5/5) – “Assignment of debts of Henry Templer, concerning in particular silk held by the Company on his account, 1837-1840”. Further research in the records of the Society of East India Commanders and the HEIC might shed light on his pension provision. The Templer family records indicate that he died at Hyde Park in 1838 aged approx. 52 years, soon after buying and selling Buckland Filleigh and Downe Hall and losing his fortune in railway speculations. I have not researched these later aspects of Henry’s life in detail, but on a cursory surf of the www I can find nothing of relevance.
The Society of East India Commanders was founded around 1773 as something a kin to a London club and mutual society for East India ships’ captains. Henry was elected into membership on 31 March 1819, fourteen years after first being recorded as a Captain in the maritime service of the Hon. EIC. The entrance fee was five guineas, payable on admission and the Society met monthly at the Jerusalem Coffee House. In the list of members, compiled by seniority in 1820, he is shown 49th out of 52 commanders. Henry later appears in the list of 12 “Chairman of the Standing Committee” for the year running from January to December 1828. The 12 members of the Standing Committee we reelected by an elaborate system of balloting and each of them held office for one month in the year. By this means, no particular interest or faction could develop within the Society and, in the event of their being abroad, a replacement could be found relatively easily. It also ensured that the commanders could fit their duties to the Company in with their duties to the Society and vice versa, no captain being detained in London because of his non-maritime commitments. The Society was a powerful body which represented the views of its members and later negotiated pensions and compensation when the Company lost its tea monopoly in 1833.
Everybody in the maritime service of the HEIC knew their place and to whom they were both superior and subservient. Equally, where money was concerned, there was strict differentiation and structures, which depended on rank and status. The sworn officers were allowed to trade on their own behalf and, to facilitate this, were given a set percentage of space in the hold of their ships for the carriage of their own goods. If they did not use it all they could sell it on, usually to the Company but also to each other. This enabled them to compensate for the quite appalling wages that the Company paid them and many of their number accumulated substantial fortunes trading on their own behalf. It is assumed that Henry’s own wealth was amassed by these means.
Stuart J Drabble/revised Jan. 2007
Gentleman's Magazine
Husband surname Thurston
Husband first names Simon
Wife surname Templer
Wife first names Sarah
Marriage date 10 Jul 1845
Place of marriage Paddington
Edition Date Oct 1845
Page number 416
Detail At Paddington, Simon Thurston, esq. of Southampton-st. Bloomsbury-square, to Sarah, widow of Capt. Henry Templer, Hon. East India Company's Service.
Ships of the East India Company, their histories and voyages have been impeccably catalogued by Rowan Hackman from HEIC records. They provide near-primary source documentation of Henry Templer’s maritime career.
In 1811 Captain Henry Templer took command of the ship BARING (2) (756 tons),launched in 1805 by Cooper at Calcutta for Managing Owner, Thomas Garland Murray. Henry would have been approx. 27 years old on the basis of the Templer family records and by then would have worked his way over several years through the ranks to the rank of Captain. This may have been his maiden voyage in that rank. He victualled and made his vessel ready for sea trip to India,commencing in July 1811. Henry’s sailing instructions, journal, ledger and paybook are all lodged in India Office Records (IOR/G/9/19 ff59-88 etc..)
His voyage lasted 16 months and took Henry from Portsmouth (27 July 1811) via Madeira (14 Aug.1811), the Cape (13 Jan. 1812) and Saugor (23 April 1812) to Madras (8 July 1812) and back again via St Helena (11 Sept. 1812) to Gravesend (11 Nov. 1812).
Lady Maria Nugent was a passenger on the leg out to India. She kept a journal in which she diligently logged the “violent and distressing outrages” committed by Henry Templer, which eventually led to her confining herself to her cabin. During the voyage Henry insulted a young officer who demanded satisfaction and a duel was fought on shore near Calcutta. They fired at the same time and both missed, but honour was preserved. Lady Nugent’s journal is recorded in “The East Indiamen”, a book by Russell Miller – one of the Time Life Book series on “The Seafarers” – ISBN 7054 0635 0 (relevant abstract attached from Chapter V – A Passage to India).
After this voyage the Baring returned to private trade in India and the Far East and is not recorded again in HEIC documentation. Her Captain is not recorded but may have been Henry, because he does not appear again in HEIC records for another five years, by when he had become a Managing Owner in his own right.
In 1817 Captain Henry Templer became the Managing Owner of the PERSEVERANCE (2) (1271 tons) (sale price not recorded) and he sailed with her, as Captain, to China, leaving the Downs on 21 April 1818, arriving at Penang on 1 August 1818,returning via Malacca (10 Sept. 1818), Whampoa (11 Oct 1818) the Cape (21 Feb 1819) St Helena (11 March 1819) to the Downs on 12 May 1819. Soon after its return, Henry sold the Perseverance for breaking up. This was probably a prosperous venture for Henry, whose business expanded substantially soon afterwards. Also, whilst abroad, he had been admitted to the prestigious Society of East India Commanders (see notes following) and no doubt his reputation had been enhanced accordingly.
In 1822 Henry became the Managing Owner of the BOMBAY (3) (1243 tons) (sale price not recorded) and this time he was able to appoint his own Captain for the sea trips, remaining at home to organize the necessary trading arrangements. The Bombay made five trips in the next 11 years:
§ 1822/22 to China Captain John Hine
§ 1824/25 to China Captain John Charretie
§ 1826/27 to Madrasand China Captain John Charretie
§ 1830/31 to China Captain James Kellaway
§ 1832/33 to St Helena,Bengal & China Captain Thomas Alexander Johnson
In 1827 Henry was the owner of the WILLIAM MONEY (834 tons), a charter ship which made two voyages for the Company in the next three years:
§ 1827/28 to Bengal Captain William Barker Fulcher
§ 1832/33 to China and Quebec Captain John O’Brien
Henry also owned the MOIRA (650 tons), another charter ship for the HEIC,which made three trading voyages in the same period:
§ 1827/28 to Bengal Captain Robert Thornhill
§ 1830/30 to Bengal Captain Samuel Beadle
§ 1832/33 to China & Halifax Captain Thomas Alexander Johnson
On 30 March 1831 Henry executed an indemnity (cost £46.10) for a £1,000 bond in respect of his ship the William Money (IOR ref. Z/O/1/11), describing himself as Henry Templer, London, Ship Owner.
In 1831 Henry also expanded his fleet further by purchasing the MINERVA (7) (976 tons), from George Palmer . He paid £9,400 for the ship and another £2,400 for the Captain’s stores at sea. The ship made one trip only before Henry sold it on to G. Ireland, London in 1836.
§ 1833/34 to China Captain William Ticehurst
In 1834 Henry purchased one of the most famous and successful ships in the entire HEIC fleet, – the SCALEBY CASTLE(1,242 tons). She had been built in Bombay in 1798 and been in service for 35 years. She had 26 guns and the compliment had been 15 Officers and 115 crew. Constructed in teak, the vessel had undertaken 14 voyages before completing her company service in 1832.
The 1820 painting by Thomas Whitcombe in the Maritime Art collection at Greenwich shows the Scaleby Castle is in the foreground with the Minerva to the left and the Charles Grant to the right, and the Cape in the background. A full description of the work is attached. It is to be noted that the first two of these premier vessels in the HEIC fleet had shaped the career of Henry Templer.
Henry purchased Scaleby Castle simply as a business venture. He purchased it for £6,900 on 6 August 1834 and repaired it, provisioned it and made it ready for sea, before selling it onto James Walkinshaw two months later on 11 October 1834 for £13,500. The ship was then to remain in service for another 13 years before being sold as a hulk at Lloyd’s Coffee House on 1 December 1847.
The Templer family website states that he was also the owner of the INGLIS (1,321 tons) but Henry’s name does not appear in the history of that ship, which made 11 voyages for the Company under two Managing Owners and 4 different Captains.
On the other hand,Tony Fuller, in his research of original EIC sailing lists has identified the vessel,the Sir David Scott (1,439 tons)as having been built in England in 1821 by Henry Templer. Rowan Hackman’s Ships of the EIC contradicts this fact, noting that the Sir David Scott was launched by Jabez Bayley, Ipswich, for Joseph Hare. If Fuller is correct, this would be an important fact, which would identify Henry as a boat builder as well as an owner. However, given that I have found no other references to Henry as a boat builder, I think we should discount the Fuller note, although of course Henry might have played some part in the design and construction process of the Sir David Scott, but not as the builder of it.
The latest reference I have found for Henry is in Miscellaneous Papers on Trade& Finance (IOR/L/AG/50/5/5) – “Assignment of debts of Henry Templer, concerning in particular silk held by the Company on his account, 1837-1840”. Further research in the records of the Society of East India Commanders and the HEIC might shed light on his pension provision. The Templer family records indicate that he died at Hyde Park in 1838 aged approx. 52 years, soon after buying and selling Buckland Filleigh and Downe Hall and losing his fortune in railway speculations. I have not researched these later aspects of Henry’s life in detail, but on a cursory surf of the www I can find nothing of relevance.
The Society of East India Commanders was founded around 1773 as something a kin to a London club and mutual society for East India ships’ captains. Henry was elected into membership on 31 March 1819, fourteen years after first being recorded as a Captain in the maritime service of the Hon. EIC. The entrance fee was five guineas, payable on admission and the Society met monthly at the Jerusalem Coffee House. In the list of members, compiled by seniority in 1820, he is shown 49th out of 52 commanders. Henry later appears in the list of 12 “Chairman of the Standing Committee” for the year running from January to December 1828. The 12 members of the Standing Committee we reelected by an elaborate system of balloting and each of them held office for one month in the year. By this means, no particular interest or faction could develop within the Society and, in the event of their being abroad, a replacement could be found relatively easily. It also ensured that the commanders could fit their duties to the Company in with their duties to the Society and vice versa, no captain being detained in London because of his non-maritime commitments. The Society was a powerful body which represented the views of its members and later negotiated pensions and compensation when the Company lost its tea monopoly in 1833.
Everybody in the maritime service of the HEIC knew their place and to whom they were both superior and subservient. Equally, where money was concerned, there was strict differentiation and structures, which depended on rank and status. The sworn officers were allowed to trade on their own behalf and, to facilitate this, were given a set percentage of space in the hold of their ships for the carriage of their own goods. If they did not use it all they could sell it on, usually to the Company but also to each other. This enabled them to compensate for the quite appalling wages that the Company paid them and many of their number accumulated substantial fortunes trading on their own behalf. It is assumed that Henry’s own wealth was amassed by these means.
Stuart J Drabble/revised Jan. 2007
Events
| Birth | 1784 | Alphington, Devon, England, United Kingdom | |||
| Christen | 23 Apr 1784 | Clyst Honiton, Devon, England, United Kingdom | |||
| Christen | 24 Apr 1785 | Alphington, Devon, England, United Kingdom | |||
| Christen | 26 Apr 1785 | Alphington, Devon, England, United Kingdom | |||
| Military service | 1805 - 1838 | East India Co | |||
| Marriage | 8 Feb 1838 | Kensington, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom - Sarah Thomas |  | ||
| Marriage | 4 May 1838 | Hyde Park, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom - Sarah Thomas | |||
| Death | 4 May 1838 | Hyde Park, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom | |||
| Burial | 12 May 1838 | St John's, Paddington, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom | |||
| Occupation | Captain - East India Co. |
Families
| Spouse | Sarah Thomas (1806 - 1885) |
| Child | Alpina Templer (1831 - 1904) |
| Child | Emily Anne Templer (1836 - 1915) |
| Child | Laura Templer (1837 - 1915) |
| Father | Thomas Templer (1737 - 1796) |
| Mother | Alice Mary Vinicombe (1752 - 1829) |
| Sibling | John Templer ( - 1777) |
| Sibling | Barbara Templer (1776 - ) |
| Sibling | Anne Templer ( - 1829) |
| Sibling | Thomas Templer (1779 - 1818) |
| Sibling | Mary Templer (1781 - 1850) |
| Sibling | Rev John Templer (1784 - 1829) |
| Sibling | James Templer (1787 - 1858) |
| Sibling | Rev Charles Templer (1789 - 1851) |
| Sibling | William Henry Augustus Templer (1791 - 1832) |
| Sibling | Richard Templer (1794 - 1795) |
Notes
Marriage
License Date:08 Feb 1838License Year:1838
Bride Surname:THOMAS
Dual Date:08 Feb 1838
Groom Surname:TEMPLER
Record source:Vicar-General Marriage Licence Allegations 1694-1850