Thomas Dunman (1815 - 1887)

Born 14 Jan 1815 in London, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 6 Oct 1887 at age 72 in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Thomas Dunman was born on 14 Jan 1815, and baptized (along with his older siblings William, born 22 Oct 1809, and Eliza, born 22 Dec 1811) on 31 Oct 1820 in the Church of England parish church of St Swithin London Stone, London^[1]. His parents were John and Ann Dunman. The family resided in Oct 1820 in 7 Bush Lane, City of London. His father was a tin plate agent.

At some point Thomas journeyed to Singapore and in 1841 had there a son, John Thomas Scott Dunman with Elizabeth Scott. Thomas' son, John TS, was baptized in the Church of England parish church of St Mary, Newington, London on 11 Apr 1847^[2]. The register records that he was the illegitimate son of Thomas Dunman, Magistrate of Singapore, and Elizabeth Scott.

Thomas, had a distinguished career, in the Malay peninsular and Singapore, being firstly appointed in Sep-Oct 1843 to the twin portfolio of Deputy Magistrate and Deputy Superintendent of Police in Singapore, and then on 1 Jun 1857 appointed as the first Commisioner of Police^[3]. John was probably born when his father was an assistant in the merchant firm Martin, Dyce & Co^[4][5][6]

Thomas, aged 32 years married Mary Ann Esther Crane, aged 16 years, the second daughter of Thomas O. Crane and his wife Marianne d’Almeida, on 5 Jan 1847

Thomas and Mary had nine children, all alive on Centenary Day, 1921^[6]:

• Robert (twice married)
• Ellen, unmarried, born 1849
• Elizabeth (married Woodroffe)
• Louiza (married Cummins)
• Henry (b. 8 Jun 1853, d. 5 Feb 1839, music professor in America)
• William (in Singapore in 1921)
• Amy (married CT Lacey)
• May Ann (unmarried), born 1858
• Emilie (married, a son and daughter)

Thomas retired from his position of Commissioner of Police in 1871, and remained in Singapore, involved in his plantations, including Grove Estate. He returned to England in 1875.

In 1881 he was residing in Bournemouth, Hampshire, aged 66 years with his wife Mary Ann Esther, aged 50 years, and their unmarried daughters Ellen, aged 32 and Mary aged 23 years, and a cook, parlour and house maids^[7].

Thomas died six years later in Bournemouth, England on 6 Oct 1887. His will was proved on 27 Oct 1887 in Winchester by his wife Mary Anne Esther Dunman and Ellen Dunman, spinster. His personal estate was valued at £2170^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ "London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1923," database with images, Ancestry Sharing Link - (Ancestry au Record 1558 #21560357 : accessed 2 October 2023), Thomas Dunman baptism on 31 Oct 1820 (born 14 Jan 1815), child of John Dunman & Ann Dunman, in St Swithin London Stone, City of London, England; citing London Metropolitan Archives, Dublin, Ireland, London Church of England Parish Registers, Reference Number P69/Swi/A/01/Ms4553
2. ↑ London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1923, database with images, Ancestry Sharing Link - (Ancestry au Record 1558 #820518 : accessed 2 October 2023), John Thomas Jeott Dunman baptism on 11 Apr 1849, son of Thomas Dunman & Elizabeth Dunman, in St Mary, Newington, Southwark, England; citing London Metropolitan Archives, Dublin, Ireland, London Church of England Parish Registers, Reference Number P92/Mry/051.
3. ↑ Buckley, Charles Burton. An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore. Singapore: Fraser & Neave, 1902. available online in Internet Library (accessed 1 Oct 2023) p. 396
4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Thomas Dunman," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Dunman&oldid=1173572969 (accessed October 1, 2023) Wikidata: Item Q7789112
5. ↑ Ang Seow Leng Men in Blue: A History of the Singapore Police Force [https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-11/issue-3/oct-dec-2015/blue/]. 01 Oct 2015 (accessed 2 Oct 2023) section: "Dawn of a New Era: 1840s to 1880s"
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Makepeace, Walter, Gilbert E. Brooke, Roland St J. Braddell (eds.) One Hundred Years Of Singapore London: John Murray, 1921. Vol. II p. 443ff. available online in Internet Archive (accessed 2 Oct 2023)
7. ↑ 1881 England Census, database with images, Ancestry Sharing Link - (Ancestry au Record 7572 #6812811 : accessed 2 October 2023), Thomas Dunman (66), married, Late Col Civil Serv Retired... Chief Commisioner Of Police, head of household in Suffolk Rd Clovelly, Holdenhurst in Christchurch registration district in Hampshire, England. Born in London, London, Middlesex, England; citing Class RG11, Piece 1197, Folio 36, Page 66, GSU roll 1341293, ED, institution, or vessel 22.
8. ↑ UK. Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. London, England. Citing Dunman, Thomas, 27 Oct 1887, in vol. Dabbs-Eyton p. 290 Probate Registry accessed 2 Oct 2023