William "Royal Billy" Napier (1804–1879), was a Scottish lawyer and newspaper editor who primarily developed his career in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, and was also the first Lieutenant-Governor of Labuan from 1848 to 1850.

History

At least two of

Macvey Napier Macvey Napier (born Napier Macvey) (11 April 1776 – 11 February 1847) was a Scottish solicitor, legal scholar, and an editor of the '' Encyclopædia Britannica''. He was Professor of Conveyancing at the University of Edinburgh. Life Ma ...

's sons lived in Singapore in its early days.

David Skene Napier David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, a merchant, was one of the first magistrates appointed by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1823. Prior to follow in to Singapore after his brother, William Napier had a daughter, Catherine Napier in 1829, by a Eurasian woman from

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has bee ...

. In 1831, Napier arrived in Singapore and was appointed as Singapore's first law agent in 1833. He was also one of the four founders of the

Singapore Free Press ''The Singapore Free Press'' was an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore. History The paper was founded as Singapore's second English-language newspaper by William Napier, Edward Boustead, Walter Scott Lorrain and Ge ...

on 1 October 1835, and edited that weekly newspaper until 1846, when he returned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

for health reasons. In 1844, he married Maria Frances Vernon, the widow of architect George Coleman and adopted her son, George Vernon Coleman, who would die at sea on board of HMS Maeander in 1848 at age 4. They soon had a daughter in 1846, Maria J Napier.

Napier had an infant son with Maria in 1847, James Brooke Napier, but he died at sea on 17 February 1848 at the very young age of 5 months old. The infant James Brooke Napier was commemorated by the largest monument on the

Christian Cemetery A Christian burial is the burial of a deceased person with specifically Christian rites; typically, in consecrated ground. Until recent times Christians generally objected to cremation because it interfered with the concept of the resurrection o ...

at the Government Hill, Singapore. William Napier had befriended James Brooke in Singapore and, on being appointed Governor of the new British colony of Labuan in 1848, Brooke chose him to be his deputy as Lieutenant-Governor of Labuan. In 1848, William Napier's daughter, Catherine Napier, met

Hugh Low Sir Hugh Low, (10 May 182418 April 1905) was a British colonial administrator and naturalist. After a long residence in various colonial roles in Labuan, he was appointed as British administrator in the Malay Peninsula where he made the first ...

, the Colonial Secretary to Labuan, on the sea-voyage from England to Labuan to establish the new government: they were married, en route, in Singapore. They had a son Hugh "Hugo" Brooke Low in 1849 and a daughter Catherine "Kitty" Elizabeth Low in 1850. The marriage was ended with the death of Catherine Napier from fever in Labuan in 1851. Brooke summarily dismissed Napier of his position in 1850 for alleged misconduct. Napier remained in Singapore as Attorney. Napier was also a legal adviser to Abu Bakar Ibni Al-Marhum from 1855 to 1857.

Retirement and death

William Napier later retired "from the East" in 1857 and returned to England, his

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

which was built in Tyersall in 1854, was advertised for sale by Boustead & Co. in March 1857. Napier and his wife Maria Frances Vernon had two more sons, Robert J. Napier in 1860, and Harry B. Napier in 1861. Napier became the first Chairman of the Straits Settlements Association, set up in London in 1868.Buckley,C.B. An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore William Napier died in England in 1879.

Legacy

The Napier Road was commemorated in 1853 in honor of Napier for his accomplishments and contributions in Singapore. The Tyersall Road and Tyersall Avenue (a renamed Garden Road) was named in 1890 and 1924 respectively after his demolished Tyersall House. The name Tanglin was believed to be derived from the Chinese name of his former Tyersall estate as ''Tang Leng'' which his house was once built on. Napier is unrelated to the lawyer who founded the law firm

drew and napier Drew & Napier LLC is one of Singapore’s leading law firms. Founded in 1889, the firm has more than 500 employees. It is regarded as one of the “Big Four” law firms in Singapore. Drew & Napier regularly advises governments, government i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, William 1804 births 1879 deaths British lawyers British newspaper editors British expatriates in Singapore 19th-century British journalists British male journalists 19th-century British male writers 19th-century Singaporean lawyers