Hume, David

Updated October 17, 2014

David Hume, baker, was recorded as a resident in Hong Kong in 1843. Queen's Road was listed as his address in 1843.

He posted a notice in the May 4, 1843 issue of the Friend of China and said that new orders for breads were entertained provided a 24-hour prior notice was given; additionally, customers ordering meat pies and fruit tarts had to send in their own dishes ahead of time. Hume stood behind his bakery products by giving a warranty that his bread would keep for 10 to 12 days.

Selected Bibliography: Hong Kong's First [interent]. Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850.

Harao, Sher

Updated October 17, 2014

Sher Harao, baker, was recorded as a resident of Hong Kong in 1842.

Harao was from Bengal.

Harao was robbed on September 10, 1842. The robbers killed his servant Kallay Khan, and severely injured two other Chinese employees, Ah Sam and Ah Po. Three men were subsequently arrested and tried, the outcome of which is unknown to me.

Selected Bibliography: Hong Kong's First [online].

Hill, Samuel

Updated October 4, 2014

Samuel Hill was listed as a resident of Hong Kong in 1848.

Selected Bibliography: Williams, Samuel Wells (Ed.), Chinese Repository, Vol. 17, January to December, 1848. Canton: 1848.

Pestonjee, Hormusjee

Updated October 1, 2014

Hormusjee Pestonjee, merchant, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong in 1846. He was name partner in the mercantile firm, Pestonjee Cusetjee Jam. Mody, in 1846.

Selected Bibliography: Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850.

Hackimjee, Pestonjee Rustomjee

Updated October 1, 2014

Pestonjee Rustomjee Hackimjee was listed as a resident of Hong Kong in 1846.

Selected Bibliography: Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850.

Humpston, Gervas

Updated September 26, 2014

Gervas Humpston, mercantile assistant, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong in 1846. He was employed by the mercantile firm, Jardine, Matheson & Co., as an assistant in 1846.

Selected Bibliography: Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850.

Howell, Augustus

Updated October 17, 2014

Augustus Howell, mercantile assistant, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong from 1846 to 1848. He was employed by the mercantile firm, Jardine, Matheson, as an assistant in 1846.

Selected Bibliography: Hong Kong's First [online]. Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850. Williams, Samuel Wells (Ed.), Chinese Repository, Vol. 17, January to December, 1848. Canton: 1848.

temp.notes:
Jardine Godown Manager
I am breaking my rule not to feature any opium dealers, or people who worked for opium firms. There are two reasons I want to write about Augustus Howells. Firstly, it was quite rare in the 1840s for a Scottish firm, particularly a prestige firm such as Jardine, Matheson & Co., to hire an American to fill a managerial position. The usual hiring practice as I understand for British firms was that Britons were hired as managers and Portuguese as clerks or book-keepers, while several Chinese would be contracted to work as Compradors. Secondly, Howell was the first person I've come across, who was a member of the American Art-Union (1839-1851). He was listed in the member roster in 1846, having the place of residence in Hong Kong, China. I have no idea when Howell came to Hong Kong and for what reason. He was employed by Jardine, Matheson & Co. as a godown manager. He ought to be doing quite well as he bought a track of land, a part of Marine Lot No. 10 at Victoria (in the form of Crown lease) from Alexander Matheson on October 25, 1845. In March 1856, the same property was sold to Charles Woolett Bowra (full story in “Early Settlers, Not Opium Smugglers”), who was no longer in Hong Kong, and his brother William Addenbrooke Bowra, by Jardine, Matheson & Co. acting on a power of attorney granted by Howell on September 22, 1855. The address given in the power of attorney was in Sag Harbor, Long Island, New York. There were only a handful of records of Howell in Hong Kong. He was summoned to jury duty at the Supreme Court on April 11 and December 16, 1846. He was subpoenaed to appear at the Supreme Court on February 23, 1846, in the case of Thomas Larkins v Aling. Larkins probably was Captain Thomas Larkins, proprietor of the steamer Corsair, that ferried between Hong Kong and Canton (Guangzhou). I will try and find out more about this case and how was Howell involved.
I found a Augustus Howell (b. August 31, 1818, Sag Harbor, Long Island, New York or Saybrook, Connecticut - d. April 12, 1856, Sag Harbor) whom I believe to be our Howell. He was the son of Silas Howell and Bethia Post. Augustus's parents as well as his step-mother, Margaret Post, who was actually his aunt (Bethia's sister), all died in Sag Harbor. Howell went to the Clinton Academy in East Hampton and was a schoolmate and close friend of famous author, Henry P. Hedges. He married Phebe Rogers (b. October 28, 1820, Saybrook, Connecticut - d. 1902) of Deep River on February 6, 1852. The marriage was performed by the Rev. E. Cushman. Phebe gave birth to a daughter, Anna, in 1853. Howell died three years later. Anna married Lyndon M. Swan (b.1839- ) and had three children: Benjamin, Ann and Anna.

Henry, William

Updated September 26, 2014

William Henry, mercantile assistant, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong in 1846. He was employed by the mercantile firm, Jamieson, How & Co., as an assistant in 1846.

Selected Bibliography: Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850.

Humphreys, Alfred

Updated October 5, 2014

Alfred Humphreys, merchant, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong from 1846 to 1848. He was the founder of Humphreys & Co.

Selected Bibliography: Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850. Williams, Samuel Wells (Ed.), Chinese Repository, Vol. 17, January to December, 1848. Canton: 1848.

Holgate, Henry

Updated September 25, 2014

Henry Holgate, surgeon, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong in 1846.

Selected Bibliography: Hong Kong's First [online]. Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850.

temp.notes:

Henry Holgate was said to be a surgeon on a merchant ship who went to China in the 1830s. He was one of the first surgeons to work at the British Seaman's Hospital in Whampoa (Huangpu) 黄埔 when it opened in 1836. After having been appointed by Charles Elliot, Administrator of Hong Kong, to the position of Acting Colonial Surgeon in August 1841, Holgate set about his first task -- to establish a Colonial Surgeon's Department. The appointment was, however, quickly disallowed after Elliot was sacked by Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. It is uncleared why his appointment remained in a government notice given in the March 31, 1842 issue of Friend of China.]

A report on the Canton Register, dated October 12, 1841, cited by the New-York American of February 7, 1842, carried Holgate's comments on health conditions in Hong Kong. Might this be Holgate's only official act as the Acting Colonial Surgeon?

"Macao had suffered much from sickness, many of the inhabitants and Chinese having fallen victims to a kind of influenza which was travelling about.

The accounts of sickness at Hong Kong are contradicted. A Mr. Henry Holgate, writing from Hong Kong, under date of the 4th, states that there is no malaria, and that health of the troops has been gradually improving, not any having been ordered on board of the transports. The crews of vessels are very healthy, and in a population of 12,000 Chinese, there have been but 10 deaths in the last four months.”

After his short tenure as a medical official in Hong Kong, Holgate returned to his old job in Whampoa, and became the head of the British Seaman's Hospital on November 28, 1842. He moved to Macau in 1849, and went back to Whampoa in 1851. There was a company existing in Macau in 1842 went by the name of Holgate & Co., which was a ships' agent. Has this to do with Holgate, I have no idea. Henry Holgate was listed as a member of the Chinese Medico-Chirurgical Society (founded on May 13, 1845) in 1846.

Holmes, John

Updated October 4, 2014

John Holmes, British soldier, later sausage maker, liquor store-keeper, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong from 1846 to 1848. Holmes & Bigham; John Holmes, Spirit Dealer were the names of businesses he ran in 1846.

Selected Bibliography: Hong Kong's First [online]. Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850.

temp.notes:
John Holmes was a schoolmaster sergeant in the 98th Regiment of Foot of the British Army, which arrived in China in 1842 towards the end of the First Opium War. Holmes stayed behind in Hong Kong when his regiment moved to India in 1846, and went into business as a sausage maker among the Chinese shops in the Lower Bazaar (area in present day Sheung Wan around Jervois Street 蘇杭街 (previously 乍畏街) and Bonham Strand 文咸街). He also partnered with a friend of his, Bingham (first name unknown), to operate a wine and spirit shop on Queen's Road. Worked as a clerk in his shop, at one time, was a Ninian Crawford, who would in 1850 co-found Lane Crawford, a ships chandler-turned-retailer for high-end goods.

Hawkins, John D.

Updated September 24, 2014

John D. Hawkins, contractor, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong in 1846. Circular Building, West Point was listed as his address in 1846.

Selected Bibliography: Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850.

Hudson, Augustus

Updated September 23, 2014

Augustus Hudson, mercantile assistant, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong from 1846 to 1848. He was employed by the mercantile firm, Gibb, Livingston & Co., as an assistant in 1846.

Selected Bibliography: Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850. Williams, Samuel Wells (Ed.), Chinese Repository, Vol. 17, January to December, 1848. Canton: 1848.

Harker, Henry Robert

Updated October 13, 2014

Henry Robert Harker, merchant, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong from 1843 to 1846. He was a partner in the mercantile firm, W.&T. Gemmell & Co. He was a Justice of the Peace (non-official) in 1843^[1].

[1] He was one of the first 44 Justices of Peace ever to be appointed in Hong Kong. Their appointments were announced by Henry Pottinger on the fifth day after he had sworn in as the first Colonial Governor. The date was June 30 ,1843.

Selected Bibliography: Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850.

Heyl, W.S.

Updated October 4, 2014

W.S. Heyl, merchant, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong from 1846 to 1848. He was a name partner in the mercantile firm and auction house, Drinker & Heyl, in 1846. Queen's Road was listed as his address in 1846.

Selected Bibliography: Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850. Williams, Samuel Wells (Ed.), Chinese Repository, Vol. 17, January to December, 1848. Canton: 1848.

Harrison, G.E.

Updated October 10, 2014

G.E. Harrison, civil servant, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong from 1846 to 1848. He worked for the Surveyor General's Office as a clerk between 1846 and 1848. He, together with Charles May, were the Joint Assessors and Collectors of Police Rate in 1848.

Selected Bibliography: Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850. Williams, Samuel Wells (Ed.), Chinese Repository, Vol. 17, January to December, 1848. Canton: 1848.

Hirschberg, H.J.

Updated September 17, 2014

H.J. Hirschberg, surgeon, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong in 1850. He was a medical missionary who belonged to the Hong Kong Station of the London Missionary Society in 1850. He was one of the three coadjutors of the Union Church in 1850. He was the Recording Secretary of  the Medical Missionary Society 中國博醫會 in 1850.

Selected Bibliography: Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850.

Hoe Chin-seen 何進善

Updated September 17, 2014

Hoe Chin-seen. Credit: 何福堂書院.

Hoe Chin-seen 何進善, school teacher, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong in 1850. He was the preceptor of the Theological Seminary of the London Missionary Society 倫敦會中國神學院 in 1850. He was the Chinese Minister of the Hong Kong Station of the London Missionary Society in 1850.

Variant Names: Ho Tsun-shin 何進善, Ho Fuk-tong 何福堂, Ho Yun-yeung 何潤養.

Selected Bibliography: Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846, 1848 and 1850.

temp.notes:

When Ho Tsun-shin 何進善 (alias Ho Fuk-tong 何福堂, Ho Yun-yeung 何潤養) was ordained a London Missionary Society [1] priest in 1864, he knew he had just become the first Chinese Protestant minister in Hong Kong [2]; what he didn’t know was that his name would one day be placed atop (on the Chinese side) a family tree, one that depicts the origin and the early evolution of the Chinese medical community in Hong Kong.

[1] (LMS) 倫敦宣道會

[2] Ho was the second ordained minister in China after Liang Fa 梁發 (b.1789-d.1855) who was ordained by Robert Morrison of LMS in 1823. Ho and Liang were colleagues at the Anglo-Chinese College printing press in Malacca; both of them were woodblock cutters

Son of a second generation immigrant worker in Malacca, the Rev. Ho Fuk-tong was born in Xiqiaoshan, Nanhai, Guangdong 廣東省南海縣西樵山 in 1817. In his teens, Ho was sent to Malacca to join his father and grandfather who worked at the Anglo-Chinese College, later to be known as the Yang Wah College 英華書院, both as woodblock cutters (one who carves woodblocks for use in printing) in the school printing press.When Ho turned twenty years of age, he was admitted to the College, which was established and run by LMS for the purpose to scout bright ethnic Chinese as missionary candidates and prepare them for evangelistic works. Ho was baptized the following year. Always an eager and quick learner, Ho was well liked by the school headmaster Scottish missionary James Legge 理雅各 (b.1815-d.1897) who went on to teach Ho theology and the languages of Hebrew and Greek. At times, Ho would assist Legge in teaching as well as preaching at the College. Following the British occupation of Hong Kong in 1841, the College was moved from Malacca to Hong Kong in 1843. Ho moved with Legge and there he continued to study theology while working for the college and preaching. In 1864, he was ordained and in stages was put in charge of the Union Church 香港愉寧堂 [3]. Meanwhile, the Rev. Ho traveled quite extensively to Guangzhou (Canton), Dongguan and Foshan doing missionary work and building new churches. Ho narrowly escaped death when an anti-Christianity riot broke out in front of the new LMS church in Foshan on the very day it was scheduled to open in 1870. Survived but a broken man – both physically as he was quite badly beaten and mentally, he suffered a stroke upon arriving back in Hong Kong and died on February 15, 1871 in Guongzhou, at the age of 53.

[3] Established by the Rev. Legge in 1844, the church was physically situated on Hollywood Road and was opened in 1845. The church was moved to its present address at  No. 22A, Kennedy Road in 1889 and is known today as the Union Church Hong Kong 香港佑寧堂

The Rev. Ho’s was not only a fast leaner when coming to gospel and ancient languages, evidently, in wealth management as well. He started buying and selling properties as early as in 1846 – three years after he landed in Hong Kong, at which time he purchased a lot in the Lower Bazaar [4], for HK$150. Two years later, he included money lending in his earthly extracurricular activities. In such first transaction he lent HK$400 on a security of a Lower Bazaar lot charging an interest of five per cent per month. His business appetite, which grew as successful deals replicated themselves, reached yet another benchmark when in 1862 – two years before he was ordained - he paid LMS a sum of HK$26,325 for a portion of the Society's original properties. By then, his business dealings went beyond Hong Kong and became well-rooted in his native county of Nanhai. When he died in 1871, his estate was sworn at over HK$100,000, which amounted to about a quarter of the annual profit of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation for the same year. This wealth afforded his children a good education and further enabled them to move in the right circle in the society.

[4] area in present day Sheung Wan around Jervois Street 蘇杭街 (previously 乍畏街) and Bonham Strand 文咸街

Ho Fuk-tong had five sons and six daughters.

The sons were:
Shan-chee 神賜 - died in Ho's native village in 1890
Shan-tim 神添 - Hong Kong Government interpreter (1873-1875); independent real estate broker (1875); became a big-time speculator (1881); went bankrupt when the property market collapse and moved to Guangzhou; returned to Hong Kong where he died in c.1907
Shan-po 神保 - alias Wyson Ho 何衛臣; read law and was called to the bar in the U.K.; admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong (August 23, 1887) and became Hong Kong’s first Chinese solicitor; died in 1891
Shan-kai 神啟 – alias Ho Kai 何啟
Shan-yau 神佑 - worked for Wyson as an article clerk; accompanied his brother-in-law Ng Choy 伍才, alias Wu Tingfang 伍廷芳, to the U.S. - Ng was the Qing Minister (head of the legation) to U.S.; appointed Qing Consul-General in San Francisco (1900)

No information was found on the daughter’s of the Rev. Ho, except Ho Miu-ling 何妙齡 who married Ng Choy, and after whom the Ho Miu Lin Hospital was named. Another daughter, name unknown, married Dr. Kuan Huang 黃寬 who was the first Chinese to have studied abroad and qualified as a physician

Hyland, Thomas

Updated August 20, 2014

Thomas Hyland, civil servant, was listed as a resident of Hong Kong from 1846 to 1850. He was Hong Kong's Postmaster between 1846 and 1850.

On June 2 1847, Hyland, in his capacity as the Postmaster, sued Captain Thomas Larkins, proprietor of the steamer Corsair for £5,200 as a fine for Larkins' carrying letters not exempted from the exclusive privileges of the Postmaster for one year between Hong Kong and Canton. The claimant won the case but the awarded fine was for only £100.

Selected Bibliography: Dennys, Nicholas Belfield, King; Charles and Mayers, William Fred. (Ed.), The Treaty Ports of China and Japan: a complete Guide to the Open Ports of those Countries, together with Peking, Yedo, Hongkong and Macao, Hong Kong: A. Shortrede & Co., 1867. Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846,1848 and 1850.

Ho Wai

Updated August 16, 2014

Research in progress.

Selected Bibliography: Tarrent, William, The Hong Kong Almanack and Directory for the Year 1846, 1848, 1850, Hong Kong: China Mail, resp. 1846,1848 and 1850.