Francis James Templer (6 June 1791 - 22 October 1854) was a British civil servant, who served as the ninth

Treasurer of Ceylon The Financial Secretary of Ceylon was an officer of the Ceylonese Government and member of the Board of Ministers. The Treasurer of Ceylon was one of six offices that held a seat in the Executive Council of Ceylon from 1809 to 1932. The post wa ...

from 1 November 1843 to October 1854. He was a member of the 3rd executive council of

British Ceylon British Ceylon ( si, බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය ලංකාව, Britānya Laṃkāva; ta, பிரித்தானிய இலங்கை, Biritthāṉiya Ilaṅkai) was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between ...

, the Campbell executive council.

Early life

Francis James Templer was born in 6 June 1792 at Stover House in

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its 2011 population of 24,029 was estimated to reach 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in the Victorian era as the home of the Sou ...

Devon, England Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon i ...

, the youngest son of James Templer (1748 - 1813) and Mary née Buller (1749–1829), third daughter of James Buller (1717–1765). He studied at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the tim ...

, Devon from 1801 to 1804.

Civil service career

Templer entered the

Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of the ...

in 1817. He arrived, with his wife Eleanor and family, in Colombo on 13 November 1817, aboard the ''Alexander''. He served as the provincial judge in Calpentyn, the government agent in

Ratnapura Ratnapura (; ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located ...

, the sitting magistrate in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

, the collector of

Chilaw Chilaw ( si, හලාවත, translit=Halāvata, ta, சிலாபம், translit=Cilāpam) is a large town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by an urban council. The town is located 80 kilometres away f ...

(1827-1833), the collector and government agent of Colombo (1833-1843), and the

fiscal Fiscal usually refers to government finance. In this context, it may refer to: Economics * Fiscal policy, use of government expenditure to influence economic development * Fiscal policy debate * Fiscal adjustment, a reduction in the government ...

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

(1845). Templer was appointed Treasurer of Ceylon, Deputy Paymaster General to the Queen's Troops and Commissioner of Stamps, by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Colin Campbell Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

, on 1 November 1843 and died in office in October 1854. Whilst he was serving as the collector of Chilaw, Templer was responsible for establishing the Anglican Church in Chilaw, St. James' Church. The community honoured his contribution by naming the church after him.

Family

Templar married Eleanor Williams (1796 - 1877), the daughter of Anna Maria and Henry Williams, at the

Church of King Charles the Martyr Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

on 16 April 1816 at

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; kw, Aberfala) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,797 (2011 census). Etymology The name Falmouth is of English or ...

. They had six children, three daughters and three sons: * Katherine Mary (1817 - 1866) married

Philip Edmond Wodehouse Sir Philip Edmond Wodehouse (27 February 1811 – 25 October 1887) was a British colonial administrator. Biography Wodehouse was the eldest child of Edmond Wodehouse and his wife and first cousin Lucy Wodehouse. His paternal grandfather Tho ...

in 1833, who later served as

Governor of the Cape Colony This article lists the governors of British South African colonies, including the colonial prime ministers. It encompasses the period from 1797 to 1910, when present-day South Africa was divided into four British colonies namely: Cape Colony (p ...

and British

High Commissioner for Southern Africa The British office of high commissioner for Southern Africa was responsible for governing British possessions in Southern Africa, latterly the protectorates of Basutoland (now Lesotho), the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana) and Swaziland ...

; * Francis Buller (1819 - 1903) who served in the Ceylon Civil Service and as a lieutenant in the

Ceylon Rifle Regiment The Ceylon Rifle Regiment (CRR) was a regular native regiment formed by the British in Ceylon. Its history goes back to 1795. The nucleus of the Regiment was two companies of Malays recruited from among prisoners at St Helena. In 1795 there were ...

; * James Berkley (1820 - 1822) * Ellen Maria (1821 - 1822); * Anne Henrietta Maria (1823 - 1907) married

Arthur William Buller Sir Arthur William Buller (5 September 1808 – 30 April 1869) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament, who in his early career served as head of a commission of inquiry int ...

in 1842, who served as

Queen's Advocate of Ceylon The Attorney General of Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan government's chief law, legal adviser, and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The Attorney General is usually a highly respected Senior Advocate, and is appointed by the rulin ...

and as a British

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

; * Henry Dawson Skinner (1826 - 1832) He died on 22 October 1854 at the age of 63 in

Brighton, Sussex Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, England.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Templer, Francis James People from Newton Abbot 1791 births 1854 deaths People educated at Blundell's School British civil servants in Ceylon Government Agents (Sri Lanka) People from British Ceylon Treasurers of Ceylon