History
At least two of Macvey Napier's sons lived in Singapore in its early days. David Skene Napier, 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.
In 1831, Napier arrived in Singapore and was appointed as Singapore's first law agent in 1833.[1] He was also one of the four founders of the Singapore Free Press on 1 October 1835, and edited that weekly newspaper until 1846, when he returned to the United Kingdom 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 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, 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.[2] 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.[3] Napier was also a legal adviser to Abu Bakar Ibni Al-Marhum from 1855 to 1857.