Mr. James Augustus St.John II—

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James Augustus St John II was born in Kentish Town on June 26th, and baptised on July 26th, 1829. The Colonial Office records relating to Labuan and Sarawak provided details of his appointment and passage to Borneo and also gave his London address which provided additional family information in the critical 1851 Census return. He sailed on a P & O liner to Singapore and thence by HMS Pluto to Sarawak. Once again, due to the influence of Lord Palmerston, he was appointed Surveyor-General and Superintendent of Convicts, with an initial salary of £300 plus £25 horse allowance. He also collected a miscellany of additional jobs, including magistrate, auditor, and Registrar of births, deaths and marriages, for which he received no extra pay It would seem that all this extra work led to problems, and there is a long correspondence about irregularities in the auditing of the accounts. He resigned in 1868 as a result, but he was reinstated shortly afterwards and appointed Revenue Collector and Surveyor and subsequently, Inspector of Public Works, Magistrate and Coroner. He resigned finally in 1872. Recently, information has come to light that Bishop McDougall persuaded him to marry the native lady by whom he had ‘numerous children’. (I have one of the baptismal certificates)

Jul 26, 1829, James Augustus II bapt, Old Church St Pancras.

The ‘Daily News” of Monday Dec 1, 1851 records in the ‘COURT”

Earl Grey has, we perceive, just appointed James St John, son of James Augustus St John, to be Surveyor-General to the colony of Lebuan, where his brother, Mr Spencer St.John already holds the high office of Her Britannic Majesty’s commission to the Sultan of Borneo, and the princes and independent chiefs of the Indian Archipelago.

Presumably he left home at this date?