Frederick Henry de Vos (14 September 1857 – 23 July 1920) was a Ceylonese legal practitioner, genealogist and historian. He was fluent in Dutch, English, French and Flemish and published a number of papers relating to the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie) involvement in Ceylon.
Frederick Henry de Vos | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 September 1857 Galle, Ceylon |
| Died | 23 July 1920 (aged 62) Galle, Ceylon |
| Occupation(s) | lawyer, genealogist, historian |
Frederick Henry de Vos was born in Galle on 14 September 1857, the oldest son of sixteen children, to Frederick William de Vos (1829-1883), a proctor of the Supreme Court of Ceylon, and his second wife, Henrietta Dorothea née Anthonisz (1832-1909), the younger sister of Peter Daniel Anthonisz.[1][2]
De Vos studied as an undergraduate at St John's College, Cambridge,[3] before enrolling as a student of the Inner Temple on 21 November 1878 (at the age of 21), he was called to the bar on 17 November 1881.[4][5] Upon his return to Ceylon he was appointed an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Ceylon and as a Justice of the Peace.[6] In April 1903 he was appointed as acting District Judge, Additional Commissioner of Requests and a Visitor of the Prison at Galle.[7]
He served with the Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers, and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1891,[8] and then Captain.[1]
De Vos was a member of the Society of Dutch Literature, and served as the third president of the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon in 1912.[9][10] He had a fluent knowledge of Dutch and Dutch history, translating and putting together many genealogies of the families of the Dutch Burgher Union.[11] His translation of the Beknopte Historie for the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society is potentially the largest complete work which he authored.[12]
He died in Galle on 23 July 1920, at the age of 62, and is buried at the Galle Dutch Reformed Church.[13][14]
Bibliography
edit- de Vos, F. H. (1898). Monumental Remains of the Dutch East India Company in Ceylon.
- de Vos, F. H. (1903). Three Funerals of Ceylon Dutch Officials in the 18th Century.
- de Vos, F. H. (1919). Ceylon and the Hollanders, 1658-1796.
References
edit- ^ a b Roberts, Norah (1993). Galle as Quiet as Asleep. N. Roberts. p. 81. ISBN 9789559557906.
- ^ "De Rozarios - Members of Family Tree". De Rozario.com. 18 October 2009. Archived from the original on 17 October 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ University of Cambridge (1944). Venn, John Archibald (ed.). Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. University Press. p. 287.
- ^ Foster, Joseph (1885). Men-at-the-bar: a Biographical Hand-list of the Members of the Various Inns of Court: Including Her Majesty's Judges. Reeves and Turner. p. 483.
- ^ "The Law Students' Journal". 3–4. G. Barber. 1881: 174.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ The Law List : being a list of the judges and officers of the different courts of justice; counsel, special pleaders, draftsmen, conveyancers, attorneys, notaries, &c., in England and Wales. London: Stevens and Sons Limited. 1907.
- ^ "Ceylon Government Gazette" (PDF). Government Printer, Ceylon. 28 March 1903. p. 345. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ "Ceylon Light Infantry". International Ceylon Database. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ "Past Presidents". thedutchburgherunion.org. Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ "Genealogy". Genealogy. 18 December 2000. Archived from the original on 18 December 2000. Retrieved 19 September 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Flores, Jorge Manuel, ed. (2007). Re-exploring the Links: History and Constructed Histories Between Portugal and Sri Lanka. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 332. ISBN 9783447054904.
- ^ "Journal of the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon". Thumb Nail Sketches of Our Presidents. XLVIII. Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon: 11. 1958.
- ^ Lewis, John Perry. "List of inscriptions on tombstones and monuments in Ceylon, of historical or local interest, with an obituary of persons uncommemorated". Dalcassian Publishing Company. p. 191. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ "Social and Personal". The Straits Times. 3 August 1920. p. 8. Retrieved 12 November 2022.