This is a court document dated 20 December 1861 concerning the estate of the deceased Thomas Church and the petition of Elizabeth Church (his wife), Walter Stewart Mann (and his wife and children), Robert Church, Thomas Rofs Church (and his wife and children), Charles Wright Church, Malcom Kemp Bourne (and wife), and Edward Winder Church (child of Robert Church). It is part of a collection of legal documents from the 19th and early 20th centuries which provides a glimpse into the work of the notable personalities who left their mark on Singapore’s legal history, and the economic and other transactions undertaken by ordinary immigrants in 19th century Singapore that tell stories of misfortune and indebtedness which would otherwise have disappeared from history.
