John Buttery (1830 – 29 November 1912) was a merchant operating in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Malacca and Singapore. He was, at the time of his death, the senior partner of Sandilands, Buttery & Co. (Penang and Singapore), and John Buttery & Co. (London, transferred from Glasgow in 1875).
It is uncertain exactly when John Buttery arrived in Straits Settlements or when he left, but his coming may have had to do with Walter Scott Lorrain, whose signature he (or his father) stood witness for, in Glasgow, when Lorrain gave notice of withdrawing from his partnership in Brown & Co., Penang, on 6 November 1847.The London Gazette, Issue 20793. 16 November 1847: 4108. Print: "[Extract from the Edinburgh Gazette of November 9, 1847.] Glasgow, November 6, 1847. The undersigned hereby intimates, that, from and after the 31st December 1845, his interest and responsibility ceased in the firm of Messrs. Brown and Co. Penang. W. S. Lorrain. James Stephen, Witness. John Buttery, Witness."It is possible that the Lorrain had left the colony for some time, and not hearing anything from him for months, Brown decided to terminate their relationship; The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1835–1869) 7 May 1846: 1: "Notice. The Interest and responsibility of Mr. Walter Scott Lorrain inour Firm ceased on 31st December, 1845. Brown & Co. Pinang, 24th March, 1846."
James Scott and David Brown, 1800–1808 Brown & Co. was established by David Brown, a qualified lawyer from Longformacus (Berwickshire, Scotland) who, when he arrived in Penang in 1800, helped sort out the financial problems plaguing the spice business of James Scott, Francis Light's former partner, who had overextended himself. And while Brown managed to extricate Scott from his situation, it wasn't long before Scott overextended himself again. Scott died a bankrupt in 1808 and Brown acquired much of Scott's property and set himself up as a planter. Brown died in 1825.Denham, James. Village Kirks of the Borders of Scotland. Scotland: J. Denham, 2011: 154. PrintGale, Bruce. 1837, Tales of Pioneer Traders in the East. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Chamber, 1989: 42. Print.
Walter Scott Lorrain, 1834–1836 In 1834 Walter Scott Lorrain was in the employ of Douglas, Mackenzie & Co. of Singapore, as manager. He applied for land at Sandy Point to form docks, soon after someone else had applied for land at 'Blakan Mati,' for the same purpose. Later, he joined Brown & Co., Penang, as partner.Buckley, Charles Burton. An Anecdotal History of Old times in Singapore: From the Foundation of the Settlement ... 1819 to the Transfer of the Colonial Office ... 1867. Vol. I (1). Singapore: Fraser & Neave, 1902: 240 Print. At the end of 1836, together with James Stephen, he served, in Singapore, as attorney to Elizabeth Poynton, the administratrix to the estate of John Poynton (deceased).Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register 24 December 1836: 1. Print.
John Buttery's Origins, 1829–1852 John Buttery was born either in 1829, as suggested by the notice published at the time of his death,"Death." The Straits Times [Singapore] 2 December 1912: 8. Print: "Buttery – On November 29, John Buttery, of John Buttery & Co., London, and Sandilands, Buttery & Co., Penang and Singapore, age 83. By cable."; "Domestic Occurrences. DEATH." The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884–1942) 2 December 1912: 6. Print: "John Buttery of John Buttery & Co., London and Sandilands, Buttery & Co., Penang and Singapore on the 29th November, age 83. By cable."; The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884–1942) 24 December 1912: 1. Print: The "L. and C. Express" says: "We much regret to report the death of Mr. John Buttery, senior partner of the firm of John Buttery and Co., London, and of Sandilands, Buttery and Co., of Penang and Singapore. Mr. Buttery, who had been in his usual good health up to yesterday, passed away quietly from heart failure at 3 a.m. this morning (Nov. 29th)." or 1831, according to the research of Mackintosh Architecture (Univ. of Glasgow)."Hall-Brown, Buttery & Co." Mackintosh Architecture: Biography. The Hunterian, University of Glasgow, n.d. Web. 11 April 2015. <http://www.mackintosh-architecture.gla.ac.uk/catalogue/name/?nid=HalBrBut> He was the son of John Buttery Sr. (c1766–1842) who, together with his brother A.W. (c1815–1877), successively owned the Monkland Iron and Steel Company. His father-in-law was Alexander Kay of Cornhill house, Biggar. If it was John Buttery Jr. who witnessed Lorrain's signature, and not John Buttery Sr., this would have meant he would have been either 18 years or 15 years of age at the time he witnessed the signature. If it was, indeed the same Buttery who would go on to join Lorrain as a partner in Lorrain-Sandilands later on, then it is more likely for him to have been born in 1829 rather than 1831. These dates and sequence of events also suggest his arrival at the Straits Settlements would have been after, rather than before, 1847, and it is possible that Lorrain, then well established in business after his experiences at Douglas, Mackenzie & Co. of Singapore, and Brown & Co. of Penang, sent for Buttery to join him at Lorrain-Sandilands. There is an entry in Allen's Indian Mail, showing that a J. Buttery, together with a "Dr. Lorain" (possibly a typographical error for what might have been "Mr. Lorrain") departed Southampton for Penang on 20 February 1852."Shipping. Passengers Departed." Allen's Indian Mail, and Register of Intelligence for British & Foreign India, China, & All Parts of the East Vol. X.-No. 192. [London] 9 March 1852: 147. Print.
Grand Jury, Penang, 1853 According to an entry in The Straits Times, Buttery was a member of the Grand Jury in 1853. Under the foremanship of Stuart Herriot, he served alongside other prominent members of Penang like John Rodyk, Henry Smith, George Combe, Alexander Ramsay Clarke, Andrew Creem James MacLaine Fraser, Samuel Nicholson Greene, William Charles Spencer Padday, Charles Stevens, William Taylor, Charles Le Bouche De Lisle, James Lamb, Michel Jules Moniot, George Scott, Alexander Stuart Brown, Thomas Ferrao, Duncan Clerk Presgrave, Walter Scott, and George Evans Lidiard Dawson. Together, they considered cases placed before them from the island and Province Wellesley."Pinang" The Straits Times [Singapore] 25 October 1853: 5. Print.
Expansion to Singapore, 1856–1858 By 1856 Lorraine, Sandilands & Co. was transacting business in Singapore. In 1858, John Buttery was in charge of Singapore, Sandilands was in charge of Penang and Lorrain was in Glasgow.Buckley, Charles Burton. An Anecdotal History of Old times in Singapore: From the Foundation of the Settlement ... 1819 to the Transfer of the Colonial Office ... 1867 Vol II (2). Singapore: Fraser & Neave, 1902: 672. Print: "In this year the firm of Busing, Schroder & Co. commenced business; also Lorrain Sandilands & Co. in which the partners were G. M. Sandilands in Penang, and John Buttery in Singapore. Mr. Walter Scott Lorrain was in Glasgow."Chia, Joshua Yeong-Jia, and Fook-Weng Chan. "Sandilands Buttery and Co. Ltd." Singapore¡Infopedia: An Electronic Encyclopedia on Singapore's History, Culture, People and Events. National Library Board (Singapore), 2007. Web. 11 April 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Feresources.nlb.gov.sg%2Finfopedia%2Farticles%2FSIP_1252_2007-12-24.html>. References Buckley, C. B. (1984). An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore 1819–1867 (p. 672). Singapore: Oxford University Press; Singapore International Chamber of Commerce. (1979). From early days (pp. 90–91). Singapore: The Chamber; and Wright, Arnold. (1908). Twentieth century impressions of British Malaya : Its history, people, commerce, industries, and resources (pp. 793–794) [Microflim no.: NL2645]. London : Lloyd's Greater Britain Pub: According to this, Sandilands, Buttery and Company Limited can trace its origins to the earliest trading operations in British Malaya, Lorrain-Sandilands, the first firm of British traders, established in Penang by Francis Currie Lorrain and George MacFarlane Sandilands in the 1830s. They began business in Singapore in 1856 but it was only in 1859 that a branch was established there in Malacca Street. Lorrain-Sandilands was renamed Sandilands and Company in 1862 and, in 1863, changed its name to Sandilands-Buttery following the admittance of John Buttery. Buttery is likely to have been 29 at the time. The entry in Allens Indian Mail (1852), The Straits Times (1853), coupled with the subsequent geographic expansion of Lorrain, Sandilands & Co.'s sphere of business operations, and the plans that Lorrain had for himself, together, suggest that Lorrain had, indeed, brought Buttery over in 1852. Buttery is recorded as having departed the Straits Settlements for Europe towards the end of 1859.The Straits Times [Singapore] 8 October 1859: 2. Print: He was listed as a passenger departing Singapore on 7 October for Marseilles.
Departure of Walter Scott Lorrain, 1863