Jonathan Rigg (bef. 1809 - abt. 1871)

Born before 13 Apr 1809 in Patrick Brompton, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Died about 1 Feb 1871 after about age 61 in Jasinga, Java, Dutch East Indies

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Biography

Jonathan was christened on the 13 April 1809 at Patrick Brompton, Yorkshire.^[1] He was the son of Hugh Rigg and Maria Addison.

He owned a tea plantation in Java, called Jasinga. This previously belonged to his great uncle, Robert Addison.^[2] It is uncertain how Jonathan came to own the plantation as Robert Addison was still alive in 1852, the year given for Jonathan's takeover of the plantation, although an entry in Campbell (1915) lists 1853 as the year Jonathon took control of the plantation.^[3] In all likelihood Jonathan took over ownership as an early claim on his inheritance from his great uncle who in 1853 was in his late 70s and had retired to England. Robert Addison passed away in 1862 leaving land and property (and possibly money) to Jonathan's siblings, most notably Jonathan's younger brother, Lt. Col. Hugh Rigg to whom he left Crossrigg, farmlands and a house called Crossrigg Hall, near Bolton in Westmorland.

An unattributed copy of a journal articles includes a footnote which names Jonathan as a "joint owner" of Jasinga and states that Jonathan's daughter, Emma, took over ownership of the plantation following his death on the 1 February 1871.^[4]

Jonathan was in Java and working on his uncle's plantation as early as 1838, prior to taking on full ownership in 1852/53. He authored several papers, including, Tiger Fight at Solo, recounting the story of an organised tiger fight he witnessed at Solo (modern Surakarta), the home of the Javanese rulers. The tiger's involved belonged to the Emperor; Gunung Danka, or A Paradise on Earth, a tale of superstition; and Grand Exhibition of Batavia in 1853, a report on the Batavia exhibition at Hyde Park in London, published in The Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia.^[5][6] The second paper has been omitted from the online copy of the journal.

He also published a book, Sketch of the Geology of Jasinga in 1838.^[7]

No record of marriage for Jonathan can be found. His name appears in a census taken in 1841 at his parent's home in Patrick Brompton when he was 32 years old and includes his then 7 year old daughter, Emma but no mention of a spouse's name. The birth of a son on the 6th April 1848, also named Jonathan is recorded, along with his premature death on the 16th June 1855 in the Genealogische en heraldische gedenkwaardigheden betreffende op Java^{[8] [9]}

A second census record, for 1861, has Jonathan residing in Crosby Ravensworth, Westmorland and records his occupation as a "farmer of 80 acres".^[10]

In 1862 Jonathan published the first English - Sunda dictionary, A Dictionary of the Sunda Language of Java which is still available in print at the time of writing.^[11]. The publishing of this dictionary by an Englishman, rather than a Dutchman, is on a par in terms of importance to British hegemony in the region with the influences of Sir Stamford Raffles and John Crawfurd.^[12]

In 1864 Jonathan funded, in part, the restoration of the Church of St Patrick in Patrick Brompton, where his father was Rector. After spending time in England, he then returned to Java where he later passed away.^[13]

He passed away in Jasinga Java, Dutch East Indies, 1 February 1871.^[14]

Sources

1. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NL62-MMX : 20 March 2020), Jonathan Rigg, 1809.
2. ↑ Java, Past and Present: a description of the most beautiful country in the world, its ancient history, people, antiquities, and products, D.M. Campbell, 1915. p. 650.[1]
3. ↑ Campbell, D.M. Java : past and present : a description of the most beautiful country in the world, its ancient history, people, antiquities, and products, p.650. [2]
4. ↑ Unattributed Journal Article (www.familyvanmottmen.nl).[3]
5. ↑ The Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, vol IV, 1850. p75 & p.119.[4]
6. ↑ The Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, vol VII, 1853. p.261.[5]
7. ↑ [6]
8. ↑ Bloys van Treslong Prins, P.C. Vol 1 (1934: 186) cited in "BIOGRAPHY OF JONATHAN RIGG 1809-1871 #3: Merchant in Surabaya". Kernia, A. 2023 (article in Indonesian) [7]
9. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1841," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQ5C-59K : 23 May 2019), Jonathan Rigg in household of Hugh Rigg, Patrick Brompton, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1841 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
10. ↑ Ancestry.com. 1861 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1861. Data imaged from The National Archives, London, England. [8]
11. ↑ A Dictionary of the Sunda Language of Java (1862). Rigg, J.[9]
12. ↑ Mariyama, M. Discovering the 'Language' and the 'Literature' of West Java: An Introduction to the Formation of Sundanese Writing in 19th Century West Java, Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 34, No.1, June 1996.[10]
13. ↑ GenUKI.org.uk (https://genuki.org.uk). PATRICK BROMPTON: Geographical and Historical information from the year 1890.[11]
14. ↑ see ref. 3