User:Nltdemel/sandbox/Jacob De Mel

Jacob De Mel (1839-1919)

Introduction to Jacob Early Years:

The De Mel family has an old and respectable lineage that can be traced back to the year 1534. Records indicate that the family held high positions in the Kotte kingdom under King Prakrama Bahu VI. The Karava family later moved from the King’s court and settled in maritime areas of the island.[1]

V. Jacob De Mel was born in 1839 in the coastal town of Moratuwa. He was the son of Francisco De Mel (1809-1896) and Leonora Peiris (1811-1886).[2]

Schooling:

He was educated at S. Thomas’ College and Royal College Colombo.[3]

Career:

Jacob De Mel began his career as a Notary Public and subsequently became a prominent businessman by becoming the proprietor of the Ragedera mines in the Kurunegala District. A pioneer plumbago mine owner, industrialist and coconut planter, his business model was studied by many including students from the Colombo University.

Owning and managing coconut, cinnamon, and tea estates, of an aggregate area of about 5,000 acres, large fibre mills at Madampe, in the Chilaw, Puttlam district, and flourishing commercial undertakings in Colombo, the activities of the late Mr. Jacob De Mel were many and varied.

The products from the coconut estates were converted to copra on the estates and transported via canals in his boats to Colombo. The logo “J.D.M” was renowned in the copra world.[4]

In 1870, he turned his attention to the great potentialities that lay in the development of Ceylon plumbago, and became a pioneer of that industry. It was he who discovered the rich Ragedera mine at Kurunegala, which was photographed by a representative of Nobel’s Explosives, and was the first mine in the East where explosives in mining for plumbago were utilised.

Mr. Jacob De Mel was one of the largest employers of Ceylon – he had nearly 3,000 men and women working in his mines; 2,500 on his estates and 500 at his various stores in Colombo.[5] He trained his own employees and some of his employees remained in employment for around 30 to 40 years.

His granddaughter, Rohini de Mel, states that he planted over 4,000 acres of coconut. He also owned fibre mills in Madampe and Chilaw. The family with other prominent Sinhala families was known as market leaders in coconut estates. He also invested in land in Cinnamon Gardens and his stores were at Lakeside and Alston Place, Hunupitiya.

H.L.De Mel & Company [Private] Limited was established in 1870 by Mr. Jacob De Mel, in order to manage his plantations, properties and other operations. The family company that Mr. Jacob De Mel pioneered was named after his son Sir Henry Lawson De Mel. His son, Sir Henry Lawson De Mel, took the family company to new heights. From the time of its inception, the company has been geared towards public service. Today, the fourth and fifth generation of De Mel’s is associated with the firm.[6] The company headquarters is located at De Mel Building, Chatham Street, Colombo 1, Sri Lanka. The building was built in 1921 is considered a heritage building by the Urban Development Authority.[7]

The Millawana Estate Company Limited was the 9TH registered company in Ceylon, which was started by Mr., Jacob De Mel, as a coconut plantation in Kurunegala. Currently, the Millawana Estate Company Limited is managed by H. L. De Mel & Company [Private] Limited.

When he retired his son, Sir Henry Lawson De Mel and his nephew Joseph Mathias De Mel continued managing the business.[8]

Family Life:

Jacob married Dona Helena Ferdinando (1850-1906), the daughter of Jeronis and Simona de Soysa, on 10 November, 1869 at Holy Emmanuel Church, Moratuwa. Dona Helena née Ferdinando was a cousin of Sir Charles Henry de Soysa. Her grandson, Deva Surya Sena said, “Our Grandma (nee Helena Ferdinando) had an astonishingly gold complexion. She was certainly handsome and aristocratic looking. Beautiful eyes and an expressive mouth were two noticeable features.”[9]

He had nine daughters and five sons;[10]


 * 1) Amelia Louise Grace De Mel     (1872-1946), who married Sir James Peiris (1856-1930), the first Asian     President of the Cambridge Union, who on his return was involved in the     civic and political sphere.

2) Richard Jacob De Mel (1871-1901)

3) Edwin De Mel, died as an infant (1876)

4) Sir Henry Lawson De Mel (1877-1936) married Elsie Jayewickreme (1881-1970), who was a daughter of a Sinhalese Chief holding office under the government.

5) Joslyn Laura Lydia De Mel (1879-1958) married Henry A. Peiris the original landowner on which Arpico and Hyde Park Residencies have been built now.

6) Fredrick Jacob De Mel married Cecilia Peiris

7) Georgiana Maude De Mel (1881-1966) married M. Charles Peiris (1860-1928) a well-known notary, landowner and philanthropist.

8) Helena Margaret De Mel (1882-1969) married Edmond Alexander Jayewickreme (First marriage). And George Francis Soysa (Second marriage) (1867-1924).

9) Beatrice Frances Catherine De Mel (1883-1951) married Charles Edward Arnold Dias (1878-1936), a prominent planter and philanthropist.

10) Clarise Hilda De Mel (1885-1971) married Joseph Stephen Rodrigo Geenewantene

11) Trisette Marian Clare De Mel (1886-1971) married Arthur Francis Rodrigo Goonewardene (1882-1964)

12) Victoria Alexandra Helena De Mel (1887-1963) married Wilfred Leopold Peter De Soysa (1886-1947)

13) Nellie Irene Isabel De Mel (1889-1978) married Arthur Reginald Henry Canekeratne (1886-1960)

14) Francis Benjamin De Mel (1893-1972) married Charlotte Catherine Marguerite Perera (1898-1968)

Charity and Awards:

Jacob De Mel was one of the largest doners of various charities around the country. He was on the committee of the Victoria Home for Incurables. He also made vast contributions to the Victoria Memorial Eye Hospital and endowed the “De Mel Ward” at the Lady Havelock hospital. He was also on the committee of the Horti-agricultural society.

Mr. Jacob De Mel and Mrs. Helena De Mel created the Trust named the “Jacob and Helena De Mel Trust” with the estates Panniyadiya and Palliyawatha Estates in Chilaw for charitable purposes. Currently, the Jacob and Helena De Mel Trust is managed by H. L. De Mel & Company [Private] Limited.

His firm earned various accolades around the globe – medals and diplomas for plumbago and cinnamon at the Indian & Colonial Exhibition, London 1880, World’s Columbia Exposition, Chicago 1897, Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1900 and St. Louis Exposition, USA, 1904.

Presently a 480-pound sample of Sri Lankan graphite from the Dematagolla pit of Jacob De Mel’s mine is on display at the American Museum of National History in New York. Joseph Dixon who popularised the modern lead pencil in USA arrived in Ceylon in 1838 to arrange exporting graphite from the H L De Mel & Co. graphite mines.

As an entrepreneur he rewarded those who served him by gifting a house and five acres of land for his senior management staff upon retirement. The stories passed by family members are of beggars lining up outside his house for a meal and his charity every Sunday. It was an era, which does not exist any longer, where entrepreneurship and charity went hand in hand without any thought of personal gain.

Legacy

His grandson Deva Surya Sena reminiscing said “he was a lovable old patriarch with a fine grey beard, his sparse hair combed back and tied in a small knot at the back. A curved tortoise shell comb like a crescent on his head in the fashion of the gentry of that time completed his “coiffure.” Wearing a tweed cloth and coat he drove a phaeton every Sunday to St Peter’s Church, Fort. He was a devout Christian and a true Sinhalese in his living and thinking.”[11]

H. L. De Mel & Company (Private) Ltd., established in 1870 by Jacob De Mel continues to render a public service and is carried on by the fourth and fifth generations.

“Villa de Mel” his home built in 1892 in Horton Place is now a listed heritage property.

The chapel at St. Michael’s & All Angels Church, Polwatta was built in memory of Jacob and Helena De Mel by their children.

A Trust created by Jacob and his wife Helena for certain coconut properties continues to be managed by H. L. De Mel & Company (Private) Ltd.

[1] Bulathsinghala, C.E.C. (27 August 1967). Sir H. L. De Mel Kt., CBE, JP. Weekend Newspaper.

[2] Edith M. G. Fernando (1989). Journey of a family (The Mahavidanelage De Mels). Stamford Press Singapore.

[3] Wright, Arnold, Ed (1907) Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon.

[4] Wright, Arnold, Ed (1907) Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon.

[5] Wright, Arnold, Ed (1907) Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon.

[6] H. L. De Mel & Company (Private) Limited (2017). A Decade of Giving: A Continuation of the Philanthropic Work Started by Mr. Jacob De Mel & Sir Henry Lawson De Mel.

[7] Urban Development Authority (1999). City of Colombo Development Plan. Ministry of Urban Development, Housing, & Construction.

[8] Edith M. G. Fernando (1989). Journey of a family (The Mahavidanelage De Mels). Stamford Press Singapore.

[9] Edith M. G. Fernando (1989). Journey of a family (The Mahavidanelage De Mels). Stamford Press Singapore.

[10]  Edith M. G. Fernando (1989). Journey of a family (The Mahavidanelagē De Mels). Stamford Press Singapore.

[11] Edith M. G. Fernando (1989). Journey of a family (The Mahavidanelage De Mels). Stamford Press Singapore.

New article name goes here new article content ...