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611:: "The descendent of German and French Catholic mercenaries, a Scots Presbyterian subaltern, and their secluded Indian wives, David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre (1808–1851) defied all classification in the North Indian principality where he grew up. He also lived as the adopted child of a Muslim courtesan, a woman who would transform herself into the wildly successful, Catholic ruler of a small, cosmopolitan kingdom....Accusations of spousal mistreatment led to Sombre's arrest and confinement. Termed a "chancery lunatic", he fled to France and spent years reclaiming his sanity and fortune. Sombre's efforts set new precedents for international and medical law....
376:; the marriage took place despite quarrels over his fiancée's social life and the religious affiliation of their future (and never born) children. He also got himself elected as MP for Sudbury in July 1841, but was deposed in April 1842 after allegations of bribery during his campaign. He accused his wife of adultery with various men, including her father, and his life turned for the worse when his wife had him certified insane and held under restraint, with the support and consent of his sisters Mrs Anna May Troup (1812–1867) and Baroness Georgiana Solaroli (1815–1867) and their husbands.
283:, his first wife. The boy, born in 1764, was initially named Zafar Yab Khan, and was raised more or less as a Muslim by his mother in a mixed household. However, he accepted Catholic baptism in 1781 at the age of 17, three years after the death of his Catholic father. Incidentally, his widowed stepmother, Begum Samru, also accepted Catholic baptism at the same time. Upon his baptism, the young man's name was changed to "Walter Balthazzar Reinhardt," or (according to a biography of his grandson) "Aloysius Balthazzar Reinhardt."
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David's attempts to have these wrongs rectified were unsuccessful, although compensation for the arms was eventually granted long after his death. He was embroiled in attempts by his father to grab his fortune. His personal life was marked by extravagant spending – gambling, womanising, and even the occasional pimping – to please
European friends and better-off Anglo-Indian friends such as
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allowance of £4,000 deducted for his wife. Meanwhile, he travelled from one end of Europe to the other. Finally, with a change of
Government, there seemed a chance of success. He returned to England with indemnity from arrest, but a few days before the case was due to be heard he died suddenly in excruciating agony from a septic foot on 1 July 1851.
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He was buried at once in an unmarked grave, which has not been touched since, yet his body was also returned to India to be buried in
Sardhana. His will, which provided for the establishment of a school in Sardhana, was contested by his estranged wife, whom he had disinherited, on the grounds that he
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Although educated by
Protestant missionaries, David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre was brought up as a Catholic. He added Sombre to his name on being formally nominated by the Begam as her sole heir and successor. She transferred to him her wealth, and the administration of her principality but her attempts
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In
September of that year, David escaped his guards and fled to France, where an attempt to have him extradited failed. Doctors all over Europe examined him and found he was perfectly sane, but his attempts to reverse the judgement were brushed aside. He managed to obtain part of his estate with an
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When the Begam died in 1836, the
British took possession of Sardhana, all the arms which she had brought from them to equip her army, as well as the lands of Badshapur, which were her private property. They also failed to honour undertakings to continue the many pensions paid from the revenue.
334:
Begum Samroo looked after David, who was brought up after his mother's death in 1820 as the Begum's son and heir, and was selected by Begum Samru to succeed to her vast estates. He thereupon added the surname "Sombre" to his existing names and came to be known as David
Ochterlony Dyce Sombre.
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Khan married Julia Anne (or
Juliana) Le Fevre (1770–1815), the daughter of a captain in Begum Samru's service. Julia Anna was also known as Juliana, as Madame Reybaud and as Bhai Begum. The couple had two children, a son, Aloysius Reinhardt, who died young and is buried in the Akbar Church in
330:. He had descendants and left them an enormous estate at his death. His castle was acquired in 1864 by the government. In the 1840s, he was styled Baron Paolo Solaroli, but was referred to by his sister-in-law, Anna Maria (Ochterlony) Troup, and her lawyers as Peter Solaroli.
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Georgiana (b. 2 September 1807; alternatively 1815–1867). She married an
Italian mercenary soldier named Paolo Solaroli (1796–1878) who was later to become a wealthy and high-ranking aristocrat. Born into a humble family from Novara,
326:, Paolo Solaroli joined the Sardinian army. He later became an officer and diplomat who was ennobled in the 1840s by Carlo Alberto of Sardinia, became Baron, by 1864, and was elevated to the title of Marchese di Briona in 1867 by
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in 1799. He was survived by his wife (who died in 1815) and their daughter, also named
Juliana (born 1787/1789 – died 1820), who in 1803 married George Alexander Dyce. Dyce was the illegitimate half-caste (i.e. mixed-race,
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Muslim by birth, converted in 1781 to the Catholic faith. A wealthy woman, she was left with no surviving children or grandchildren in her old age. Her husband had only one son by
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After a visit to China, David set out for England and the Grand Tour of Europe. He married on 26 September 1840 the Honourable Mary Anne Jervis, third daughter of the
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who lived for many years in India. Walter Reinhardt Sombre had two wives, both of whom were Indian Muslim women; the senior wife is known only as
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and became its MP in July 1841, but was removed from his seat in April 1842 after being found guilty of "gross, systematic and extensive
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on 8 November 1862. The former Mrs Dyce Sombre died childless in 1893, and her fortune presumably passed to the Weld-Forester family.
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was still insane. She won the case sometime around 1856. Later on, she also became known as Lady Forester, through her marriage to
624:
372:, his only daughter by his second wife, described as "accomplished singer, dancer, and composer" and also as an associate of the
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526:
Oxford DNB 18 December 2006 daily entry gives the daughters' names and dates as Anna May (1812–1867) and Georgiana (1815–1867)
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The Inordinately Strange Life of Dyce Sombre: Victorian Anglo Indian MP and Chancery "Lunatic" (Columbia/Hurst)
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304:). The couple had several children, of whom four are mentioned in subsequent papers and histories:
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List of Inscriptions on Christian Tombs and Tablets of Historical Interest in the United Provinces
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Mr. Dyce Sombre's Refutation of the Charge of Lunacy Brought Against Him in the Court of Chancery
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275:(c. 1753–1836). The name "Samru" is the local corruption of the name "Sombre", and Begum, a
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Counterflows to Colonialism: Indian Travellers and Settlers in Britain, 1600–1857
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politician reputed to be the first person of Indian descent to be elected to the
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Segura-Garcia, Teresa (2021). Fradera, Josep M.; Portillo, José María (eds.).
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to have him accepted by the British as ruler on her death were to no avail.
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291:, and a daughter, Julia Anne (or Juliana). Khan died due to the effects of
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300:) son of a Major General Dyce; he died in April 1838 and was buried at
623:. Mary Anne's status as a daughter by a second wife is obtained from
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Aristocrats in Bourgeois Italy: The Piedmontese Nobility, 1861–1930
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Anna Maria (b. 24 December 1813) married John Rose Troup, a former
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Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies
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Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Sudbury
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George Archibald (b. 1 August 1810, died within a year)
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David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre was the great-grandson of
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on 19 November 2009 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
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697:"WILL OF MR. DYCE SOMBRE. (Hansard, 14 March 1856)"
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219:(18 December 1808 – 1 July 1851), also known as
243:" during his campaign. He was named after the
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440:. London: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 167.
724:contributions in Parliament by David Sombre
415:. BiblioBazaar, LLC. 2009. pp. 17–18.
271:("senior lady"), while the second wife was
769:Constituency disfranchised for corruption
655:Pies, R; Fisher, MH; Haldipur, CV (2012).
593:. Columbia University Press. p. 384.
364:The Honourable Mary Anne Jervis, at age 18
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438:Unexpected Voices in Imperial Parliaments
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111:Learn how and when to remove this message
16:Anglo-Indian elected to the UK Parliament
391:George Weld-Forester, 3rd Baron Forester
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657:"The mysterious illness of dyce sombre"
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823:British people of Anglo-Indian descent
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566:Sombre, David Ochterlony Dyce (1849).
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308:David Ochterlony (b. 18 December 1808)
539:Cardoza, Anthony L. (8 August 2002).
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49:adding citations to reliable sources
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587:Fisher, Michael H. (15 May 2010).
528:archived version on a mailing list
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467:. Orient Blackswan. p. 318.
380:Escape, medical reports and death
235:. He stood as a candidate in the
733:Parliament of the United Kingdom
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640:. 16 March 2016. Archived from
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350:Sir Charles Metcalfe Ochterlony
164:July 1841 – April 1842
36:needs additional citations for
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60:"David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre"
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818:Politicians of Indian descent
576:– via Internet Archive.
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217:David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre
127:David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre
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461:Fisher, Michael H. (2006).
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763:Frederick Meynell Villiers
752:Member of Parliament for
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245:British Resident at Delhi
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606:more details from Amazon
572:. Dyce Sombre. p.
370:2nd Viscount St Vincent
261:Walter Reinhardt Sombre
237:constituency of Sudbury
833:British Indian history
493:www.sardhanachurch.org
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302:Fort William, Calcutta
255:Lineage and background
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328:Vittorio Emmanuele II
147:Member of Parliament
45:improve this article
793:Anglo-Indian people
661:Innov Clin Neurosci
620:Christopher Howse.
514:sardhanachurch.org
374:Duke of Wellington
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339:Religious position
316:East India Company
263:(c. 1725–1778), a
233:British Parliament
204:West End of London
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758:1841–1842
701:api.parliament.uk
600:978-0-231-70108-2
510:"Sardhana Church"
489:"Sardhana Church"
447:978-1-3501-9319-2
422:978-1-115-90721-7
265:mercenary soldier
225:David Dyce Sombre
221:D. O. Dyce Sombre
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38:verification
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813:1851 deaths
808:1808 births
722:1803–2005:
667:(3): 10–2.
273:Begum Samru
197:1 July 1851
101:August 2022
787:Categories
397:References
71:newspapers
638:"Opinion"
281:Badi Bibi
269:Badi Bibi
227:, was an
206:, England
160:In office
683:22567603
356:Marriage
324:Piedmont
277:Kashmiri
184:Sardhana
754:Sudbury
719:Hansard
674:3342989
318:general
293:cholera
241:bribery
152:Sudbury
85:scholar
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