George Thomas Braine was the older brother of Charles Joseph Braine (1814-1890), better known as C.J. Braine in old Hong Kong records. He was my great, great grandfather. C.J. Braine came to Hong Kong around 1841 from Canton, where he had worked for Dent & Co. He appears in records as a partner of Dent's, a JP, and a member of the Asiatic Society. C.J. owned Green Bank (where Lan Kwai Fong is now) which is richly described in Robert Fortune's A Journey to the Tea Countries of China (1852). C.J. married Eudora Marriott and had 10 children. At least two were born in Hong Kong in 1848 and 1849. Their first child, Eudora, was born in Madras in 1846, so the Braines may have spent some time there before coming to China.
C.J. appears to have left Hong Kong for the UK around 1850, when he buys a house in Devon. By 1862, he appears in Ceylon, as the manager of Ceylon Co. Later, he is recorded as a coffee and tea planter, owning a plantataion named Abbotsleigh, about 1000 acres in extent. His children, grandchilden, and great grandcildren in Ceylon became tea, rubber, and coconut planters.
C.J. was passionate about ferns, and one, Brainea, is named after him.
George Thomas and Charles Joseph were in Hong Kong at the same time, were partner's of Dent & Co, were JPs, but not sure how well they got along.
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