William Thomas Mercer
Encyclopedia
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
colonial administrator who served as the Colonial Treasurer
Financial Secretary (Hong Kong)
Financial Secretary , often abbreviated as FS, is a position of the Government of Hong Kong. The FS assists the Chief Executive in supervising the policy bureaux as directed by the CE, mostly finance and economy-related, and plays a key role in ensuring harmonisation in policy formulation and...
(1845-1854), Auditor General
Director of Audit (Hong Kong)
The role of the Director of Audit is to ensure the financial order of the Hong Kong Government and heads the Audit Commission. This role is similar to that of Auditors General or auditors in other jurisdictions...
(1854-1858), Colonial Secretary
Chief Secretary for Administration
The Chief Secretary for Administration , commonly known as Chief Secretary and abbreviated as CS, is the second highest position of the Hong Kong Government...
(1854-1868), and Administrator, between 15 March 1865 to 11 March 1866. He was succeeded by Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell
Richard Graves MacDonnell
Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell KCMG CB was an Anglo-Irish lawyer, judge and colonial governor...
, who became the 6th Governor of Hong Kong
Governor of Hong Kong
The Governor of Hong Kong was the head of the government of Hong Kong during British rule from 1843 to 1997. The governor's roles were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions...
.
Mercer married Mary Phillips Nind September 1862. Mary was born in Hargrave, Berkshire c 1836.
Mercer, arrived in Hong Kong in 1844 as Private Secretary to
his uncle, Sir John Davis. Mercer is the nephew
Nephew
Nephew is a son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, and niece is a daughter of one's sibling or a sibling-in-law. Sons and daughters of siblings-in-law are also informally referred to as nephews and nieces respectively, even though there is no blood relation...
of John Francis Davis
John Francis Davis
Sir John Francis Davis, 1st Baronet KCB was a British diplomat, Sinologist, and the 2nd Governor of Hong Kong. He was the son of Samuel Davis and nephew to William Thomas Mercer .-Early career:John Davis was appointed writer in East India Company's factory at Canton in 1813...
, the second Governor of Hong Kong (1844 - 1848).
Mercer became Colonial Secretary on 29 November 1854 and remained thereafter the chief executive officer of the Colony until retirement on pension in 1867.
In 1869 Mercer published the book "Under the Peak; or, Jottings in Verse".
lengthened residence in the Colony of Hong Kong