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| James Ptolemy Thurburn R.N. | Explanation |
| |
| Date (from) | (Date to) | Personal |
| 21 December 1847 | | Married, in Buenos Ayres, Margaret, daughter of J. White of that city |
| |
| Date | Rank |
| 3 June 1831 | Entered Navy |
| 15 March 1841 | Lieutenant |
| 29 April 1851 | Commander |
| |
| Date from | Date to | Service |
| 16 September 1841 | | Lieutenant in Thalia, commanded by Charles Hope, East Indies and Pacific |
| 6 March 1846 | | Lieutenant in Harlequin, commanded by Douglas Curry, Mediterranean |
| 17 November 1846 | April 1850 | Lieutenant commander in Griffon (until paying off at Portsmouth), south-east coast of America |
| 24 March 1855 | | Commander in Madagascar, store ship, Rio de Janeiro |
| 30 October 1860 | | Coast Guard |
| 1 December 1860 | | Additional Commander in Cornwallis, commanded by George Grenville Randolph, for the Coast Guard in the Humber |
| 3 January 1866 | | Commander (2ic) in Wellesley, commanded by William Houston Stewart, guard ship of ordinary, Chatham |
| (7 April 1866) | | Commander in Barracouta |