Searching For My Roots Again

Last year the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) decided to clear Bukit Brown to make way for a highway and future housing development. Just a month before that I was told by a relative that Chew Joo Chiat first wife was buried there. So, it became my mission to find my great grandmother's grave. No relative alive today knows her name as well as her date of death. To search the whole of Bukit Brown Cemetery would be like looking for a pin in a hay stack. I searchd the NEA's registry of death but it was useless without the name and date death of the person. I tried a long shot by contacting the Goh brothers of Asia Paranormal Investigator (API),  Raymond and  Charles. I told them my problem to find my greatmother's grave. I was surprised by their prompt reply with a bonus thrown in, that was a photo of a tombstone.

                                                            Tombstone of Tan Quan Neo

On that Saturday I got my younger brother Hector to go with me to the cemetery. There we met the Goh brothers as arrranged. They drove us to the site. From the paved road we had to walk upslope on the undulating ground plus hopping over many graves to reach the semi jungle area. I tumbled a few times before reaching the area. There most of the  graves were in a bad state. Then Charles pointed out to me Mrs Chew Joo Chiat's grave. The place was dark as the sunlight was blocked by leaves of tall trees. The tombstone was obstructed by thick tree vines dropped from above. I took a few photos and then noticed a side tombstone written in English words. The name of the deceased Tan Quan Neo was clearly written. She died on 19th April 1927, just a year plus after Chew Joo Chiat's death. Then it struck me that Tan Quan Neo is the name of Chew Joo Chiat's second wife. Chew Joo Chiat's grave plot had a double tombs. Tan Quan Neo's tomb was reserved next to his but she was not buried there. Why?
 

                                  Tan Quan Neo's empty tomb is on the left of the double tomb

Tan Quan Neo married Chew Joo Chiat and had only one child. She is Chew Quee Neo, wife of Lee Tian Seck compradore of Batu Pahat Bank in 1960s. Her grave had been neglected for years. Perhaps she had no male descendants to visit and clean up her tomb during each Qing Ming Festival.

My concern now is to find my great grandmother's grave. Is it true that her body was buried at Bukit Brown Cemetery? I thought she died in China. I may have to make more journeys to Bukit Brown Cemetery to find her resting place. My mission unaccomplished!

Joo Chiat Road 1920s

Joo Chiat Road in the early days was a dirt track stretching from Geylang Serai all the way to the east coast beach. It was then known as the Confederate Estate Road. The dirt track was owned and maitained by Chew Joo Chiat. It was made up into a metal road by the Municipality and named the road after Chew Joo Chiat as Joo Chiat Road. Motorised transport made access to the east coast and the beach more attractive. People from other parts of Singapore migrated to the east coast to be nearer the sea. Furthermore, development of the area from Katong to Joo Chiat was very rapid resulting in a land boom. Joo Chiat was not entirely coconut plantations. There was also a rubber estate off Joo Chiat Road. It had a factory with machines processing rubber from latex into rubber sheets. As land values increased, housing in Joo Chiat Road expanded rapidly. Large coconut plantations fragmented and about 53,000 square feet of rubber estates came under the hammer.

1920s saw Joo Chiat Road having colourful rows of Perankan terraced houses and bungalows with fanciful names like Noel Villa, Sandy Point Villa, Mafeking House and others. Most of the residential buildings were occupied by the Peranakans except the shophouses nearer the Joo Chiat Market. Some coconut trees and fruit trees by the roadside were untouched by housing development.

Gei Hin Kwan Hotel, Happy Hotel, Katong Hotel, Japanese Koyakan Hotel and a few others lined sporadically along Joo Chiat Road. They were popular with clubs, associations and other organisations that held their meetings, anniversary and celebrations there. In those days some hotels also operated illegaly as brothels. Some was caught by the law and fined at a Magistrate Court.

Besides prostitutions at the hotels there were triads and gangs in the area. They collected protection  money from the shopkeepers and hawkers, and extorted money from the rich and wealthy. One extortion incident was reported in The Straits Times on 22 November 1923. The articles stated:

"The maximum sentence of six months' rigorous imprisonment was passed on a Chinese who was found guilty of attempting extortion in the second Police Court yesterday.

The complainant, a Hokien trader of No 246 Joo Chiat Road, stated that he discovered a letter in his house early on the morning of November 11 which was to the effect that he would have to pay a certain amount of money over at a shop, No 30 Joo Chiat Road and if within 3 days the money was not paid, he would meet with some trouble. Two days later a Chinese called at the shop and said that he was the man to collect the money deposited by the complainant. He was told to wait and in the meantime the complainant was informed. The latter went to the shop and conducted the accused to a coffee shop, where he was subsequently arrested by a police corporal who had already been informed."

The newspapers report did not mention the name of the Hokien trader. Chew Joo Chiat was a Hokien trader at that time and his obituary stated that he died at his residence No 246 Joo Chiat Road. The Hokien trader wth the same address as Chew could not be a coincidence. Therefore, could the person in the attempted extortion be Chew Joo Chiat himself?

新年进步

Happy New Year for 2012

                                             Wishing You A Wonderful New Year 2012

Seasons' Greetings

The Truth Must Be Revealed

The Straits Times on 2 April 1999 published an article that Chew Joo Chiat's great grand-daughter, Irene Tan was interviewed for the book published by the Joo Chiat Citizens Consultative Committee.
I found 3 grave errors in the newspapers' article.

Error No 1: "He (Chew Joo Chiat) is believed to have died in 1950s".

Fact No. 1: He died on 5 February 1926 according to his tombstone and his obituary.

Error No. 2: "He (Chew Joo Chiat) had only one child, the late Chew Quee Neo".

Fact No. 2: "He had 2 sons, Chew Cheng Liam 周清廉 Chew Cheng Swee 周清水 and 3 daughters, Chew Quee Neo 周桂娘 Chew Siang Neo 周羡娘 and Chew Su Lan 周素蘭

Fact No. 1 and 2 can be found on Chew Joo Chiat's tombstone. Chew Quee Neo's name and Chew's two other daughters' names were also inscribed on it.

Error No 3: "In his heyday, Mr Chew was dubbed the King of Katong because of his wealth".

Fact No 3: Chew Joo Chiat was never dubbed the King of Katong during his life time. There was no evidence to substantiate the claim. The name King of Katong first appeared in the Straits Times article from the interview with her. Its second appearance was in the book "Joo Chiat a living legacy". However, it had been copied by magazines and websites.

I shall be happy if it is true that my great grand-father, Chew Joo Chiat had been dubbed the King of Katong.

Passing The Batton

Chew Joo Chiat my great grand-father and also a Singapore pioneer was buried at Bukit Brown Cemetery on 11 February 1926. After his death his eldest son Chew Cheng Liam (my grandpa) and his brother Chew Cheng Swee observed the traditional Qing Ming Jie (情明节）or Tomb Sweeping Festival Day every year. They visited the tomb and paid the workers around there to sweep the tomb clean including removing the overgrown vegetations. Cooked food and cakes were offered on the alter fronting the tombstone, followed by burning of joss sticks and prayer. Lastly joss papers representing gold and silver were burned for the deceased to use in the other world.
After the death of his two sons, Qing Ming Jie Festival tradition for the family was continued annually by the descendants of his second son. I have no idea why his eldest son's family members did not carry on with the tradition.

I was very keen to visit my great grandpa's tomb but non of the descendants from my grandpa knew the site. The opportunity came in 2008 when I made contact with an uncle (Chew Cheng Swee's son). During the 2009 Qing Ming Festival my uncle and his son showed me the way to Chew Joo Chiat's tomb. On looking at the tomb, many thoughts passed through my mind. One was how he being a pauper had succeeded to become a millionaire. My final thought was how many of Chew Joo Chiat's descendants know of their roots especially their family tree in Singapore begins with him. I am building Chew Joo Chiat's family. There are now about 200 and is still adding.

In September 2011 I guided my two young cousins Ivan and Gregory to our great grandpa's tomb. It was not an easy task to search for the site based on my memory of two years ago. Luckily my memory was still good and I managed to find the route to the tomb. Our search was made easier by directional sign with arrow pointing. They were provided by courtesy of the Asia Paranormal Investigators to the tomb sites of most Singapore past pioneers. By following two more such directional signs, we found the tomb. There was a notice hanging at the side of the tomb that gave the name of the deceased, his date of death plus a brief of his family history.

Chew Joo Chiat's tomb was covered with overgrown vegetation and creepers, except for the tombstone and the cemented frontage. The main tombstone had only Chinese characters. The names of his children and grand children were carved on it. I saw my dad's name there. Two small side tablets, one on each side written in English with red paint showed his date of death. We took many pictures and video clips. They will become family teasures in future when the destruction of Bukit Brown Cememtery is completed. The authority had already planned to construct a dual four-lane road through Bukit Brown in 2013. Later on the cemetery would become a housing estate for the living.

I am now passing the baton to my two young cousins. My next visit will be with my immediate family members. My daughter has shown interest. I may get one of my sibblings to come along. I hope the authority will preserve Bukit Brown Cemetery as Singapore's heritage site so that my relay team as well as others can keep on running.

Bukit Brown Cemetery gate at Lorong Halwa

Narrow path leading to Chew Joo Chiat's tomb