Wan Eng Kiat 范英吉

Wan Eng Kiat 范英吉





Obituary of Mrs Wan Eng Kiat
The Straits Times, 16 July 1926, page 7

Mrs Wan Eng Keat - On July 14, 1926 at No 125 Neil Road, Singapore, Mrs Wan Eng Keat (Tok Nya Chik) aged 85 years. She left one son Wan Boon Seng, three grandsons in law - Seow Siew Guan, Wee Kim Chuan and Wee Mah Kuan, five grandsons Wan Seng Kim, Wan Chin Inn, Wan Chin Hoe, Wan Chin Kuan and Wan Chin Hock, several granddaughters and great grandchildren. Funeral Sunday July 18, at 10 am to Toa Payoh (Bukit Brown)

民國八年歲己未四月初四
十五年六月初五日

庻男
文希 Wan Boon Hee
文水 Wan Boon Chwee
文成 Wan Boon Seng
文林 Wan Boon Lim
成金  Wan Seng Kim
振興  Wan Chin Inn
女孫 
水娘
宝娘
干舌
亞麟
继男
定珍
水娘
女孫
連娘
深娘


From Song Ong Siang book One Hundred Years’ History of the Chinese in Singapore 

Among the Malacca lads who ventured to Singapore in 1851 to seek Dame Fortune’s favour was Wan Eng Kiat, then 17 years of age. For a little time he worked as a watchmaker, and then entered the service of Messrs Martin Dyce & Co. At the age of 24, he married Toh Nya Chik, who is still living. Mr Wan Eng Kiat, after his marriage, worked with Messrs Puttfarcken, Rheiner & Co and later with Messrs Puttfarcken & Co as storekeeper, retiring at the age of 68. He was a shrewd and careful investor in house properties, which at his death at the advanced age of 85, on 3rd May 1919, were worth half a million dollars.



ACTION UNDER A WILL
Malaya Tribune, 14 January 1931, Page 7






Wan Boon Seng, part proprietor of the Bintang Prankan, a Romanised Malay paper, said that defendant (Quek Ah Gek) was his stepmother.   Wee Kim Chuan and Koh Kong Lim were trustees under the will of Wan Eng Kiat.

Koh Kong Lim was son of Koh Hoon Teck


14 Upper Cross Street is the address of the publishers of "Bintang Pranakan", of which Wan Boon Seng was proprietor. The first issue was published on Oct 1930






1


“袁文成” - Wrong surname attributed to Wan Boon Seng 
Also Wan Eng Kiat the wrong surname 云英杰 was also used in some archives and references.


It is interesting to note that his Chinese surname has been translated wrongly as Yuan as early as 1961 by the famous Malay studies scholar Mei Jing 梅井, 4 years after Boon Seng passed away in 1957.  Surname is also not correct here as in Claudine Salmon’s book Literary Migrations : Traditional Chinese Fiction in Asia 

Malaya Tribune, 9 March 1935, Page 10



Here we can see that Quek Ah Gek , the secondary wife of Wan Eng Kiat, was the mother of Wan Boon Lim and step mother of Wan Boon Seng


Wan Boon Lim was 23 years old on Jan 1937,  which means he should be born sometime in 1913/1914

Wan boon seng passed away peacefully at 27, Lorong 104. Changl Road. Singapore in Jun 1957

Note :

Because of 庻男 indicated on the wife Tok Nya Chik tomb,  one would surmise that there is another wife besides Quek Ah Gek whose son was Wan Boon Lim.  The English name of Wan Boon Hee and Wan Boon Seng tally in the 1884 tomb of Mrs Wan (Mdm Wee)

https://tombs.bukitbrown.org/2019/05/mother-of-wan.html