Tay Geok Teat and Madam Khoo
鄭玉瓞 · 邱淑慎
Merchant of Battery Road, 1832–1893 · Joint tomb erected 1893 (光緒十九年) · Bukit Brown, relocated from the family burial ground at Alexandra Road
In brief. Tay Geok Teat 鄭玉瓞 (1832 – 21 April 1893) was a Malacca-born Straits Chinese merchant, son of Tay Song Quee of Zhangzhou 漳州, who founded Geok Teat & Co. in Battery Road, Singapore, in 1863 and ran it as sole proprietor from 1868, importing European goods; he toured Europe with Lee Cheng Yan in 1883, later China and Japan, played the violin, and conducted a family band of his grandchildren. He was elected Municipal Commissioner for Tanjong Pagar Ward in March 1892. His wife Madam Khoo 邱淑慎 died in October 1892; he resigned his seat, and died six months later at 78 Amoy Street. Their joint tomb, erected in 1893 by their only son Tay Kim Tee 金池 and eight grandsons, stood first in the family burial ground at Alexandra Road and is now at Bukit Brown Cemetery. It is notable for two signed geomancer's tablets recording the tomb's compass bearing (坐丙向壬) and an auspicious verse. This page gives the full inscription with translation, a dated timeline, and fourteen transcribed newspaper reports from 1868 to 1941.
- Deceased
- Tay Geok Teat 鄭玉瓞 (1832–1893), son of Tay Song Quee of Zhangzhou; and Madam Khoo 邱淑慎 (d. 1892)
- Tomb erected
- 4th lunar month, 1893 — 光緒拾玖年癸巳梅月
- Location
- Bukit Brown Cemetery, Singapore (relocated from Alexandra Road / Telok Blangah)
- Orientation
- 坐丙向壬 — back to the south, facing north
- Erected by
- Son Tay Kim Tee 金池; grandsons 文德 文興 文成 文財 文元 文慶 文寶 文涼
- Ancestral place
- 文山 Wenshan
- Sources
- Tomb inscription (primary); 14 newspaper reports, NewspaperSG, 1868–1941; Song Ong Siang, One Hundred Years' History (1923); Brenda Yeoh
Tomb Inscription 墓碑銘文
Headstone
文山
皇清
顯考恭莊鄭公 顯妣淑慎邱氏
之墓
Right shoulder · date
光緒拾玖年癸巳梅月吉旦
Left shoulder · mourners
男 金池
孫 文德 文興 文成 文財 文元 文慶 文寶 文涼
仝立石
文山
皇清
顯考恭莊鄭公 顯妣淑慎邱氏
之墓
Right shoulder · date
光緒拾玖年癸巳梅月吉旦
Left shoulder · mourners
男 金池
孫 文德 文興 文成 文財 文元 文慶 文寶 文涼
仝立石
| Translation 譯文 |
Wenshan 文山 (ancestral place-name). Subjects of the Imperial Qing dynasty. Tomb of our late beloved father, Mr Tay Keong Chng 鄭恭莊, and our late beloved mother, Madam Khoo Siok Sin 邱淑慎. (NB: Both are posthomous names) Erected on an auspicious day in the plum month (4th lunar month) of the 19th year of Guangxu, guisi year — 1893. Son: Kim Tee 金池 (Tay Kim Tee / Tay Kim Kee). Grandsons: Boon Teck 文德, Boon Heng 文興, Boon Seng 文成, Boon Chye 文財, Boon Guan 文元, Boon Keng 文慶, Boon Poh 文寶, Boon Liong 文涼. Together erected this stone. |
Translation is approximate. 恭莊 and 淑慎 are the posthumous/formal names carved on the stone; the couple were known in the English press as Tay Geok Teat and Madam Khoo. The headstone reading (皇清 / 顯考 / 顯妣) is taken from the photograph and should be checked against the stone.
| Era / Dynasty 年代 | 光緒 Guangxu (皇清 Imperial Qing) |
| Year 年份 | 1893 (光緒十九年 癸巳, 4th lunar month ≈ May–June 1893) |
Geomancer's Tablets 地師碑記
論穴坐丙向壬兼巳亥
分金丁巳丁亥
得三元二局
接庚午龍神
分金丁巳丁亥
得三元二局
接庚午龍神
| Translation 譯文 |
On the burial point (穴): it sits on Bing 丙 and faces Ren 壬, inclining toward the Si–Hai 巳亥 line; the fine bearing (分金) is Ding-Si / Ding-Hai 丁巳丁亥; it obtains the second configuration of the Three Cycles (三元二局), and receives the dragon spirit from Geng-Wu 庚午. |
A compass (羅盤) reading: 坐丙向壬 means the tomb's back is to the south (丙) and it faces north (壬). 分金 is the finer 120-division bearing; 三元 (Three Cycles) is the San Yuan school of feng shui.
天機作法遁壬戌
山運地脈清純
富貴榮華長
垂其不朽矣
地師種玉山人謹誌
山運地脈清純
富貴榮華長
垂其不朽矣
地師種玉山人謹誌
| Translation 譯文 |
By the methods of the Heavenly Mechanism (天機), the Ren-Xu 壬戌 [influence] is concealed; the mountain's fortune and the earth's veins are pure and clear; riches, honour and glory shall be long, and handed down imperishably. Respectfully recorded by the geomancer, the Man of Zhong-yu Mountain (種玉山人). |
Rough translation, to be refined. 壬 is the 9th Heavenly Stem and 戌 the 11th Earthly Branch; 遁壬戌 may refer to the divinatory art of Qi Men Dun Jia (奇門遁甲). The stone appears to carve 地䏞 for 地脈 (earth vein). The geomancer signs only with a studio name, 種玉山人 ("Planter of Jade, Man of the Mountain").
Couplet Pillars 對聯
 |
 |
 |
 |
文質彬彬推吉地
山𤫊耿耿護佳城
採向作山崙
來龍同天樴
山𤫊耿耿護佳城
採向作山崙
來龍同天樴
| Translation 譯文 |
Refined alike in substance and in manner — an auspicious ground was chosen; the mountain spirit, ever watchful, guards this fine city (the tomb). The bearing was selected to shape the mountain ridge; the incoming dragon-vein aligns with the heavenly axis. |
The first couplet opens with 文 and 山 — the two characters of the ancestral place-name 文山 on the headstone. 𤫊 is a variant of 靈. 佳城 ("fine city") is a classical euphemism for a grave.
Tomb Location 墓碑位置
| Cemetery 墳山 | Bukit Brown (transferred from the family burial ground at Alexandra Road / Telok Blangah) |
| Block No | |
| Division | |
| Plot No |
Field Notes
The tomb sits with its back to the south, facing north (坐丙向壬), as recorded on the geomancer's tablet. The couple were first interred at the family burial ground at Alexandra Road: the funeral notice of June 1893 names it, and in October 1892 Tay Geok Teat had applied to the Municipal Board to make two graves — one for his recently deceased wife and one for himself — on family land at Telok Blangah where nine family graves already stood (MPMCOM, 26 Oct 1892, cited in Brenda Yeoh). The cluster was later transferred to Bukit Brown.
The tomb sits with its back to the south, facing north (坐丙向壬), as recorded on the geomancer's tablet. The couple were first interred at the family burial ground at Alexandra Road: the funeral notice of June 1893 names it, and in October 1892 Tay Geok Teat had applied to the Municipal Board to make two graves — one for his recently deceased wife and one for himself — on family land at Telok Blangah where nine family graves already stood (MPMCOM, 26 Oct 1892, cited in Brenda Yeoh). The cluster was later transferred to Bukit Brown.
Timeline 年表
| Date | Event | Source |
| 1832 | Tay Geok Teat born in Malacca, son of Tay Song Quee of Cheang-chew (Zhangzhou 漳州); comes to Singapore as a boy. | Song Ong Siang (1923); SFP obituary, 21 Apr 1893 |
| c. 1854 | Only son Tay Kim Tee 金池 born (aged 51 on 16 Oct 1905). | ST, 2 Jan 1906 |
| 1863 | Geok Teat & Co. established in Battery Road as warehousemen and commission agents; partners Tay Geok Teat, Tan Kim Tian, Tan Sam Chie and Chia Ann Siang. | Song Ong Siang (1923) |
| 1865 | Goodwill sold to Low Tuan Locke and Yeo Hong Ghee ("Locke, Hong Ghee & Co.", Raffles Place). | Song Ong Siang (1923) |
| Tay Geok Teat re-opens Geok Teat & Co. as sole proprietor at the entrance of Battery Road, general warehousemen and importers of European goods. | Singapore Daily Times, 5 Nov 1868; Song Ong Siang (1923) | |
| 1871 | Takes his son Tay Kim Tee into the business. | Song Ong Siang (1923) |
| c. 1881 | Builds a country house at Alexandra Road for his wife ("built 12 years ago" in 1893). | SFP Weekly, 22 Aug 1893 |
| Tours England with Lee Cheng Yan — five days in Birmingham, then Manchester and Sheffield. | ST Weekly, 23 Aug 1883 | |
| Makes his will: property for the benefit of wife and son, then to the grandsons. | ST, 2 Jan 1906; SFP Weekly, 22 Aug 1893 | |
| c. 1888 | Travels extensively in China and visits Japan. Forms and conducts a family band of his grandchildren, joining on the violin. | Song Ong Siang (1923) |
| Nominated (proposed by Hon. Tan Jiak Kim, seconded by Tan Yong Siak) for election as Municipal Commissioner, Tanjong Pagar (No. 1) Ward; takes the seat. Also a member of the Chinese Advisory Board. | Daily Advertiser, 1 Mar 1892; SFP Weekly, 22 Aug 1893 | |
| Under Dr Galloway's care "for great weakness". | SFP Weekly, 22 Aug 1893 | |
| Madam Khoo dies. Tay Geok Teat resigns his Municipal seat, withdraws from business, and on 26 Oct applies to make two graves on the family land at Telok Blangah. | SFP, 21 Apr 1893; MPMCOM 26 Oct 1892 | |
| Tay Geok Teat dies at his residence, 78 Amoy Street. | SFP, 21 Apr 1893 | |
| 4th lunar month 1893 | Joint tombstone erected by son and eight grandsons. | Tomb inscription |
| Funeral, "on a gorgeous scale": cortege leaves 78 Amoy Street at 11 a.m. for the family burial ground, Alexandra Road. | SFP, 5 Jun 1893; Pinang Gazette, 12 Jun 1893 | |
| "Extraordinary will case": a caveat claiming a deathbed marriage to a 13-year-old girl collapses; probate granted to Tay Kim Tee. | SFP Weekly, 22 Aug 1893 | |
| The late Tay Geok Teat's "family drum and fife band" of grandchildren plays at the Chinese New Year sports. | ST, 8 Feb 1894 | |
| Tay Kim Tee's life interest in the estate properties auctioned by order of the Supreme Court in a Chettiar suit. | ST, 2 Jan 1906 | |
| 9 Jun 1906 | Tay Kim Tee dies. Geok Teat & Co. is closed down the same year after an administration action by his own sons over the residuary estate of Tay Geok Teat. | Song Ong Siang (1923) |
| 1929 | Grandson Tay Boon Seng 文成, last survivor named in the will, dies (June 1929 per the Straits Times; 23 Jan 1929 per the Malaya Tribune). | ST, 25 Jul 1930; Malaya Tribune, 29 Jul 1930 |
| "Posthumous heir" suit: Boon Seng's widow claims a son born 3 Oct 1929 is entitled to a share. Dismissed with costs on 30 Jul 1930. | ST, 25 Jul & 1 Aug 1930 | |
| Grandson George Bennet Taye alias Tay Boon Guan 文元 charged with breach of trust over estate property worth $5,313. | ST, 22 Apr 1941 |
Newspaper Archives 報章記載
All clippings from NewspaperSG (National Library Board). Short items are transcribed in full; long reports are transcribed in part and summarised. Original spelling and punctuation kept.
A · Life and business, 1868–1892
Geok Teat & Co. — opening announcement
Singapore Daily Times, 5 November 1868, Page 4 (Advertisements Column 1) · find on NewspaperSG
GEOK TEAT & CO.
Beg to intimate to the Community of Singapore that they have just re-commenced business in the premises lately occupied by the Straits Dispensary, at the entrance of Battery Road, as
GENERAL WAREHOUSEMEN, IMPORTERS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF EUROPEAN GOODS.
Provisions. Allsopp's Ale in wood. Beer assorted. Porter — quarts & pints. Port wine, various. Brandy, Hennessey & Co's, do. Jules Robin. Champagne, assorted. Claret, &c. &c. Soda water. Lemonade. All of superior quality. Plated ware. Cutlery. Saddlery. Stationery. Haberdashery. Hosiery. Glass ware. Perfumery. &c. &c. &c.
Singapore, 9th July, 1868.
Geok Teat & Co. — standing advertisement
Straits Observer (Singapore), 4 March 1875, Page 4 (Advertisements Column 1) · find on NewspaperSG
GEOK TEAT & Co. General Warehousemen, Importers of every description of European Goods. Provisions, Allsop's Ale in Wood and Bottles, Beer assorted, Porter, Port Wine, Brandy — Hennessey, Jules Robin, and Martels — Champagne, Claret, Soda Water, Lemonade, Plated Ware, Cutlery, and Saddlery, Haberdashery and Hosiery, Glassware, Perfumery, &c. All of Superior Quality. Singapore, 4th Nov., 1874.
Summary: the same stock-in-trade as 1868, now with Martell's brandy added — a European-provisions house catering to the town's expatriate and wealthy Asian households.
Two Singapore Chinese Citizens in Birmingham
Straits Times Weekly Issue, 23 August 1883, Page 13 — reprinting the Birmingham Daily Gazette of 19 July 1883 · find on NewspaperSG
The Birmingham Daily Gazette of the 19th July gives the following account of a visit to Birmingham by Mr. Tay Geok Teat and Mr. Lee Cheng Yan of this place:—
Yesterday Mr. Geok Teat and Mr. Cheng Yan, the first subjects of her Majesty born and educated at Singapore who have ever visited this country, terminated a five days' stay in Birmingham. As briefly announced in our issue of Saturday, these gentlemen arrived in Birmingham on Friday last. They were accompanied by Mr. Barrington D'Almeida, a member of the London bar, whose perfect familiarity with the Malay language enabled him to act as Interpreter, and they were also accompanied by Mr. Grimes, manager for the well-known firm of Messrs. Short, Short, and Co. On Friday evening Messrs. Teat and Yan visited the Prince of Wales Theatre and witnessed the performance by Mr. Charles Collette's Comedy Company. On Saturday morning they were inducted to the Central Free Library. Here they inspected the Lending Department and the Reference Library (where a very courteous reception and considerable information were given by Mr. George Wakeling, sub-librarian), and also the Art Museum and the Shakspere Memorial Library. Next the party proceeded to the Town Hall, the Council House, and afterwards to the works of Messrs. Elkington and Co., where Messrs. Teat and Yan were so greatly interested in the processes of manufacture that they subsequently repeated their visit, and on each occasion made a number of purchases. Subsequently they went to Messrs. Gillott's manufactory, and thence to Aston Hall and the Lower Grounds. At the latter they witnessed the athletic sports, and appeared not a little astonished at the powers of physical endurance displayed by the English athletes. On Monday morning they visited Messrs. Stone's glass works, and were received by Mr. J. B. Stone, by whom they were kindly conducted through the place and shown the materials of which glass of various kinds is made, and also the interesting process of blowing glass bottles and ornaments. In the show room they purchased a number of valuable articles. Later on, they took train to Redditch to visit the needle and fishhook manufactory of Messrs. H. Milward and Co. The principal partner (Mr. Victor Millward) entertained them at luncheon at his residence, after which they visited the works, in which they manifested much interest. Mr. Milward explained all the processes, and the Chinese gentlemen were astonished at the amount of manual labour used; they thought the needles and fishhooks were entirely made by machinery. What they considered the most clever was the drilling of the eyes of the needles by the women, the same being done by hand. After having carefully inspected the works, Messrs. Teat and Yan were kindly presented by Mr. Milward with several cases of needless as souvenirs of their visit. Returning to Birmingham the party drove to Aston Lower Grounds to see the fireworks. Mr. Reeves Smith met his Chinese visitors very courteously, and remained with them the whole of the time. Messrs. Teat and Yan were extremely delighted with the pyrotechnic display, especially the "golden rain" and the immense height the rockets ascended, in fact, stating they had never seen such a magnificent display anywhere. The party visited the large hall in the grounds, and then returned to the Queen's Hotel (where they stayed) very much pleased with what they had seen. On Tuesday a visit was paid to the Mint; here they were met by Mr. Cay, who explained a variety of the processes which were in operation. The next place inspected was Messrs. Osler's show rooms, and here again they saw much that astonished them. Mr. Startin's carriage manufactory was visited, as well as Mr. Cutler's establishment, where they watched the process of silvering looking glasses. Leaving there they went to the Asbestos Company in Clement Street, and obtained several samples of asbestos to show their friends abroad. Yesterday morning they went through Messrs. Hawkes and Co's looking-glass manufactory, and then left for Manchester by the 1.50 train, after spending five days very pleasantly in Birmingham. Messrs. Teat and Yan intended visiting Sheffield to-morrow.
Municipal Notice — nomination for Tanjong Pagar Ward
Daily Advertiser, 1 March 1892, Page 2 (Advertisements Column 3) · find on NewspaperSG
NOTICE is hereby given that the following persons have been validly nominated as Candidates for the election of Municipal Commissioners for the Tanjong Pagar (No. 1) Ward of the Singapore Municipality to be held on Friday, 4th March, 1892.
FOR TANJONG PAGAR WARD.
Name in full,—Cosmo Gordon Paterson. Abode,—"Sherwood," No. 1, Paterson Road. Description,—Partner, Messrs. Paterson, Simons & Co. Proposed by the Hon. G. S. Murray. Seconded by John Blair, Esq.
Name in full,—Joaquim Parsick Joaquim. Abode,—52, Grange Road. Description,—Barrister-at-law. Proposed by Thos. de M. L. Braddell, Esq. Seconded by Low Kim Pong, Esq.
Name in full,—Tay Geok Teat. Abode,—78, Amoy Street. Description,—Partner, Messrs. Geok Teat & Co. Proposed by Hon. Tan Jiak Kim. Seconded by Tan Yong Siak, Esq.
ALEX. GENTLE, President of the Mun. Commissioners. Municipal Offices, Town Hall, Singapore, 29th February, 1892.
Summary: the election filled the seat vacated by Mr James Miller. Tay Geok Teat was elected, and sat only until his wife's death in October 1892 — about seven months — after which he gave up the seat (see the obituary and the will case below).
B · Death, funeral and the will, 1893
The Late Mr. Geok Teat
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, 21 April 1893, Page 2 · find on NewspaperSG
We regret to have to announce the death of Mr. Tay Geok Teat, which took place at his residence, Amoy Street this morning about three o'clock.
The deceased was a well-known and widely respected resident in Singapore, having been connected with the place during the greater portion of his career. Born in Malacca about sixty years ago, in 1868 he commenced business as a shopkeeper on his own account. And he gradually rose by his own exertions until he had attained his present position. Being of a retiring disposition he shunned publicity, and at no time took a very active part in public business. He was a member of the Municipal Commission for some time, resigning only on account of the death of his wife which he appears to have felt deeply as he is said never to have been the same man since. He left behind him an only son and partner in his business, Mr. Tay Kim Tee. The godown in Battery Road was closed during the day.
Funeral notice
The Singapore Free Press, Monday 5 June 1893 · find on NewspaperSG
The funeral of Mr. Tay Geok Teat is fixed to take place on Saturday, the 10th instant. The cortege will start from his residence, 78, Amoy Street, at 11 a.m., to the family burial ground at Alexandra Road, where the interment will take place. The office of Messrs. Geok Teat & Co. will be closed on that day, and friends of the deceased are invited to the funeral.
Local and General
Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle, 12 June 1893, Page 2 · find on NewspaperSG
THE FUNERAL of the late Mr. Tay Geok Teat was to take place in Singapore on the 10th. It was to be on a gorgeous scale.
Supreme Court — Extraordinary Will Case. Chinese Marriages.
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly), 22 August 1893, Page 14 · find on NewspaperSG
A case was heard before the Chief Justice, Mr. J. W. Bonser, and concluded somewhat abruptly on Thursday afternoon, which is of considerable importance to the respectable classes of the Chinese in this Colony, and led to an expression of opinion on the part of the Chief Justice, which calls for the attention of the Chinese Advisory Board and the Government, for reasons which the Chief Justice well expressed. […] The evidence for the defendant occupied three whole days, and when one witness was called for the plaintiffs the counsel for the defendant acknowledged that he could not hope to maintain his case and judgment was given for the plaintiff, and probate granted of the will.
The facts are somewhat lengthy, but may be condensed as follows. Mr. Tay Geok Teat, the well-known store-keeper in Battery Road, was born in Singapore, had been in Europe, and was a man of influence among the Chinese. He was selected by them when it was sought to find a Chinese gentleman as a Municipal Commissioner, and he was a member of the Chinese Advisory Board appointed by Government. In October last his wife died, and he ceased to take a very active part in business, gave up his seat on the Municipal Council, and it was said at the time that the loss of his wife destroyed his interest in other matters. He had only one child, a son, who had lost one wife and married again, and had ten children. The family all lived together very happily, Mr. Geok Teat being very fond of his grandchildren; and he made a will leaving his property for the benefit of his wife and son, and after them to his grandsons. The wife being dead, the son applied for probate of the will, and then a caveat was put in by a man named Leong Ah Tin, who asserted that a girl, who was his daughter, had married Geok Teat fifteen days before his death, and that therefore the will was void, being revoked by the subsequent marriage; and this was the issue before the Court, whether there had been such a marriage or not. […] Mr. Buckley for the plaintiff proved Mr. Geok Teat's death on the 21st April last by the certificate of death, and Mr. Frois proved the proper execution of the will. Mr. Sisson appeared for the defendant.
Summary of the rest of the report: The defence claimed a Chinese marriage ceremony had taken place at Tay Geok Teat's country house at Alexandra Road — presents exchanged, a horoscope written, the girl (aged 13, daughter of a bullock-cart builder at Kandang Kerbau) carried in a red-decorated gharry to bow before joss-sticks. Dr Galloway testified he had attended Tay Geok Teat "for great weakness since September last" and that such a marriage was "to say the least, improbable". The family's case was that the girl had been taken into the household as a servant for $220 paid to her mother, in the usual way, and sent to Alexandra Road one day because Geok Teat was unwell and had driven down with only one elderly female servant. The girl herself, "in a very clear, straightforward way", denied any marriage, denied the defendant was her father, and said she wished to stay with the family. Kim Tee testified that "it was absurd for a son to get a wife for his father; that his father was very unwell at the time and went into the country for the day as he frequently did, to spend a quiet day in a long chair at the house he had built 12 years ago for his wife." Mr Sisson then abandoned the case. The Chief Justice said the case showed "the necessity of the Chinese adopting some system for the registration of their marriages in a formal way", noting that Kim Ching, Hong Lim and Beng Swee & Co's office kept voluntary registers but that this "does not meet the evil". The paper added a defence of the custom of engaging female servants by a payment to the parents, observing that a European gentleman who went to the house "found the girl playing at horses with the children round the hall as happy as possible."
C · The son, the grandsons and the estate, 1894–1941
Chinese New Year's Sports — the family band
The Straits Times, 8 February 1894, Page 3 · find on NewspaperSG
[…] One remarkable feature in the proceedings was the band that attended at about half past four. This band was composed of two drums, one clarionet, one piccolo and one triangle. The performers attended by permission of Mr. Tay Kim Tee, and were his children who with some others composed "the family drum and fife band" of the late Mr. Tay Geok Teat. The eldest performer (clarionet player) is fourteen years of age, and the youngest is seven years of age. To the eldest, falls the duty of transcribing the piano music to the band scores. The members of the band were taught and trained by Mr. Tay Geok Teat, and certainly their performance yesterday did great credit to that deceased gentleman's tuition. The performers kept very good time, and the way the drummer handled his instrument would have gladdened the hearts of some admirers of that instrument in the Philharmonic Society. The band played the following programme:— 1st.—March, Seventh Royal Fusiliers (F. Joyce). 2nd.—Waltz, May Blossom (Weir). 3rd.—March, Ubique (F. Joyce). 4th.—Schottische, Rainbow (Kleber). 5th.—Polka, Oand O (P. Bucalossi). 6th.—The Blue Bells of Scotland. 7th.—Galop, Snow Storm (Harrison). 8th.—Chinese National Anthem. 9th.—"The British Grenadiers." 10th.—"God Save the Queen."
Summary: the boys named on the tomb as grandsons (文德, 文興 …) were, in 1894, aged between seven and fourteen — consistent with Kim Tee's "ten children" in 1893. The results list that follows names other boys (Tan Hup Swee, Lee Guan Sin, Tay Soon Hock, etc.) in the sports.
Auction of Tay Kim Tee's life interest in the estate
The Straits Times, 2 January 1906, Page 6 (Advertisements Column 3) · find on NewspaperSG
BY ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT. Between Kana Pana Vieyana Rana Roona Kurpen Chitty, Plaintiff, and Geok Teat & Co. and Tay Kim Tee, Defendants.
The VALUABLE LIFE INTEREST of Tay Kim Tee in the undermentioned properties forming part of the estate of Tay Geok Teat, deceased, under the will of the said Tay Geok Teat dated 16th July, 1885:— To be sold by Auction at Powell & Co.'s Saleroom, On Tuesday, the 9th Jan., 1906, at 2.30 p.m.
Nos. 78, 79 and 80 Amoy Street, Singapore. No. 41 Havelock Road, Singapore. No. 2 Pearl's Hill Road, Singapore. No. 15 Passir Panjang, Singapore. Land situate at Upper Toah Pyoh, Singapore. Nos. 155-1 to 155-7 Serangoon Road, Singapore. Several pieces of land situate at Rochore, Singapore. Land situate at Upper Telok Blanga and Alexandra Road, Singapore. Land situate at West Bukit Timah, Singapore.
The said Tay Kim Tee is believed to have attained the age of 51 years on the 16th October, 1905. For full particulars and conditions of sale, see Circulars. Powell & Co., Auctioneers. Donaldson and Burkinshaw, Solicitors.
Summary: a Chettiar creditor's suit forced the sale of the son's life interest. The list is the fullest record of the property Tay Geok Teat left — the Amoy Street houses (No. 78 being the family home), shophouses on Serangoon Road, and the Telok Blangah / Alexandra Road land on which the family graves stood.
Posthumous Heir to Estate
The Straits Times, 25 July 1930, Page 14 · find on NewspaperSG
A trial of the issue as to whether Tay Beng Huat was the son of Tay Boon Seng was started before Mr. Justice Stevens in the Supreme Court yesterday. Mr. J. G. Campbell appeared for the plaintiff and Mr. Roland Braddell, with Mr. E. Koek, was for the defendants, the trustees of the will of Tay Geok Teat, who died in 1893.
Tay Boon Seng, who was the last survivor named in the will, died in June last year, and his wife, Goh Mui Hoon, is stated to have given birth to the plaintiff on Oct. 3. The representatives of the plaintiff, therefore, claimed that he was entitled to a share in the estate. The defendants denied that plaintiff was the son of Tay Boon Seng.
Summary of the evidence: a district health sister, the husband of the (since deceased) midwife Katija, two schoolboys, and a midwife's assistant testified about a birth at 141-A Thomson Road on 3 October 1929; Dr V. P. Menon admitted he had issued a certificate of the birth for a $10 fee without having attended it, at the widow's request "to prove that she had been ill and thus get payment from the trustees". Cross-examined by Braddell, Goh Mui Hoon said she had been "left very poor" at her husband's death, had been allowed to live in the family house at Changi until it was sold, was given $100 a month from the coconuts on the Changi estate by the trustees out of compassion, and had moved from Rangoon Road to the empty Thomson Road house shortly before the alleged birth. The hearing was adjourned.
Supreme Court
Malaya Tribune, 29 July 1930, Page 7 · find on NewspaperSG
Mr. Justice Stevens was engaged to-day in recording further evidence in the suit brought by Tay Beng Huat (an infant) through Goh Teck Swee, for an account and his share of the estate of the late Mr. Tay Boon Seng, who died on Jan. 23, 1929.
Goh Mui Hoon, widow of the late Mr. Tay Boon Seng, said she was the mother of plaintiff, and that he was the lawful son of Tay Boon Seng. The child was born on Oct. 3, 1929.
The defendants are Messrs. Chin Keng Lee and Co. and Mr. Tay Boon Guan. Defendants deny that plaintiff is the posthumous son of the deceased, and allege that the child was bought from some other woman.
Medical evidence, it was stated, would be called. Mr. J. G. Campbell is counsel for plaintiff and Mr. Roland Braddell and Mr. E. R. Koek are for the defence. The hearing is proceeding.
Note: the Tribune gives Boon Seng's death as 23 January 1929; the Straits Times twice says June 1929. One of the two is a misprint — a January death would make an October birth impossible as a posthumous child, so June is the likelier date.
Posthumous Heir to Estate — Claim Dismissed by Mr. Justice Stevens
The Straits Times, 1 August 1930, Page 8 · find on NewspaperSG
In the Supreme Court on Wednesday Mr. Justice Stevens entered judgment in favour of the defendants in the suit in which an attempt was made to prove that Tay Ben Huat, a nine-months-old baby, was the son of Tay Boon Seng. Mr. J. G. Campbell appeared for the plaintiffs, and Mr. Roland Braddell, with Mr. E. R. Koek, was for the defendants, Mr. Cheng Keng Lee and Mr. T. B. Tay, the trustees.
Tay Boon Seng, who was the last survivor mentioned in the will of his grandfather, Tay Geok Teat (deceased), died in June last year, and, it was alleged on behalf of the plaintiff, his wife, Goh Mui Hoon, gave birth to a male child on Oct. 3. Under the will of Tay Geok Teat only male grandchildren were to participate in the division of the estate.
The defence was a denial that Tay Beng Huat was the son of Tay Boon Seng. During the case it was revealed that Goh Mui Hoon went to an empty house in Thomson Road, where she was alleged to have given birth to a male child. There was only a maid-servant present at the time of the birth. A midwife, called Katija, who was alleged to have attended to the mother shortly after the birth of the child, died last Saturday week. Goh Mui Hoon a few days afterwards obtained a certificate from Dr. V. P. Menon, saying she had given birth to a child, but Dr. Menon, in evidence, admitted that he had no personal knowledge of the birth, nor did he even know the sex of the child. Goh Mui Hoon was asked by the trustees of the will if she would allow herself to be examined internally by a European doctor, but refused.
[…] His Lordship said he must decide in favour of the defence, and he, therefore, dismissed the claim, with costs, and a certificate was granted to the defence for two counsel.
Alleged Breach of Trust of Property
The Straits Times, 22 April 1941, Page 11 · find on NewspaperSG
ALLEGED to have committed breach of trust in respect of property worth $5,313 (the property of the estate of Tay Geok Teat, deceased), in June, 1932, George Bennet Taye alias Tay Boon Guan, appeared in the Singapore district court yesterday.
Taye, defended by Mr. V. J. Mendis, claimed trial. After the hearing of a few prosecution witnesses, the case was postponed until to-day for further hearing.
Note: George Bennet Taye (G. B. Tay) is the grandson Tay Boon Guan 文元, one of the two trustees who successfully defended the estate in 1930 ("Mr. T. B. Tay"). He was 57 years old in December 1940, i.e. born about 1883.
Published Sources 文獻記載
Song Ong Siang on Geok Teat & Co. and Tay Geok Teat
Song Ong Siang, One Hundred Years' History of the Chinese in Singapore (London: John Murray, 1923) — entry under the fourth decade, 1859–1869
In 1863 the firm of Geok Teat & Co. was established in Battery Road as Warehousemen and Commission Agents. The partners were Tay Geok Teat, Tan Kim Tian, Tan Sam Chie and Chia Ann Siang, with Chia Ann Lock as an assistant in the firm. Two years later, the goodwill came to be acquired by two outsiders, Low Tuan Locke and Yeo Hong Ghee, who carried on the same business in Raffles Place under the style of "Locke, Hong Ghee & Co." This firm, however, had only a mushroom existence, for in 1868 we find Mr. Tay Geok Teat reappearing as the sole proprietor of Geok Teat & Co. in Battery Road.
Tay Geok Teat was born in Malacca in 1832, being the son of Tay Song Quee, a native of Cheang-chew, China, who emigrated to the Straits and settled down as a trader in Malacca in the early part of last century. Mr. Geok Teat came to Singapore when he was quite a boy. He was for a brief period a member of the Municipal Commission. In 1883 along with Mr. Lee Cheng Yan he made a visit to Europe, touring through most of the principal European cities: and while in England, special attention was paid to most of the manufacturing towns. Some five years later, he travelled extensively in China and also paid a visit to Japan. He was fond of music, his favourite instrument being the violin. He formed and conducted his own family band on his return from Europe, the musicians being his grandchildren. The band was composed of a clarionet, flute, triangle, bass and side drums, in which he often joined playing his violin. In 1871 he took his son Tay Kim Tee into his business, and on his death on the 21st April 1893 Mr. Kim Tee continued to run the firm of Geok Teat & Co. with much success until 1906, when it was closed down in consequence of an administration action instituted against him by his own sons for a very large sum of money alleged to represent the residuary personal estate of the late Tay Geok Teat. He died on the 9th June 1906, leaving among his sons G. B. Taye, an enterprising young man, who some years ago formed the Colonial Stores Ltd., Drapers and Outfitters, which, however, went into liquidation. Mr. G. B. Taye has been for several years acting as special representative of the China Mutual Life Insurance Co., and has made more than one visit to Europe, a rare privilege even in these days of rapid transit.
Note: "Cheang-chew" is Zhangzhou 漳州, Fujian — the Hokkien heartland. Song's 1863 date for the firm's founding and his 1868 date for Tay Geok Teat's return as sole proprietor agree with the July 1868 re-opening advertisement above; the obituary's "in 1868 he commenced business as a shopkeeper on his own account" refers to the same event. Song's 1906 closure "in consequence of an administration action instituted against him by his own sons" sits alongside the Chettiar creditor's suit that forced the January 1906 auction of Kim Tee's life interest. The portrait reproduced at the head of this post is the plate from the same book, by G. R. Lambert & Co., Singapore.
Biography 生平
Tay Geok Teat 鄭恭莊 (1832 – 21 April 1893) was born in Malacca, the son of Tay Song Quee, a native of Cheang-chew (Zhangzhou 漳州) who had emigrated to the Straits and settled as a trader in Malacca early in the nineteenth century. He came to Singapore "when he was quite a boy". In 1863 he and three partners — Tan Kim Tian, Tan Sam Chie and Chia Ann Siang — set up Geok Teat & Co. in Battery Road as warehousemen and commission agents; the goodwill passed in 1865 to Low Tuan Locke and Yeo Hong Ghee, whose "Locke, Hong Ghee & Co." had "only a mushroom existence", and in July 1868 Tay Geok Teat re-opened Geok Teat & Co. as sole proprietor in the premises lately occupied by the Straits Dispensary at the entrance of Battery Road, importing "every description of European goods" — Allsopp's ale, Hennessy and Martell brandy, champagne, plated ware, saddlery and perfumery. In 1871 he took his only son, Tay Kim Tee 金池, into the business. His obituary calls him a man "of a retiring disposition" who "shunned publicity" and "gradually rose by his own exertions".
In July 1883 he and Lee Cheng Yan toured Europe, paying special attention in England to the manufacturing towns; the Birmingham Daily Gazette hailed them as "the first subjects of her Majesty born and educated at Singapore who have ever visited this country". Some five years later he travelled extensively in China and visited Japan. He was fond of music — his instrument was the violin — and on his return from Europe he formed and conducted a family band of his grandchildren (clarionet, flute, triangle, bass and side drums), in which he often joined on the violin. On 16 July 1885 he made the will that would govern his family's affairs for the next half-century, leaving his property to his wife and son for life and after them to his grandsons — male grandchildren only.
He was a member of the Chinese Advisory Board and, in March 1892, was put up by Tan Jiak Kim and Tan Yong Siak and elected Municipal Commissioner for Tanjong Pagar Ward — "selected by them when it was sought to find a Chinese gentleman as a Municipal Commissioner". His wife, Madam Khoo 邱淑慎, died in October 1892. He gave up his seat, withdrew from business, and is "said never to have been the same man since". Already under a doctor's care for weakness, he applied that same month for two graves on the family land at Telok Blangah — one for her and one for himself. He died at 78 Amoy Street at three in the morning on 21 April 1893, six months after her, and was buried beside her from the family burial ground at Alexandra Road on 10 June, "on a gorgeous scale". The tomb was erected in the fourth lunar month of 1893 by Tay Kim Tee and eight grandsons.
A caveat against the will — alleging he had married a 13-year-old servant girl fifteen days before his death — collapsed in the Supreme Court in August 1893 after the girl herself denied it, prompting the Chief Justice to call for the registration of Chinese marriages. Kim Tee ran Geok Teat & Co. "with much success" until 1906, when the firm was closed after an administration action brought by his own sons over the residuary estate; that January a Chettiar creditor had already forced the auction of his life interest in the estate's houses on Amoy Street, Havelock Road, Pearl's Hill and Serangoon Road and its lands at Rochore, Pasir Panjang, Telok Blangah, Alexandra Road and Bukit Timah. Kim Tee died on 9 June 1906. The estate was still being fought over in 1930, when the widow of the last-surviving named grandson, Tay Boon Seng 文成, failed to prove a posthumous heir, and in 1941, when the grandson-trustee George Bennet Taye alias Tay Boon Guan 文元 — founder of the short-lived Colonial Stores Ltd. and later representative of the China Mutual Life Insurance Co. — was charged with breach of trust over $5,313 of estate property.
The gentler record is the "family drum and fife band" he had trained himself, which played the Seventh Royal Fusiliers march and the Chinese National Anthem at the Chinese New Year sports of 1894, ten months after his death — "certainly their performance yesterday did great credit to that deceased gentleman's tuition."
Deceased 亡者
| Name (Chinese) 姓名 |
Name (English) 英文名 |
Relationship 關係 |
Dates |
| 鄭恭莊 | Tay Geok Teat | 顯考 — late beloved father | 1832 (Malacca) – 21 Apr 1893 (78 Amoy Street, Singapore) |
| 邱淑慎 | Madam Khoo | 顯妣 — late beloved mother | ? – Oct 1892 |
| Clan / Family 族群 |
鄭 Tay (Hokkien romanisation of Zheng) · son of Tay Song Quee, a native of Cheang-chew (Zhangzhou 漳州, Fujian) who settled as a trader in Malacca · ancestral place-name on the stone: 文山 Wenshan | ||
Mourners 孝眷
| Name (Chinese) 姓名 |
Name (English) 英文名 |
Relationship 關係 |
In the newspapers |
| 金池 | Tay Kim Tee (Tay Kim Kee) | 男 — son | Only child; taken into the firm 1871; b. c. 1854; twice married, ten children by 1893; ran Geok Teat & Co. until 1906; life interest sold Jan 1906; d. 9 Jun 1906. |
| 文德 | Tay Boon Teck | 孫 — grandson | — |
| 文興 | Tay Boon Heng | 孫 — grandson | — |
| 文成 | Tay Boon Seng | 孫 — grandson | Last survivor named in the will; d. 1929; widow Goh Mui Hoon; posthumous-heir suit 1930. |
| 文財 | Tay Boon Chye | 孫 — grandson | — |
| 文元 | Tay Boon Guan, alias George Bennet Taye (G. B. Tay) | 孫 — grandson | b. c. 1883; founded the Colonial Stores Ltd., Drapers and Outfitters (later liquidated); representative of the China Mutual Life Insurance Co.; trustee of the estate 1930; charged with breach of trust 1941. |
| 文慶 | Tay Boon Keng | 孫 — grandson | — |
| 文寶 | Tay Boon Poh | 孫 — grandson | — |
| 文涼 | Tay Boon Liong | 孫 — grandson | — |
The son's name is written "Tay Kim Tee" in every English source (1893 obituary, 1893 will case, 1894, 1906); 金池 is read Kim Kee on this blog. Kim Tee had ten children in 1893, of whom the eight sons appear on the stone; the will gave shares to male grandchildren only.
Features 特色
- A joint husband-and-wife tomb with no separate markings for either spouse — "together in life, together in death". Planned by Tay Geok Teat himself in October 1892, within weeks of his wife's death.
- Two signed geomancer's tablets recording the compass bearing of the burial point (坐丙向壬, sitting south facing north) and a verse of auspicious prognostication, signed by the studio name 種玉山人. Signed geomantic inscriptions of this kind are rare on Singapore tombs.
- Four couplet pillars whose opening characters 文 … 山 … echo the ancestral place-name 文山 on the headstone.
- Relocated: originally in the family burial ground at Alexandra Road / Telok Blangah, where nine family graves already stood in 1892; the cluster was later transferred to Bukit Brown.
Related Tombs & Further Reading 相關墓碑
- Together in Life, Together in Death — the tomb of Tay Geok Teat and Madam Khoo (bukitbrown.org, October 2011)
- Song Ong Siang, One Hundred Years' History of the Chinese in Singapore (London: John Murray, 1923) — biographical notice and portrait of Tay Geok Teat (transcribed above under Published Sources).
- Brenda S. A. Yeoh, Contesting Space in Colonial Singapore — cites Tay Geok Teat's 1892 application for graves at Telok Blangah (MPMCOM, 26 Oct 1892).
- Other tombs in the Alexandra Road family cluster transferred to Bukit Brown — to be added.
Raymond Goh, "Tay Geok Teat 鄭恭莊 and Madam Khoo 邱淑慎," Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials (S.T.E.M.), first published 1 January 2023, revised , https://tombs.bukitbrown.org/2020/05/tay-geok-teat.html.
Tomb inscription transcribed on site; newspaper texts transcribed from NewspaperSG (National Library Board, Singapore) and reproduced for research and educational purposes. Translations are the author's and are approximate.
Family – Tay Geok Teat
Name – Tay 鄭
Region – 文山
Year – 光緒
Cemetery – Bukit Brown
Relocated – Alexandra Road