宋門陳氏 Tan Seok Loo Neo, Mrs Song Kee Kuan (d. 1922)
Ancestral place 南靖縣 麵線邊 · Tomb date Republic 11, 壬戌 (1922) · Bukit Brown Blk 1 A, plot 13
Tomb of Tan Seok Loo Neo 宋門陳氏, with its tiled wings, Bukit Brown Blk 1 A. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.
南靖縣 麵線邊
民國十一年歲次壬戌八月
故妣宋門陳氏謚淑孺娘之墓
男 宋振利 宋振暄 宋振水
女 姑娘
仝立石
Base plaque: IN LOVING MEMORY OF TAN SEOK LOO NEO · BELOVED WIFE OF SONG KEE KUAN · DIED 3RD OCT 1922 AGED 41 · DEEPLY REGRETTED
Summary: Tan Seok Loo Neo 陳氏, wife of Song Kee Kuan (also known as Song Kee Kwan), died on 3 October 1922, aged 41, and is buried at Bukit Brown, Blk 1 A, plot 13. Her family came from 麵線邊 in Nanjing county 南靖縣, Fujian. Her husband was a career officer of the Straits Settlements Treasury from 1901, rising to Officer in Charge of the Currency Note Branch, and for many years the honorary secretary of the Sepoy Lines Funeral Association. Their three sons, Song Chin Lee, Song Chin Suan and Song Chin Chwee, and a daughter set up her tomb. In 1935 the four children were received into the Catholic Church. On 18 February 1942, the first day of the Sook Ching, Song Chin Suan, an Audit Office clerk, was taken away by the Japanese and never heard from again, very probably together with another young man of the family.
Family 家族
| Relationship | Name | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Deceased | Tan Seok Loo Neo 陳氏, posthumous name 淑孺 (d. 1922) | Tomb inscription; burial register |
| Husband | Song Kee Kuan, also spelled Song Kee Kwan | Base plaque; Straits Settlements Blue Book 1924; newspapers |
| Sons (男) | 宋振利 Song Chin Lee, 宋振暄 Song Chin Suan, 宋振水 Song Chin Chwee | Tomb inscription; Catholic News 1935 |
| Daughter (女) | 姑娘 | Tomb inscription; Catholic News 1935 ("1 sister") |
Tomb Inscription 墓碑銘文
| 碑文 | Transcription / Meaning |
|---|---|
| 南靖縣 麵線邊 | Ancestral place: 麵線邊, Nanjing county, Zhangzhou, Fujian |
| 民國十一年歲次壬戌八月 | 8th month of Republic 11, year 壬戌 (1922) |
| 故妣宋門陳氏謚淑孺娘之墓 | Tomb of the late mother, Madam Tan of the Song family, posthumously named 淑孺 |
| 男 宋振利 宋振暄 宋振水 | Sons 振利, 振暄 and 振水 |
| 女 姑娘 | Daughter 姑娘 |
| 仝立石 | Erected the stone together |
Notes on the inscription:
- The dates agree. 3 October 1922 was the 13th day of the 8th lunar month of 壬戌.
- The plaque gives her age as 41 and the burial register as 42. The register may be counting in Chinese years (虛歲).
- The sons share the generation character 振. Their English names follow the Hokkien: 振利 Chin Lee, 振暄 Chin Suan, 振水 Chin Chwee.
- 謚 introduces a posthumous name, here 淑孺.
- 姑娘 may be the daughter's name, or simply mean "the girl" where her name was not carved.
Burial Register 埋葬記錄
| Tan Seok Loo Neo | |
|---|---|
| Final Resting Place | Bukit Brown Cemetery · Blk 1 A · Plot 13 (initally 20) |
| Name | Tan Seok Loo Neo 陳氏 |
| Age | 42 |
| Nationality | |
| Date of death | 4 Oct 1922 |
| Date of burial | 8 Oct 1922 |
Short Biography 生平簡介
Her husband, a Treasury man. Song Kee Kuan joined the colonial government on 1 January 1901. By 1912 he was a shroff at the Colonial Treasury, and that year he gave expert evidence in court that a batch of notes seized in a police trap were forged. The Straits Settlements Blue Book for 1924 lists him as Officer in Charge of the Currency Note Branch of the Treasury, appointed on 7 February 1920, at ,880 a year. He also served in the Singapore Volunteer Corps, which he joined in 1903, and in 1909 he was honorary treasurer of the Twilight Football Club in Kampong Bahru Road.
Straits Settlements Blue Book 1924: Song Kee Kuan, Officer in Charge, Currency Note Branch, Treasury. Click to enlarge.
1. A George III gold guinea of 1790, of the "spade" type, named for the spade-shaped shield on its reverse.
2. A Batavia copper "half-cent" of 1819, bearing the arms of the Royal House of Holland, which the paper noted was as old as modern Singapore and "still to be met with occasionally in Malaya".
3. A Mexican half dollar of 1849, one of the early coins of the Republic.
The coins in their time. For most of the 19th century, trade in Singapore and the Straits ran on silver dollars from the Spanish Americas: first the Spanish dollar of 8 reales, then, after Mexican independence, the Mexican dollar, which was struck in vast numbers and became the standard trade coin of the region. A Mexican "half dollar" is the 4 reales, worth half of the 8 reales dollar. Small change came from many sources, including Dutch copper coins from Java. The Straits dollar, issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency in notes from 1899 and in coin from 1903, finally replaced these foreign coins.
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A George III "spade" guinea of 1790, the same type as the one in Song Kee Kuan's collection (not his coin). Museums Victoria, item NU 33673, photograph Justine Philip, CC BY 4.0.
A Netherlands East Indies copper ½ stuiver of 1821, with the crowned Dutch arms and the legend INDIAE BATAV. Copper coins of this type, struck from 1818, are probably what the paper called the 1819 Batavia "half-cent" (not his coin). Wikimedia Commons, The Cooper Collections, CC BY-SA 3.0.
A Mexican Republic 8 reales, the "Mexican dollar", of 1859. The 1849 half dollar (4 reales) in Song Kee Kuan's collection carried the same eagle and cap-and-rays design at a smaller size (not his coin). Wikimedia Commons, Windrain, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Her death and her children. Tan Seok Loo Neo died on 3 October 1922, aged 41, leaving three sons and a daughter. Her sons Song Chin Lee and Song Chin Suan were writing for the Malaya Tribune's Boys' Corner in 1931. Song Chin Suan studied at St. Joseph's Institution, where he gained the Cambridge School Certificate in 1931, and in 1936 he passed the London Chamber of Commerce examinations at the Y.M.C.A. School of Commerce. On 30 June 1935 Song Chin Lee, his two younger brothers and their sister, all of 17 Karikal Road, were received into the Catholic faith at the Church of St. Teresa, Kampong Bahru.
The war: 18 February 1942. Song Chin Suan became a Clerk Class III in the Audit Office. A list of Chinese taken away by the Japanese, published in Malayan Chinese Resistance to Japan 1937–1945 from the collection of Colonel Chuang Hui Tsuan, records 宋振番, aged 25, and 宋振前, aged 22, both taken away on 18 February 1942, the first day of the Sook Ching screenings. 宋振番 is very probably Song Chin Suan 宋振暄: the surname, the generation character 振, his age and the fate recorded by the colonial government all agree, and the last character may have been written differently in the list. 宋振前 shares the surname and generation character and was taken the same day; he may be the youngest brother, Song Chin Chwee 宋振水, under another name, or a close relative. Neither was heard from again. Song Chin Lee, the eldest brother, survived, and in August 1946 he applied for the gratuity due to Song Chin Suan from the Audit Office. He himself worked at the Currency Office after the war, the same office his father had headed in the 1920s.
From the Currency Note Branch to MAS. The Currency Note Branch that Song Kee Kuan headed did the day-to-day work of issuing and redeeming notes for the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Straits Settlements, the authority formed in 1897 that issued the colony's first government notes in 1899. The Currency Office where his son Song Chin Lee worked after the war was the post-war successor of that office. The line of currency boards runs unbroken to the Monetary Authority of Singapore:
| Year | Currency authority |
|---|---|
| 1897 | Board of Commissioners of Currency, Straits Settlements, formed; first government notes issued in 1899 |
| 1938 | Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya, issuing jointly with the Malay States; Malayan dollar from 1941 |
| 1954 | Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya and British Borneo |
| 1967 | Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore, issuing Singapore's own notes and coins |
| 2002 | Merged with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which has issued Singapore's currency since |
Newspaper Record 報章紀錄
| Date / Paper | Summary and link |
|---|---|
| 5 Nov 1903 The Straits Times | Song Kee Kuan, newly elected to the Singapore Volunteer Corps, posted to No. 1 Section, Right Squad, No. 2 Company, regimental no. 312. S. V. C. ORDERS |
| 3 Apr 1909 Singapore Free Press | Elected honorary treasurer of the Twilight Football Club (Thian Yang Kok), whose club house was in Kampong Bahru Road. Twilight Football Club |
| 11 Jul 1912 Singapore Free Press | As shroff at the Colonial Treasury, gave evidence in a forged-banknote case that the notes produced in court were forged. Big Capture of Forged Notes |
| 20 Jan 1915 The Straits Times | Elected honorary secretary at the association's second annual general meeting, with Lee Hoon Leong as president. Sepoy Lines Funeral Association |
| 17 Feb 1922 Malaya Tribune | Old coins in the collection of Mr. Song Kee Kwan, chief clerk, Colonial Treasury: a 1790 "spade" guinea, an 1819 Batavia half-cent and an 1849 Mexican half dollar. Old Coins |
| 6 Mar 1928 Malaya Tribune | Honorary secretary for 1928; Lee Hoon Leong was patron. Society and Personal |
| 7 Mar 1929 Malaya Tribune | Re-elected honorary secretary at the 16th annual general meeting. Sepoy Lines Funeral Association |
| 27 Feb 1932 Malaya Tribune | Office-bearer for 1932, at the 19th annual general meeting. Sepoy Lines Funeral Association |
| 12 Feb 1931 Malaya Tribune | Story by Song Chin Lee in the paper's Boys' Corner, one of several he contributed in January and February 1931. How to Make Others Happy |
| 14 May 1931 Malaya Tribune | Article by Song Chin Suan in the Boys' Corner. Your Profession |
| 6 Apr 1932 Malaya Tribune | Song Chin Suan of St. Joseph's Institution listed among those awarded the School Certificate. Cambridge Examination Results |
| 26 Mar 1936 The Straits Times | Song Chin Suan among the successful candidates of the Y.M.C.A. School of Commerce. London Chamber of Commerce Examinations |
| 25 Nov 1946 The Straits Times | Song Chin Lee named in the Currency Office staff teams. Staff Soccer Match |
| 27 Jul 1935 Catholic News | Local Chinese Converts: Song Chin Lee, two younger brothers and one sister, of 17 Karikal Road, received into the Catholic faith at the Church of St. Teresa, Kampong Bahru, on 30 June |
Sources 資料來源
- Tomb inscription and photograph by Raymond Goh, Bukit Brown Blk 1 A, plot 13; Bukit Brown burial register.
- Straits Settlements Blue Book 1924, Treasury, Currency Note Branch.
- Monetary Authority of Singapore, History of Currency in Singapore.
- National Archives of Singapore, Secretariat of Chinese Affairs, SCA 172-1946, "Mr Song Chin Suan, Clerk Class III, Audit Office, Singapore, Taken Away by the Japanese: Applies for Gratuity in Respect of", Aug to Sep 1946, microfilm SCA 0009. Record.
- Catholic News, 27 July 1935, vol. 1, no. 30.
- Museums Victoria, Coin - 1 Guinea, George III, Great Britain, 1790, item NU 33673, CC BY 4.0 (comparison images).
- Wikimedia Commons: Netherlands East Indies ½ stuiver, 1821 (CC BY-SA 3.0) and 8 reales Mexico, 1859 (CC BY-SA 4.0), comparison images.
- 許雲樵 Hsu Yun-tsiao and 蔡史君 Chua Ser-koon, eds. Malayan Chinese Resistance to Japan 1937–1945: Selected Source Materials, Based on Colonel Chuang Hui-Tsuan's Collection 新馬華人抗日史料. Singapore: Cultural & Historical Publishing House, 1984. Entries for 宋振番 and 宋振前.
- The Straits Times, Singapore Free Press and Malaya Tribune, 1903 to 1946, via NewspaperSG, as listed in the Newspaper Record table.
- Lee Hoon Leong 李雲龍, S.T.E.M.
About this record. This entry is part of Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials (S.T.E.M.) 新加坡墓碑銘集录, a specialised digital documentation project and archive recording historical tomb inscriptions in Singapore, with a focus on Bukit Brown Cemetery 武吉布朗坟场 and other early Chinese burial grounds. Each record transcribes the original Chinese inscription, gives an English translation, cross-checks it against the burial register, and adds a short biography drawn from contemporary newspapers and archival sources.
Cite this entry as:
Raymond Goh. "Mrs Song Kee Kuan nee Tan Seok Loo Neo." Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials (S.T.E.M.), tombs.bukitbrown.org, https://tombs.bukitbrown.org/2021/05/mrs-song-kee-kuan-nee-tan-seok-loo-neo.html. Accessed [date].
Keywords: Tan Seok Loo Neo, 陳氏, 淑孺, Song Kee Kuan, Song Kee Kwan, coin collection, spade guinea, Batavia half cent, half stuiver, Mexican dollar, 4 reales, Spanish dollar, Straits dollar, Song Chin Lee, 宋振利, Song Chin Suan, 宋振暄, Song Chin Chwee, 宋振水, 南靖, 麵線邊, Currency Note Branch, Treasury, shroff, Board of Commissioners of Currency, Monetary Authority of Singapore, MAS, Sepoy Lines Funeral Association, Lee Hoon Leong, Twilight Football Club, Singapore Volunteer Corps, St. Joseph's Institution, Church of St. Teresa, Karikal Road, Japanese Occupation, Sook Ching, 18 February 1942, 宋振番, 宋振前, Chuang Hui Tsuan, Audit Office, Bukit Brown Blk 1 A, tiles, Chinese tomb inscriptions Singapore, Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials, S.T.E.M.
Bukit Brown Blk 1 A Name - Song 宋 Name - Tan 陳 Region - 南靖 Tiles WW2 stories 1922
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