Koh Siak Keong and Tan Chit Neo

Koh Siak Keong 許錫恭 (d. 1938) and Tan Chit Neo 陳七娘 (d. 1951)

Zhangzhou 漳州 Hokkien; Chinese and English inscriptions record deaths in 1938 and 1951
Bukit Brown Cemetery 武吉布朗坟場, Blk 3 A, Singapore

Tomb of Koh Siak Keong 許錫恭 at Bukit Brown Cemetery. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.

The Koh–Tan family grave at Bukit Brown Cemetery. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.

Wider view of the grave and its setting. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.

Detail of the Koh–Tan grave compound. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.

Chinese inscription recording the Koh–Tan family. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.

English memorial inscription and family names. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.

Tomb inscriptions:

許錫恭
陳七娘
男 許清雲
女 許清娘

Koh Saik Kiong, died 18 May 1938 (19th day of the 4th lunar month), age 61.
Tan Chit Neo, died 28 May 1951 (23rd day of the 4th lunar month), age 67.

Summary: Koh Siak Keong 許錫恭 (also spelt Koh Saik Keong and Koh Saik Kiong) died on 18 May 1938 aged 61, and his wife Tan Chit Neo 陳七娘 died on 28 May 1951 aged 67. Both are buried in the Koh–Tan family grave at Bukit Brown Cemetery, Blk 3 A, Singapore. The Chinese inscription names a son, Koh Cheng Hoon 許清雲, and a daughter, Koh Cheng Neo 許清娘. Newspaper notices place the family at 390 Joo Chiat Road, where Koh died in 1938, his granddaughter Nancy Seow was to marry Sim Meah Ser in 1940, and Tan Chit Neo died in 1951. Three generations of the Koh, Seow and Sim families are linked through this address. This record transcribes the inscription, converts the lunar dates, and sets out the family reconstruction and the points still to be checked.

Tomb Inscription 墓碑銘文

碑文	Transcription / Meaning
許錫恭	Koh Siak Keong / Koh Saik Kiong. The name of the deceased husband as carved in Chinese.
陳七娘	Tan Chit Neo. The name of his wife.
男 許清雲	Son: Koh Cheng Hoon.
女 許清娘	Daughter: Koh Cheng Neo.

Notes on the inscription:

• Spelling. Koh's name appears in English records as Koh Siak Keong, variants can include Koh Saik Keong and Koh Saik Kiong. 
• Lunar dates. The English memorial gives Koh's death as 18 May 1938, the 19th day of the fourth lunar month, and Tan Chit Neo's as 28 May 1951, the 23rd day of the fourth lunar month. Both conversions were checked against a lunar calendar library and agree.
• Pedestal. A pedestal associated with the grave bears the words "Contractor", "Chin Heng" and "1930". See Leads to Check below.

Burial Register 埋葬記錄

Final Resting Place	Bukit Brown Cemetery 武吉布朗坟場, Blk 3 A
Plot number	707
Name	Koh Seck Kiong 許錫恭 (variants: Koh Siak Keong, Koh Saik Keong), Koh Saik Kiong)
Dialect group	Hokkien, Zhangzhou 漳州 (from the blog's regional label)
Date of death	18 May 1938 (19th day, 4th lunar month); age 61
Date of burial	22 May 1938 (funeral to Bukit Brown, per newspaper)
Name	Tan Chit Neo 陳七娘
Date of death	28 May 1951 (23rd day, 4th lunar month); age 67
Date of burial	3 June 1951 (funeral left for Bukit Brown at 11 a.m., per newspaper)

Family 家族

Person	Relationship and evidence
Koh Siak Keong / Koh Saik Kiong 許錫恭	Husband of Tan Chit Neo. Died 18 May 1938, aged 61.
Tan Chit Neo 陳七娘	Wife of Koh Siak Keong. Died 28 May 1951, aged 67.
Koh Cheng Hoon 許清雲	Son named on the tomb and in the 1938 death notice.
Koh Cheng Neo 許清娘	Daughter; married Seow Beng Cheng. Named in 1951 as Tan Chit Neo's only daughter.
Seow Beng Cheng	Son-in-law of Koh Siak Keong and Tan Chit Neo.
Nancy Seow	Eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Seow Beng Cheng; granddaughter of Koh Siak Keong and Tan Chit Neo.
Sim Meah Ser	Husband of Nancy Seow; youngest son of the late Mr and Mrs Sim Phiak Cheng; described in 1938 as Koh's grandson-in-law. Of the Goodyear Orient Company.

Short Biography 生平簡介

Koh Siak Keong died peacefully at his residence, 390 Joo Chiat Road, on 18 May 1938. His death notice named his wife, his daughter Mrs Seow Beng Cheng, his son Koh Cheng Hoon, his son-in-law Seow Beng Cheng, his grandson-in-law Sim Meah Ser of the Goodyear Orient Company, and several grandchildren. The funeral proceeded to Bukit Brown Cemetery on Sunday, 22 May 1938. The newspaper date agrees with the tomb inscription, which records the 19th day of the fourth lunar month (Malaya Tribune, 20 May 1938, p. 12).

Two years later, Nancy Seow, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Seow Beng Cheng, was to marry Sim Meah Ser, youngest son of the late Mr and Mrs Sim Phiak Cheng. The marriage was announced for Saturday, 12 October 1940, at 390 Joo Chiat Road. Nancy was therefore a daughter of Koh Cheng Neo and Seow Beng Cheng, and a granddaughter of Koh Siak Keong and Tan Chit Neo (Malaya Tribune, 11 Oct 1940, p. 10).

Tan Chit Neo survived her husband by thirteen years. She died peacefully at 390 Joo Chiat Road on 28 May 1951, and her funeral left for Bukit Brown Cemetery at 11 a.m. on 3 June 1951. Her death notice identified Mrs Seow Beng Cheng, née Koh Cheng Neo, as her only daughter and mentioned several grandchildren and great-grandchildren (The Straits Times, 29 May 1951, p. 7).

The repeated address is one of the strongest pieces of evidence in this family history. Koh died at 390 Joo Chiat Road in 1938, Nancy Seow's marriage was arranged there in 1940, and Tan Chit Neo died there in 1951. The grave preserves the family names, but the address shows the household behind the stone: a home connecting the Koh, Seow and Sim families across several generations.

Newspaper Record 報章紀錄

Date / Paper	Summary and link
20 May 1938 Malaya Tribune, p. 12	Death notice for Koh Saik Kiong, died 18 May 1938 at 390 Joo Chiat Road. Names his wife, daughter Mrs Seow Beng Cheng, son Koh Cheng Hoon, son-in-law Seow Beng Cheng, grandson-in-law Sim Meah Ser (Goodyear Orient Company) and several grandchildren. Funeral to Bukit Brown on Sunday, 22 May 1938. Read issue
11 Oct 1940 Malaya Tribune, p. 10	Marriage announcement: Nancy Seow, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Seow Beng Cheng, to Sim Meah Ser, youngest son of the late Mr and Mrs Sim Phiak Cheng, on Saturday, 12 October 1940, at 390 Joo Chiat Road. Read issue
29 May 1951 The Straits Times, p. 7	Death notice for Mrs Koh Siak Keong, née Tan Chit Neo, died 28 May 1951 at 390 Joo Chiat Road. Mrs Seow Beng Cheng, née Koh Cheng Neo, named as only daughter; grandchildren and great-grandchildren mentioned. Funeral to Bukit Brown at 11 a.m. on 3 June 1951. Read issue

Leads to Check

• The "grandson-in-law" puzzle. Koh's 1938 death notice already described Sim Meah Ser as his "grandson-in-law", although Sim's marriage to Nancy Seow was announced only in 1940. This may indicate an earlier customary union, or an engagement already recognised by the family.
• The missing son. Koh Cheng Hoon appears on the tomb and in his father's 1938 death notice, but is not named in his mother's 1951 notice. He may have died before his mother, but an omission from an obituary is not proof of death. A death notice, burial entry or family record for Koh Cheng Hoon is still needed.
• The 1930 pedestal. The words "Contractor", "Chin Heng" and "1930" appear on a pedestal associated with the grave. If the date has been read correctly, it predates Koh's death by eight years and cannot automatically be treated as his burial year. It could relate to the manufacture of part of the grave, an earlier construction phase, or the preparation of a grave during Koh's lifetime.

Sources 資料來源

1. Tomb inscriptions of Koh Siak Keong and Tan Chit Neo, Bukit Brown Cemetery, Blk 3 A (field photographs and transcription, S.T.E.M.).
2. "Deaths," Malaya Tribune, 20 May 1938, p. 12, via NewspaperSG, National Library Board, Singapore.
3. "Marriage," Malaya Tribune, 11 October 1940, p. 10, via NewspaperSG.
4. "Death," The Straits Times, 29 May 1951, p. 7, via NewspaperSG.
5. Lunar–Gregorian conversion: the 19th day of the 4th lunar month of 1938 fell on 18 May 1938, and the 23rd day of the 4th lunar month of 1951 fell on 28 May 1951, computed with a lunar calendar library.

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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. "Koh Siak Keong and Tan Chit Neo 許錫恭、陳七娘." Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials (S.T.E.M.), tombs.bukitbrown.org, https://tombs.bukitbrown.org/2021/06/koh-siak-keong-and-tan-chit-neon.html. Accessed [date].

Keywords: Koh Siak Keong, Koh Saik Keong, Koh Saik Kiong, 許錫恭, Tan Chit Neo, 陳七娘, Koh Cheng Hoon, 許清雲, Koh Cheng Neo, 許清娘, Seow Beng Cheng, Nancy Seow, Sim Meah Ser, Sim Phiak Cheng, Goodyear Orient Company, 390 Joo Chiat Road, Joo Chiat, Bukit Brown Cemetery, 武吉布朗坟場, Blk 3 A, Zhangzhou 漳州, Hokkien, Singapore Chinese family history, Chinese tomb inscriptions Singapore, Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials, S.T.E.M.

Bukit Brown Blk 3 A Name - Koh 許 Name - Tan 陳 Region - 漳州 Stone Mason