Chua Chim Chuan 蔡深泉 (c. 1870 – 1927)
Rubber planter's estate, 123 Neil Road; stone erected by his sons and daughter
Bukit Brown Cemetery, Block 2 A, Plot 85
Summary: Chua Chim Chuan 蔡深泉 died on 16 June 1927 at his home, 123 Neil Road, Singapore, aged 57, and was buried at Bukit Brown Cemetery, Block 2 A, Plot 85, on 20 June. His headstone is dated the 17th day of the 5th lunar month of the 16th year of the Republic (民國十六年五月十七), which is 16 June 1927, and names his sons Toh Eng 杜英 and Toh Chong 杜昌 and his daughter Gin Neo 銀娘. Newspaper notices show that Mr Lim Tiang Chan was the sole executor of his will, that probate was granted on 29 July 1927, and that his estate included a rubber plantation of about 83 acres at the 9¾ milestone on Reformatory Road, offered for auction in March 1928. This record transcribes the inscription, sets out the register entry, and traces the family and estate through contemporary newspapers.
Tomb Inscription 墓碑銘文
| 碑文 | Transcription / Meaning |
|---|---|
| 蔡深泉 | Chua Chim Chuan. 蔡 (Chua / Cai) is the surname; 深泉 is the given name, in a Hokkien-style romanisation. The characters above the name on the central slab are too weathered to read from the photograph. |
| 民國十六年五月十七 | "The 17th day of the 5th month, year 16 of the Republic of China", that is 16 June 1927. This agrees with the date of death in the burial register and the newspaper notice, so the stone records the date of death. |
| 孝男 杜英 杜昌 女 銀娘 | "Filial sons Toh Eng 杜英 and Toh Chong 杜昌; daughter Gin Neo 銀娘". These are the family members who set up the stone. No wife or ancestral place (籍貫) is recorded in the transcription. |
| LOVING MEMORY OF MR CHUA CHIM CHUAN, DIED 16TH JUNE 1927 | English dedication on the base of the headstone. |
Notes on the inscription:
- Generation name 杜 (Toh). Both sons carry 杜 as the first character of their given names, a generation name (字輩) shared by brothers. The daughter's name 銀娘 (Gin Neo) follows the usual pattern for women, in which 娘 (Neo) marks a girl's name.
- An English and Chinese stone. The stone carries an English dedication on its base as well as the Chinese inscription above, the English giving the date of death in the western calendar and the Chinese in the Republican one.
- No ancestral place. Unlike many Bukit Brown stones, the transcription shows no 籍貫. The dialect group of the family is therefore not recorded.
- Dates. 17th day of the 5th lunar month 1927 is 16 June 1927; the interment on 20 June falls on the 21st day of the same lunar month (conversion checked with a perpetual calendar).
Burial Register 埋葬記錄
| Name | Chua Chim Chuan |
| Age | 57 (born c. 1870), as given in the death notice |
| Date of death | 16 June 1927 (17th day of the 5th lunar month, 民國十六年) |
| Date of interment | 20 June 1927 |
| Location | Bukit Brown Blk 2 A, Plot 85 |
| Address | 123 Neil Road, Singapore (from the death notice and estate notice) |
Short Biography 生平簡介
Chua Chim Chuan was born about 1870 and lived at 123 Neil Road, in the shophouse district on the edge of Chinatown. He died there on 16 June 1927 at the age of 57 (Straits Budget, 23 Jun 1927). The funeral took place four days later. On 21 June the Straits Times printed an acknowledgement in which Goh Teck Chye and Chua Toh Eng thanked relatives, friends and the members of the Lam Chong Association who had attended it (Straits Times, 21 Jun 1927). Mr Goh is not named on the stone. He may be a son-in-law, which would fit a daughter, Gin Neo, among the three children named on the stone, but nothing in the notice says so. The second name matches the first-named son on the stone.
The Lam Chong Association. The association Chua belonged to has not been traced to a Chinese name. Newspapers show that it was active in the 1920s and 1930s: it held its tenth anniversary at Mr Aw Boon Haw's Pasir Panjang bungalow in October 1930 (Malaya Tribune, 20 Oct 1930) and its sixteenth annual general meeting in July 1936 (Malaya Tribune, 31 Jul 1936), which puts its founding at about 1920. It was also among the bodies thanked in another funeral acknowledgement of 1927 (Malaya Tribune, 17 Jan 1927). A notice of January 1932 reported that the Colonial Secretary was satisfied that the association had ceased to exist, although it was still holding meetings and anniversaries afterwards (Malaya Tribune, 2 Jan 1932).
The estate and its executor. Within weeks of his death, the will was probated. A notice published in the Straits Times from 29 September 1927 states that Lim Tiang Chan, the sole executor, obtained probate from the Supreme Court on 29 July 1927, and that creditors must send in their claims by 31 October 1927, after which he would distribute the estate (Battenberg & Talma, solicitors; Straits Times, 29 Sep 1927; 1 Oct 1927). In March 1928 Battenberg & Talma instructed Ching Keng Lee & Co. to auction "the estate of Chua Chim Chuan (deceased)": a rubber plantation at the 9¾ milestone on Reformatory Road, of 83 acres and 10 poles, about 70 acres of it fully planted, to be sold at 2.30 p.m. on Monday 19 March 1928 at Raffles Chambers (Malaya Tribune, 14 Mar 1928). He thus seems to have been an owner of rubber land as well as a Neil Road resident, but I have found no trade or business directory entry for him, and the records do not say what he did for a living.
Why Lim Tiang Chan? The sources do not explain why a single executor outside the named children was chosen, and any answer is a guess. It may simply be that Lim was a trusted friend or business associate, or that the children were young or one of them was away. A man of that name appears in the newspapers as honorary treasurer of the Rosedale Association (Chip Hean Kok) from 1926 to 1933 (Straits Times, 3 Jul 1926; Malaya Tribune, 5 Apr 1933), and as one of the sons of Mr Lim Teng Soon, who died in February 1924, aged 63, with his funeral at Bukit Brown (Malaya Tribune, 28 Feb 1924). Whether either is the executor has not been established, and the link to Chua Chim Chuan is not known.
The children. A Chua Toh Eng, clerk and interpreter at Geylang Police Station, pleaded guilty in July 1928 to the theft of about $30 from a fellow clerk at Rochor Police Station, saying that his salary of $60 a month was too small to live on (Straits Times, 5 Jul 1928; Malaya Tribune, 5 Jul 1928). The name is uncommon and the dates fit the family, but nothing in the reports connects him to Chua Chim Chuan, so this should be treated only as a lead. I have found no newspaper trace of Toh Chong or Gin Neo.
Newspaper Record 報章紀錄
| Date / Paper | Summary and link |
|---|---|
| 28 Feb 1924 Malaya Tribune | Lead on the executor: death notice of Mr Lim Teng Soon, aged 63, leaving sons including Lim Tiang Chan; funeral on 2 March to Bukit Brown. Link to the executor not established. Read article |
| 21 Jun 1927 Straits Times | Acknowledgement by Goh Teck Chye and Chua Toh Eng, thanking relatives, friends and members of the Lam Chong Association for attending the funeral of the late Mr Chua Chim Chuan. Read article |
| 23 Jun 1927 Straits Budget | Death notice: Chua, on 16 June 1927 at his residence 123 Neil Road, Mr Chua Chim Chuan, aged 57. Read article |
| 29 Sep – 11 Oct 1927 Straits Times | Notice in the estate of Chua Chim Chuan, deceased, late of 123 Neil Road: Lim Tiang Chan sole executor, probate granted 29 July 1927, claims by 31 October 1927 (Battenberg & Talma). The notice appeared on several days; first and later insertions: 29 Sep, 1 Oct, 10 Oct. |
| 14 Mar 1928 Malaya Tribune | Auction notice, estate of Chua Chim Chuan (deceased): rubber plantation, 9¾ milestone Reformatory Road, 83 acres 10 poles, about 70 acres planted; sale on 19 March 1928. The notice was repeated on 15 and 16 March. Read article |
| 5 Jul 1928 Straits Times | Lead on the family: Chua Toh Eng, police clerk and interpreter, Geylang, pleads guilty to theft. Identity with the son on the stone not established. Read article |
| 20 Oct 1930 Malaya Tribune | Lam Chong Association reminds members of its tenth anniversary celebration at Mr Aw Boon Haw's Pasir Panjang bungalow. Read article |
| 31 Jul 1936 Malaya Tribune | Sixteenth annual general meeting of the Lam Chong Association; office-bearers elected. Read article |
Sources 資料來源
- Headstone of 蔡深泉, Bukit Brown Cemetery, Block 2 A, Plot 85 (field photographs and transcription, S.T.E.M.).
- Municipal burial register, Bukit Brown Cemetery: Chua Chim Chuan, died 16 June 1927, interred 20 June 1927, Blk 2 A plot 85.
- NewspaperSG, National Library Board, Singapore: Straits Times, 21 June, 29 September, 1 and 10 October 1927 and 5 July 1928; Straits Budget, 23 June 1927; Malaya Tribune, 28 February 1924, 17 January 1927, 20 October 1930, 2 January 1932, 5 April 1933, 31 July 1936, 14 March 1928 and 5 July 1928; Straits Times, 3 July 1926. Links are given in the table above.
- Lunar–Gregorian conversion checked with a perpetual calendar: 16 June 1927 = 17th day of the 5th month, 21st day on 20 June 1927.
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, the adjoining Hokkien Huay Kuan burial grounds of Lao Sua and Kopi Sua 羔丕山, 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. "Chua Chim Chuan 蔡深泉." Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials (S.T.E.M.), tombs.bukitbrown.org, https://tombs.bukitbrown.org/2021/10/chua-chim-chuan.html. Accessed [date].
Keywords: Chua Chim Chuan, 蔡深泉, Chua Toh Eng, 杜英, Chua Toh Chong, 杜昌, Chua Gin Neo, 銀娘, Lim Tiang Chan, Lam Chong Association, Bukit Brown Cemetery, 武吉布朗, Block 2 A, Neil Road, rubber plantation Reformatory Road, estate auction 1928, probate 1927, 民國十六年, Chinese tomb inscriptions Singapore, Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials, S.T.E.M.
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