After bringing the Cheok family to reconnect with the tomb of Yeo Tuck Quan, I was alerted to the fact that the tomb is maintained by another family of descendants, who not only maintained the tomb of Yeo Tuck Quan, but also that of the Chua family including the Patriarch tomb, the Matriarch tomb, their son Chua Cheng Kee tomb, his two wives tomb and their daughter Chua Gek Eng tomb.
They would be staying in Pulo Brani in the early 20th century since their daughter Gek Eng was born there in 1900.. Their son Seng Kee also sold alcohol in 1921 in the island
Pic of Cheok kampong house in Pulo Brani (courtesy of Stephen Cheok) .. It was their weekend island home and later they stayed there when Cheok Guan Leong got into finanical difficulties. The eldest son Sunny Cheok during his school days became a temporary fisherman and sold fish to the island villagers (oral history interview of Sunny Cheok, NAS, 1999)
The island house has 4 rooms and a hall, the Japanese use it as a HQ for the outer islands during WW2.
Tan Sim Ai born 1869 died 60 years old 16.12.29
Chua Ah Siah originated from Chao An County in the Eastern Guangdong Area.
In his tomb is engraved the names of his two wives, his first wife was Tan Sim Ai and the second was Yeo Tuck Quan.
Here it is most likely that posthumous names are used:
Cheng Ao (real name Ah Siah) - Bear Auspiciousness
Sang Ai (real name Sim Ai) - love from the heart
Tuck Quan (real name Quan Neo) to take things philosophically
Interesting facts discerned from the tombs
1) Yeo Tuck Quan died 6 days after Chua Ah Siah died. They are buried quite close to each other but a few tombs apart and therefore not family plot
2) On the tomb of Yeo Tuck Quan, it was listed as Mrs Cheok, which means that she is the mother of Cheok family, but there in the tomb Cheng Kee and in the obituary Cheng Hong and Cheng Kee was the sons of Chua Ah Siah. So is the daughter Gek Eng who was the daughter of Chua Ah Siah. The obituary mentioned 2 daughters, obviously one is Soo Eng, which is the eldest daughter of Chua, but not inscribed in the tomb
In Feb 1912 when Cheok Guan Leong father Cheok Hong Yam passed
away, Yeo Tuck Quan would be 48 years old.
The fact is that she is listed as second wife of Chua Ah Siah and "adopted" Cheng Hong, Cheng Kee and Geok Eng as her children
Chua Cheng Kee was listed as selling retail liquor in 1921 in Pulau Brani, and his sister Chua Gek Eng died in Pulau Brani in 1937 at the age of 37 (ie born in 1900)
It is thus likely that since the Chua children are still young
during 1912, Yeo Tuck Quan would have remarried to look after the
Chua family children.
As The Straits Trading Co. built a tin smelting factory on Pulau Brani in 1890 to process the tin ores mined in mainland Malaya, it could be possible that the Chua family would be involved with some kind of trade or business with the tin smelting factory, hence their daughter was born there.
Research ongoing..
Further reading :
Yeo Tuck Quan
https://tombs.bukitbrown.org/2024/09/yeo-tuck-quan.html
Chua Ah Siah Family
https://tombs.bukitbrown.org/2024/09/chua-ah-siah-family.html
Oral History Archives Interview with Sunny Cheok
https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/oral_history_interviews/record-details/0f0a8b28-1160-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad?keywords=sunny%20cheok&keywords-type=all
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