孫嘉閗 Sng Tow (1844–1922)
Ancestral place 許厝 · Tomb date Republic, 壬戌 (1922) · Lao Sua, opposite the avatar trees
Tomb of Sng Tow 孫嘉閗 and Madam Chiam 詹氏, Lao Sua, opposite the avatar trees. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.
The headstone, carved in folded seal script. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.
Right wing: the children and grandsons in Chinese, with his English dates. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.
Left wing: the date in Chinese and the family in English. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.
Headstone: 許厝 (top)
中華
顯考妣
嘉閗孫公 · 嗔娘詹氏
佳城
Left wing: 民國壬戌年二月初七日吉旦
Right wing: 男 孟子 俊德 德發 · 女 紅蝦 · 孫 連枝 君木 連成 和尚 水明 在根 金生 仝立
English: IN LOVE MEMORY OF LATE SNG TOW · BORN 11TH JUNE 1844 · DIED 5TH MARCH 1922 · SONS CHOON TECK, BENG CHOO, TECK HUAT · DAUGHTER ANG HAY · GRANDSONS KOON BOCK, LIAN KEE, LIAN SENG, HEOY SEOY, CHWEE BENG, KIM SING, CHYE KOON
Summary: Sng Tow 孫嘉閗 was born on 11 June 1844 and died on 5 March 1922, aged 77. His family came from 許厝. He shares a double tomb at Lao Sua with his wife, Madam Chiam 詹氏, named 嗔娘. The headstone is carved in an angular folded seal script, and the wings name the family in both Chinese and English: three sons, a daughter and seven grandsons. The tomb was set up on the 7th day of the 2nd lunar month of 1922, the same day as his death in the Western calendar. His daughter, Sng Ang Hay 紅蝦, may be the Sng Ang Hay who was the wife of Cheok Teng Theng 石廷挺 and mother of Cheok Hak Leng.
Family 家族
| Relationship | Name | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Deceased | Sng Tow 孫嘉閗 (1844–1922) | Tomb inscription |
| Wife | Madam Chiam 詹氏, named 嗔娘 | Tomb inscription |
| Sons (男) | 孟子 Beng Choo, 俊德 Choon Teck, 德發 Teck Huat | Tomb inscription, Chinese and English |
| Daughter (女) | 紅蝦 Ang Hay | Tomb inscription, Chinese and English |
| Grandsons (孫) | 連枝 Lian Kee, 君木 Koon Bock, 連成 Lian Seng, 和尚 Heoy Seoy, 水明 Chwee Beng, 在根 Chye Koon, 金生 Kim Sing | Tomb inscription, Chinese and English |
| Possible son-in-law | Cheok Teng Theng 石廷挺 (d. 1925), husband of a Sng Ang Hay | S.T.E.M. Cheok Teng Theng (not confirmed) |
Tomb Inscription 墓碑銘文
| 碑文 | Transcription / Meaning |
|---|---|
| 許厝 | Ancestral place: 許厝, read right to left across the top |
| 中華 | China |
| 顯考妣 | The late father and mother |
| 嘉閗孫公 · 嗔娘詹氏 | Mr Sng 嘉閗 and Madam Chiam, named 嗔娘 |
| 佳城 | Tomb (literally "fine city", a literary term for a grave) |
| 民國壬戌年二月初七日吉旦 | Auspicious day, 7th day of the 2nd month of the Republican year 壬戌 (1922) |
| 男 孟子 俊德 德發 | Sons 孟子, 俊德 and 德發 |
| 女 紅蝦 | Daughter 紅蝦 |
| 孫 連枝 君木 連成 和尚 水明 在根 金生 仝立 | Grandsons 連枝, 君木, 連成, 和尚, 水明, 在根 and 金生, erected together |
| IN LOVE MEMORY OF LATE SNG TOW · BORN 11TH JUNE 1844 · DIED 5TH MARCH 1922 | English panel, right wing |
Notes on the inscription:
- The two dates agree. The 7th day of the 2nd lunar month of 壬戌 is 5 March 1922, the date of death in the English panel.
- The headstone is carved in folded seal script, with its strokes squared and doubled back to fill each space, as on official seals. It is uncommon on tombs.
- Tow is the Hokkien reading of 閗, a variant of 鬥. The English uses this one character of his two-character name 嘉閗.
- The English names match the Chinese in Hokkien: 俊德 Choon Teck, 孟子 Beng Choo, 德發 Teck Huat, 紅蝦 Ang Hay, 君木 Koon Bock, 連枝 Lian Kee, 連成 Lian Seng, 水明 Chwee Beng, 金生 Kim Sing and 在根 Chye Koon. 和尚, a childhood name meaning "monk", is the remaining grandson, Heoy Seoy, by elimination; the English does not follow the Chinese.
- The Chinese lists the sons as 孟子, 俊德, 德發; the English puts Choon Teck before Beng Choo.
- 紅蝦, "red prawn", is a common Hokkien girl's name.
- Only Sng Tow's dates are given. Whether Madam Chiam is buried here, and when she died, is not recorded on the stone.
Burial Register 埋葬記錄
| Sng Tow | Madam Chiam | |
|---|---|---|
| Final Resting Place | Lao Sua, opposite the avatar trees | Lao Sua, opposite the avatar trees |
| Name | Sng Tow 孫嘉閗 | 詹氏 嗔娘 |
| Age | 77 | |
| Nationality | ||
| Date of death | 5 Mar 1922 (English panel) | |
| Date of burial |
Short Biography 生平簡介
A long life. Sng Tow 孫嘉閗 was born on 11 June 1844 and died on 5 March 1922, aged 77. His family's origin is given on the stone as 許厝. Born in the reign of Daoguang, he lived to see the Republic, and his tomb is dated by the Republican calendar and headed 中華.His family. He and his wife, Madam Chiam 詹氏, had three sons, 孟子 Beng Choo, 俊德 Choon Teck and 德發 Teck Huat, and a daughter, 紅蝦 Ang Hay. By 1922 there were seven grandsons. The family gave every name in English as well as Chinese, and set the headstone in a formal seal script.
The Cheok connection. An earlier S.T.E.M. entry records Cheok Teng Theng 石廷挺, father of Cheok Hak Leng, with his wife Sng Ang Hay. Cheok Teng Theng died in 1925 aged 55, so he was born about 1871. A daughter of Sng Tow, born in 1844, could well have married a man of that age, and the name is the same. A notice in 南洋商報 announced his death, a Fujian merchant (閩商), and his funeral from 521 Serangoon Road (石龍崗律) to the new cemetery (新塚) at 大吧窰 Toa Payoh, but it does not name his wife. No document yet links the two families, so the identification remains a possibility.
Newspaper Record 報章紀錄
| Date / Paper | Summary and link |
|---|---|
| 18 Jul 1925 南洋商報 | Death notice of the merchant Cheok Teng Theng 石廷挺, aged 55, with funeral details; his wife is not named. 敬告知交 |
Sources 資料來源
- Tomb inscriptions and photographs by Raymond Goh, Lao Sua.
- Cheok Teng Theng 石学能之父石廷挺, S.T.E.M., May 2019.
- 南洋商報, 18 July 1925, death notice of 石廷挺, via NewspaperSG.
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. "Sng Tow." Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials (S.T.E.M.), tombs.bukitbrown.org, https://tombs.bukitbrown.org/2026/10/sng-tow.html. Accessed [date].
Keywords: Sng Tow, 孫嘉閗, 詹氏, 嗔娘, Chiam, Sng Choon Teck, 俊德, Sng Beng Choo, 孟子, Sng Teck Huat, 德發, Sng Ang Hay, 紅蝦, Cheok Teng Theng, 石廷挺, Cheok Hak Leng, 許厝, 民國壬戌, 1922, folded seal script, bilingual tomb, Lao Sua, avatar trees, Chinese tomb inscriptions Singapore, Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials, S.T.E.M.
Lao Sua Name - Sng 孫 Name - Chiam 詹 Region - 許厝 Year - 民初 1922
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