Goh Siew Chiang (Bukit Brown)

 An email came in from QM asking for assistance to find the plot number of his/her grandfather's grave in Bukit Brown. QM has visited the grave of the grandfather recently (and hence was able to provide me with the picture of the tomb of her grandfather and additional information - his name in chinese, (吴继贤 and in Teochew dialect). 

Goh Siew Chiang tomb in Bukit Brown, Block 1 Division C, plot 51

So, last Saturday (6 July), to be very sure and armed with the picture provided (i can't read chinese but i am fortunate to be in good company of people who can), we combed up and down Block 1 Division C looking for the tomb. After finding it, we check the surrounding, and after confirming the plot numbers increase/decrease vertically we narrowed it down to confirm that it is plot 51

So in summary based on the burial entry of the Bukit Brown burial registrar, QM grandfather;

Name: Goh Siew Chiang

Date of Death: 2 August 1926

Age: 65

Block 1 Division C, plot 51 

(source: burial record from burial registrar - Aug 125 to Oct 1926)

With this information, as a descendant one can also get the death extract from ICA to get further information such as last known address and cause of death. Of course all this is for a fee. 

Who is Goh Siew Chiang?

From the email conversation, i got a bit of insight that Goh Siew Chiang used to own a provision shop in Serangoon area before a big fire burnt it down. Not long after in 1926, he passed away. QM Yeo's father was only 4 years old when Goh Siew Chiang passed away. Filial piety tradition continued with him visiting the tomb every Qingming until the 1970s with offerings, a sickle and 2 little bottles of paint (1 red and 1 green). 

Big Fire in Serangoon 

That got me thinking. Was there a big fire in Serangoon that burnt down many shops including the one owned by Goh Siew Chiang. The below are just possibilities and theories of what could have happen based on the timeline of 1924 / early 1925.

The one that got my attention was the great fire at Upper Serangoon on 29 January 1925. The fire broke out about 7 pm in a shophouse on the right hand side of Upper Serangoon Road (just beyond the tram terminus at Paya Lebar and in the vicinity of the police station). When the Fire Brigade arrived, the fire has already spread to other shophouses and within a few hours about 60 shophouses were reduced to ashes. This included coffee, provision and barber shops with the area impacted about an acre.

The great fire at Upper Serangoon Singapore on 29 January 1926

Again the above is just speculation for now and may not be related to the fire mentioned that burnt down Goh Siew Chiang's provision shop but gives one a visual impact of the damage done by this fire around the same timeline. 

Location of tomb 

Block 1 Division C, plot 51

For physical reference, Miss Gay Swee Poh (who passed away at the age of 4, is just buried 1 plot above , Block 1 Division C, plot 50).