Teo Hoo Lye: Woven Threads
2Seeking Assistance
Raymond Goh received an email from his great great grand daughter looking for his tomb and sent this news article below. “More and more descendants are searching for their roots,” says Raymond. Teo Hoo Lye is buried in Section D, Block 3 grave 888. His descendant Petrina Ho says Teo Hoo Lye’s main residence would be where the Cathay building at Dhoby Ghaut currently sits.
Teo Hoo Lye and his wife Mdm Kaw Tak Poh died within 1 week of each other in Nov 1933 and were buried in Bukit Brown (read obituary here). There was a school Teo Hoo Lye Institution named after him in the past. In Song Ong Siang’s book, it was written that Teo Hoo Lye started from a manual labourer to become a ship owner and also served on the committee of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. There is a picture of Teo Hoo Lye and his son in Song Ong Siang book. (Details from Raymond.)
Teo Hoo Lye’s obituary in the Straits Times (National Library)
His obituary reads: “MR. TEO HOO LYE DIES AT 80. From Labourer To Ship Owner. The death occurred early yesterday of Mr. Teo Hoo Lye, the well-known Chinese after whom the Teo Hoo Lye Institution was named. His death follows that of his wife, Madam Kam Tak Poh, who died on Nov. 9 at their home in 13 Dhoby Ghaut.
Mr. Teo Hoo Lye leaves five children, the eldest of whom is Mr. Teo Teow Peng. Mr. Teo Hoo Lye was born in China in 1853 and came to Singapore at the age of 18. In Mr. Song Ong Siang’s book on 100 years of the Chinese in Singapore, it is stated that Mr. Teo Hoo Lye earned his living by manual labour but with indomitable perseverance he was able to start, a few years after he arrived here, a small grocer’s business in Rochore Road.
When 25 years old he went to the Natuna and Anambas Islands and engaged in the copra trade. He became owner of certain steamers and his firm acted as consignee of ships belonging to other Chinese owners. He also employed a fleet of native sailing craft for conveying copra, sago and other produce from the Natunas to this port. In 1909 he started a mill for turning out parboiled rice only, but the mill ceased working just before the war, owing to the shortage of padi. He was a large house-property owner and had two sago factories in Havelock Road, Geylang. For some years he served on the committee of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.”
[The Straits Times, 17 November 1933, Page 13; The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884-1942), 17 November 1933, Page 6]
Teo Hoo Lye, cleared when found (Photo: Raymond Goh)
Teo Hoo Lye’s tomb, cleaned and repainted(Photo: Claire Leow)
Close-up of names on Teo Hoo Lye’s tomb (Photo: Claire Leow)
The tomb lists 3 sons and 2 daughters, 9 grandsons and 10 granddaughters. Petrina posted a request for help after noting Teo had at least 3 wives. The plot is numbered 888.
Although Madam Kaw Tak Poh, (alias Kow Hooi Neo as inscribed on her tombstone), died one week before Teo, she is buried in grave no 1025, Area D, block 3, namely a little way away from his tomb.
In a typical example of how volunteers help the descendants, Khoo Ee Hoon posted the photo of the tomb:
Tomb of Mdm Kow Hooi Neo, wife of Teo Hoo Lye. (Photo: Khoo Ee Hoon)
Kow Hooi Neo, cleaned up and chalked for easier reading (Photo: Claire Leow)
A close-up of Mrs Teo Hoo Lye nee Kow Hooi Neo (Photo: Claire Leow)
Ee Hoon also found out his second wife Tan Chee Neo, who died much later, on July 6, 1940, is buried at Section D Block 3, 891, right in front of Teo.
Note the number is inverted on the joss container, as 168 rather than 891, which can confuse those looking for that plot number. Ee Hoon speculates that this is because 168 in Mandarin is pronounced ”一路发”，or “may your path be smooth”. Teo Hoo Lye’s plot number is an auspiscious 888 or “发发发”, to prosper forever.
Tan Chi Neo, cleaned up (Photo: Claire Leow)
Walter Lim, who researches on the Tongmenhui and Chinese revolutionaries, reformists and anti-imperialists of all manner, says Teo’s son, Tiow Peng, is buried at Bukit Brown with his wife and is a Kuomintang member. His mother was the second wife, Tan Chee Neo.
His tomb inscription reads: 2717 同安显考 朝聘张公墓 民国卅三年四月十五告终 男 木火 木林 女 素贞 素文 素心 素莹 素馨 立
Teo Teow Peng 20 JULY 1882 – 27 APRIL 1944 (Photo: Walter Lim)
Meanwhile, on the Peranakan Material Culture Facebook page, another descendant Joseph Then posted this photo on the Facebook page:
Teo Hoo Lye’s house (from Lee Kip Lin’s book)
Anyone researching on Teo Hoo Lye, please contact us or the Facebook page on this post to render assistance.
Another blog post here by Rojak Librarian.
Hello – I am one of TEO HOO LYE’s great grandsons – related to THL from my maternal grandmother who was the one and only ‘blood’ daughter from the first wife of THL. I too have been ploughing through all the books and literature available on my GGFather. Until recently, I was unaware my relatives in Singapore through Petrina Ho were also in search. Petrina is daughter to my cousin Serena. Her grandma is my mother’s youngest sister – I call her my ‘Aunty Jenny’ who sadly left us in 2005. I visited her in hospital one year when I came to Singapore when she took ill. I would like to contribute to the information on THL which I have amassed and some of it is anecdotal as I am in contact with the descendant families from his 3rd wife who still carry the surname TEO. A correction of some info on this blog – Teo Hoo Lye had 3 sons from each of his official three wives. The first and third wives were nyonya origin, born in Singapore. The middle wife was said to be china born and although nothing was published in terms of names in the press when she died, I only speculate that she was china born because she did not have a Singaporean type birth certificate which might have existed at that time, which the other Singapore wives most probably had (hence I use the term ‘speculate’) – but this has also been anecdotally told to me by the last living relative (who married a grandson of THL) and who is still alive at 90+ with a very good memory today. I was going to do some more research at the Registry of Births and Deaths in Singapore as we have the names of the two wives but I haven’t lived in SIngapore since 1985. Notice that the two published names of two of the wives ends with ‘Neo’. I believe these are typical Hokkien type names of nyonyas in Singapore just like ‘Geok’ or ‘Choo’. I also know that THL was recorded as born in Amoy which is in Fukien. Can someone who has access to the facebook page on THL please also give me access so I can share what I have learnt. THL’s great great grandchildren, like Petrina Ho, are also asking the same questions and a lot of them now live in Australia, The Netherlands, USA, Canada, and England. They are the children of the internet age, born overseas, more savvy at communications than my generation, with a mixture of different races in their families, and this is one way that I think I can connect them all together. Together, they may make more contributions and even locate, in future, the clan in Amoy from which THL came and connect to generations that derived from the clan who are also probably scattered world wide. Please connect me to this website or blog – I have provided my email address. I can surely connect my generation of living descendents onto this blog once you do that starting with my own immediate family members who live in the English speaking countries I have mentioned in this email. As a note, this blog mentions Teo Teow Peng who is THL’s eldest son. TTP’s eldest daughter (from his first wife who died after the birth of her daughter) married a TAY and all their children (my generation years but slightly older than my own siblings) are now living in Vancouver, Canada. We are in touch with them. TTP’s picture appears in Sir Song’s book on the 100 years of the Chinese in Singapore. Thank you.