The Cho Family Re-Discovered
1The Cho Family Re-Discovered
by Norman Cho
The search for my family tree has been an exhilarating adventure for me…
It all began with the discovery of my late paternal grandfather’s (Cho Kim Leong) grave at Bukit Brown in Nov 2011 after a long and arduous search for it. The construction of his tomb began soon after this discovery. This was followed by more discoveries about the man (Kim Leong) himself, through family documents, interviews with those who remember him and through the artefacts that he left behind. My exciting journey in the search for my ancestors was chronologically recounted in the All Things Bukit Brown blog as more and more interesting events unfolded.
It has indeed been a blessing for me, when the spouse of a newly-discovered cousin, Richard Brockett, unexpectedly contacted me in Facebook. It was a bolt out of the blue! They were from Australia and were the descendants of my granduncle, Cho Kim Choon. Incidentally, he was reading the blogs that were posted in the All Things Bukit Brown blog. Recognising the names mentioned in the blog and touched by the accounts that I had recounted, he decided to contact me. He had just finished working on his family tree and is now working on his wife’s family tree. We were perfect in seeking each other’s help to piece together the “Cho Family Jig-Zaw Puzzle”! Somehow, I believe in grandfather’s divine intervention in making this happen.
Their family had kept a treasured family portrait of my great-grandfather, Cho Poo, with his wives and 5 sons, taken at their family home in Hereen Street, Malacca, circa 1920s. He kindly emailed me a copy of this cherished family portrait with the only known image of Cho Poo and of his wives. Finally, I was able to see my paternal great-grandparents for the very first time. The feeling was indescribable.
Great-grandfather looked stern. My great-grandmother (wife #3), Kong Moey Yean, who was dressed in a dark baju-panjang seated on the left of the picture, looked pretty much the regal matriarch. All the sons are dressed in western suit and positioned in chronological order of seniority from left to right – Kim Choon, Keow Teng, Kim Leong (my Grandfather), Kim Tian and the little boy Kim Hock who is standing beside wife #2. Like many affluent families in the Straits Settlement whose sons received an English education, they wore western suits. Although, thought to be English-educated, Cho Poo still remained a traditionalist by wearing Chinese attire in this photo. A fairly wealthy man, Cho Poo reportedly sold 5,000 acres of land in Seremban in 1895. He was a pioneer in tapioca, gambier and rubber planting who died in 1932. Little else was known about the man. Hopefully, more will be revealed as I track down more relatives from his 5 sons…
I had never thought that I would come this far… but with faith and perseverance, I know that more good things will come my way.
Editors Note: We are gratified that Norman was able to connect with a long lost cousin all the way from Australia through our blog. We salute Norman for his faith and perseverance.
Read more tips from on how to trace your ancestry from Norman here
Norman has also contributed posts on Peranakan customs and culture. Here’s a list you can click on
Pantuns , Bangsawan in Singapore , Peranakans in Mourning
Hi Norman
I am also tracing my roots. Brief history. Is this your surname in Chinese character 曺 ? If yes, possibly we have originate from same clan Cao Cao. Our history started when some of the Cao ancestors moved south during the wars in China during the Song Dynasty. From there, historically further discendents moved to different parts of Southern China. My lineage comes from those in Xinhui. From here we traced back to the 1st generation up to current 29th generation. In between the 1st generation and 29th generation, there are many branches of various families.
If we can trade names of the oldest generation that you have, maybe , maybe we are connected somewhere possibly . As you know the old generation families are quite big with 5-children or more. By the time it comes down to current generation, it is like a big tree with a very wide coverage of branches and leaves.
Thanks
Andrew Cho