One Hundred Years' History Of The Chinese In Singapore: The Annotated Edition. Ong Siang Song
John Thomas Claridge was the first Recorder of the Court of Judicature of Penang, Malacca and Singapore. This was the first court with jurisdiction over all three territories of the Straits Settlements. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford where he graduated with a BN in 1813, and was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1818. Claridge, who served from 1826 to 1829, was a controversial figure and was subsequently recalled on grounds of insubordination. See Robert P Dod (ed), The Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland for 1856 (London: Whittaker & Co, 1856), at 169.
31Robert Fullerton (1773–1831) was Governor of Penang from 1824 to 1826 and first Governor of the Straits Settlements from 1826 to 1829. See Walter Makepeace, Gilbert Edward Brooke and Roland St. John Braddell (eds), One Hundred Years of Singapore, Vol 1 (London: John Murray, 1921), at 82–83.
32Sir Samuel George Bonham (1803–1863) was Resident Councillor of Singapore from 1833 to 1836 and he succeeded Kenneth Murchison as Governor of the Straits Settlements (1836–1843) before being appointed Governor of Hong Kong in 1848. He retired in 1854. He was the son of Captain George Bonham who worked for the British East India Company. Bonham Street in Singapore is named after him. See Justin Corfield, Historical Dictionary of Singapore (Plymouth: Scarecrow Press, 2011), at 40.
33JT Thomson, Hakayit Abdulla: Translations from the Hakayit Abdulla (bin Abdulkadar), Munshi, with comments (London: HS King, 1874), at 171.
34Preamble to Common Gaming Houses Ordinance Number V.
35See GM Reith, Handbook of Singapore, 1 ed (Singapore: The Singapore & Straits Printing Office, 1892), at 6–7, which reads: ‘The next year (1823) was important in many respects. A Chinaman, Seah Eu Chin, is said to have started gambier and pepper planning on the island, an industry which had much to do with the early prosperity of the Settlement.’
36Thomas Church (1798–1860) was Resident Councillor of Singapore from 4 March 1837 until his retirement in 1856. He was formerly Deputy Resident at Malacca (1828–1832). See Justin Corfield, Historical Dictionary of Singapore (New York: Scarecrow Books, 2011), at 96 (Call no.: 959.57003 COR-[HIS]).
37Logan’s Journal is the popular name for the Journal of Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia that was founded and edited by the noted lawyer and publisher, James Richardson Logan (1819–1869). The journal was first published in 1847 and folded in 1862. Through the journal, Logan single-handedly shaped public opinion on matters relating to the Straits Settlements. Logan was based in Penang and was also noted for publishing much important official and academic material concerning the Straits. He died on 20 October 1869 of malaria and is buried in Penang. The people of Penang erected a monument – the Logan Memorial – in the grounds of Penang’s old courthouse in his memory. With the massive renovation to the court complex, the memorial was moved to its current location in Light Street.
38This should read: ‘Annual Remittances by Chinese Immigrants in Singapore to Their Families in China’ (1843) 2 Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia 283–290.
39See ‘General Sketch of the Numbers, Tribes and Avocations of the Chinese in Singapore’ (1847) 1 Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia 35–37.
40Colonel William James Butterworth (1801–1856) was Governor of the Straits Settlements from 1843 to 1855, the longest-serving Governor of the Straits. He was the son of Captain William Butterworth of the Royal Navy, who died during the Battle of Trafalgar. He joined the army in Madras where he rose through the ranks to become Lieutenant-Colonel in the 38th Madras Regiment. An aloof and pompous figure, he was known as the ‘Great Butterpot’. See Justin Corfield, Historical Dictionary of Singapore (Plymouth: Scarecrow Press, 2011), at 46–47.
41Also sometimes spelt ‘Tan Ah Hung’. Tan’s date of birth and death are unknown. He was appointed first Captain China of Perak in the 1830s. See Wong Choon San, The Gallery of Chinese Kapitans (Singapore: Ministry of Culture, 1963), at 68.
42His name has variously been spelt Seah Cheoh Seah, Seah Chak Seah, Seah Cho Sia and Seah Cho Seah. Seah was born in 1846 and died on 25 November 1885 aged just 39. With his father, he ran the Alexandra gunpowder magazine at Tanah Merah Kechil as its general manager from 31 July 1869 (see The Straits Calendar & Directory for the Year 1870, at 416–417). He also represented the Chinese community to receive Prince Albert Victor of Wales and Prince George (later King George) in 1882 during their visit to Singapore. Seah Cheo Seah built a large mansion along North Boat Quay for his father in 1872 – one of the four big chu
43Also spelt Seah Eng Keat. Both variants of his Chinese name have been used. He was born in 1867 and died in 1955 at his home at 205 Joo Chiat Place (Singapore Free Press, 16 Jul 1955, at 20). At the time of his death, Seah Peng Hong was listed as his surviving son; his daughter, Seah Neo Chee (Mrs Ng Siew Gim), had predeceased him on 11 Apr 1928. Seah’s first wife died in January 1914 (Straits Times, 8 Jan 1914, at 8), and in 1915, he married Yap Nyat Jin, widow of the late Lim Kup Cheong. Yap was the daughter of Yap Kwan Seng, Captain China of Kuala Lumpur (Straits Times, 11 Jan 1915, at 6). Eng Keat and his brother Eng Kun were fond of horse racing and owned several horses. The two brothers also sold in 1913, a 999-year lease on a huge triangular plot of land at the junction of Battery Road and Bonham Street (‘A Big Land Deal’ Straits Times, 11 Jul 1913, at 9).
44Variously spelt Seah Eng Koon, Siah Eng Kuh and Seah Eng Keong. He was born in 1873 in Singapore and was educated at the Anglo-Chinese School and Raffles Institution. In 1901, he took control of his father’s pineapple canning business, Chop Chin Giap which produced Tiger Brand and Combat Brand canned pineapples which were popular in Europe and in Asia. The business ceased operations just before World War I when the prices of pineapples plummeted. In 1909, Eng Kun’s manager, WAB Goodall discovered a hot spring at the 13th milestone, Thomson Road. He sent samples of the water to London for testing and it was found to be of excellent quality. Seah then established the Singapore Natural Mineral Springs Company, bottled the water and sold it under the brand of Zombun. This company was later taken over by Fraser & Neave Limited in 1921. See
45Seah Cheo Seah’s wife, Lim Quee Poh bore him Eng Kiat and Eng Kun. He had two other sons by his concubine Lim Kah Lye: Eng Yeak
46Seah Song Seah died sometime in the 1910s in China. See
47Sometimes also spelt ‘Seah Pek Seah’. The fourth son of Seah Eu Chin, his birth date is unknown. In 1899, together with Lim Boon Keng and Song Ong Siang, Seah was elected to the first committee of the Singapore Chinese Girls’ School. In April 1936, he was adjudged a bankrupt and was thus stripped of his Justice of the Peace office. See Straits Times, 18 Apr 1936, at 10.
48Chin Huat Hin Oil Trading Co was a partnership between Seah Peck Seah, Tan Swi Khi, Lim Kim Seng and Seah Whah Ngee. It was dissolved on 25 Jan 1914. See Straits Times 13 Jul 1914, at 6.
49Eu Chin Street is named after him. See Victor R Savage and Brenda SA Yeoh, Singapore Street Names: A Study of Toponymics (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2013), at 118–119.
50This burial ground was exhumed in 1951 for the construction of five blocks of five-storeyed flats which was known as Ngee