Tomb records preserved

Church News

Tomb records preserved

By Charlie Chan
Singapore public affairs director

Published: Saturday, May 9, 2009

SINGAPORE

When Dr. Hui Yew Foong, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, saw advertisements in the newspapers announcing the government's intention to exhume the Kwong Hou Sua Cemetery, he felt the rich Chinese cultural and ancestor worship heritage found among the tombs should be preserved.

Photo by Annabella Li

Kenneth Lee, left, and his father, John Lee, record inscription found on a tombstone in Singapore's Kwong Hou Sua Cemetery.

The cemetery, which has more than 3,200 tombs, was opened about 80 years ago. Among those buried in this cemetery were early Chinese immigrants including humble laborers as well as business and civic leaders.

Many of the tombstones have inscriptions, which generally give brief accounts of the deceased person, listing the major events of the person's life and the lofty qualities they possessed to perpetuate their name to later generations. The tombstone inscriptions are a rich source of information on Chinese cultural, social and economic history in general and Chinese family histories in particular. Some inscriptions include the names of towns and cities where the deceased persons lived as well as names of spouse and children.

Dr. Hui wanted to record the inscriptions on all the tombstones and the appearances of all the graves. However, he knew he could not do it by himself.

A friend advised him to approach the Genealogical Society of Utah. The Genealogical Society of Utah, or FamilySearch, is funded by the Church. Dr. Hui contacted the Utah Genealogical Society and was referred to the Church in Singapore which houses a branch of the Family History Library.

Photo by Annabella Li

Member volunteers from many nationalities participated in the well-publicized service project.

The Singapore Stake presidency was happy to provide volunteers for preserving Chinese cultural and ancestor worship heritage. Members from the stake responded positively to the call. Their tasks were to record the inscribed epitaphs on the head stones and gravestones and to take digital pictures of the design and layout of the tombs, some elaborate and others simple.

The project was implemented in two phases involving more than 140 church volunteers.

Phase 1 covered June to November 2008. In that phase, more than 80 members managed to preserve the images and inscriptions of more than 2,000 tombs. Phase 2 involved more than 60 church volunteers preserving the records of more than 1,000 tombs from February to April 2009.

The exhumation of the cemetery and the assistance of Christian volunteers to preserve the heritage of Chinese culture, ancestor worship and the histories and lives of early Chinese immigrants to Singapore attracted wide media attention. The country's largest circulation English and Chinese language newspapers carried lengthy articles on this unique cross-cultural project. All the media mentioned that the volunteers were from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The main Chinese language newspaper in particular highlighted the interesting fact that some of the volunteers were from the expatriate community, including Australians, Americans, Filipinos and Malaysians.

After the completion of preservation of records of the tombstones' inscriptions and images, the stake's family history director and consultants will assist in cataloging the records.

© 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company