A few weeks ago, in our August 19 issue, we published a short article about Tom (or Tam) Chu, who is buried in a corner of the Union Cemetery in Kemptville. There had been much speculation as to who he was and why he was buried in that location. Since then, Cahl Pominville, long-time Clerk of North Grenville and a man who knows things, has provided some more information. According to municipal records which Cahl helped to preserve, there were, in fact, two Chinese men buried in the cemetery. The second man was called Tai Wong, and he died in 1936, twelve years before Tam Chu.
A note in the records states that the body of Tai Wong was disinterred and moved to Ottawa some time after his death, possibly even after Tam’s death, though no year has been entered in the records for that. It seems that both men were to be re-interred in Ottawa, but, for reasons so far unknown, only Tai Wong was actually moved. There’s more of this story to be told yet.