Oey Liauw Kong

Oey Liauw Kong, Kapitein der Chinezen (1799–1865) was a Chinese-Indonesian high official, ''Landheer'' (landlord) and head of the Oey family of Kemiri, part of the 'Tjabang Atas' or Peranakan gentry. He was also the owner of the 18th-century Baroque mansion and Jakarta landmark, Toko Merah.

Biography

Oey was born in 1799 in Batavia (now Jakarta), Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) into an old, landowning family with a tradition of public service. He was the son of Oey Liam Kong, Kapitein der Chinezen, and a grandson of Oey Bian Kong, the 20th Kapitein der Chinezen of Batavia, who was in office from 1791 until 1800. Through his grandfather, he was also a great-grandson of the celebrated poet-bureaucrat Oey , Kapitein der Chinezen of Semarang, installed in 1753. The Chinese officership, consisting of the ranks of Majoor, Kapitein and der Chinezen, was an arm of the Dutch colonial government with administrative and judicial jurisdiction over the colony's Chinese subjects.

Oey was married to Gouw Tong Nio on April 29, 1818, then on the latter's death, to Jo Loan Nio on June 31, 1828, daughter of Jo Thaij San, der Chinezen (appointed in 1810). On being widowed for the second time, he married Lim Phek Nio.

Oey's bureaucratic career began with his appointment as der Chinezen on June 3, 1833, in succession to the recently deceased Tan Tjoen Ing. He served under Tan Eng Goan, the Kapitein der Chinezen of Batavia, whose post as senior Chinese officer in the colonial capital was raised in 1837 to a Mayoralty. In 1841, Oey Liauw Kong was promoted to the post of Kapitein der Chinezen, still serving under Majoor Tan Eng Goan. In August 1849, Kapitein Oey Liauw Kong submitted his request for a resignation to Jan Jacob Rochussen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, and was honorably discharged with the courtesy title of Kapitein-titulair der Chinezen.

He bought Toko Merah in 1851 as his townhouse and family residence. He died in on February 19, 1865.

Issue

All of his sons were raised to the Chinese officership; and many of his children were married off into other families of the Tjabang Atas. His eldest son, Oey Kim Tjiang, was appointed -titulair in 1847, in 1851, then succeeded his father as Kapitein-titulair der Chinezen in 1865. Kapitein Oey Liauw Kong's two younger sons by Jo Loa Nio were Oey Tek Tjiang, -titulair der Chinezen (appointed in 1855) and Oey Hok Tjiang, Kapitein-titulair der Chinezen (appointed in 1883). His daughters included Oey Khe Nio, who married Han Ting Hway, son of Han Tiauw Hien, der Chinezen in Surabaya, and Oey Giok Nio, who married the prominent landlord Nie Ek Tjiang, der Chinezen in Batavia and Tangerang.

Among his grandsons were Oey Keng Hien, der Chinezen in Batavia, son of Kapitein-titulair Oey Hok Tjiang, and Han Tjiong Khing, the last Majoor der Chinezen of Surabaya, son of Oey Khe Nio.

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oey, Liauw Kong
Dutch colonial governors and administrators
Dutch East India Company people
People from Batavia, Dutch East Indies
People of the Dutch East Indies
Indonesian people of Chinese descent
Indonesian Hokkien people
Kapitan Cina
Cabang Atas
1799 births
1865 deaths