[1] The son of Tan Choon Sian,[2] he was born in Malacca in about 1850 and educated in Penang.

After graduation, he came to Singapore to join Messrs Lim Kong Wan & Sons as a shipping clerk, and later as a storekeeper in a Borneo company.

In his years working, he learnt the shipping trade, and went on to become a director of the Straits Steamship Co Ltd until his death in 1909.

On 5 October 1909 at 10:30 a.m., the funeral procession began from his residence in Middle Road.

With the coffin covered under an elaborate cover (known as kwantah), with a procession of Chinese banners and Chinese music jointly played by a Filipino brass and the Alhambra string bands at the rear.