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Description: Moy Sam Page 8
Date: January 2 1908Newspaper published in: Washington, D. C., USA
Washington Times January 2, 1908 Moy Sam Page 8
Moy Sam’s Dream Ended; Lived 49 Years Without Saving Enough to Wed
With the scattering of much fake money, chanting of Chinese hymns, burning of sacred punk, and tossing of great quantities of edibles in his grave, Moy SAM, the lamented laundryman of 318 Pennsylvania avenue northwest, will be laid to rest in Congressional cemetery this afternoon. Around the grave will assemble some dozen cousins, who will stoically see all that is mortal of their kinsman returned to earth. Moy SAM’s clothes will be burned, a prayer will be offered up to Confucius for a safe journey back to China, and final tribute will have been paid an honest Chinaman whose name never graced the dark scroll of a tong.
Moy SAM was an industrious Chinaman, a charitable man, and a good laundryman. For seventeen years he had done the “washee-washee” at the old Pennsylvania avenue stand, and Chinatown seemed to grow up around him.
There was a great rush for clean Christmas linen last week. Moy SAM rose early and remained at work unto; late each evening, humming a tune all the while, and dreaming of his return to China to marry the girl of his choice.
She is a trifle more than a girl, being forty-five years old, but Moy SAM always regarded her as a lass, and refused to marry until he had saved sufficient money to live in comfort and happiness. MOY was forty-nine years old, and is said by his countrymen to have postponed his wedding repeatedly because he did not think he had enough money.
On Christmas Eve a chilling blast crept into May SAM’s laundry. It bore on its wings the grip germ. Next day May SAM “no git up.” He felt too ill the next day, and the next day, to get up and wrestle with linen. Moy’s friends finally sent him to Sibley Hospital.
There he was given the utmost care and attention, but he died on Christmas Eve. Since then his body has been in charge of J. William LEE, undertaker whose establishment is but a few doors from Moy’s former place of business. The funeral will be held from LEE’s this afternoon.