Howdy! This is not an ad, but a review I wrote of a book recently released by Genealogical Publishing Co. You all might find the review of interest. I have posted the review to my web site as well. The URL is: http://fuzzo.com/genealogy/Asia/ChaoReview.htm. In Search of Your Asian Roots: Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames Reviewed by David M. Lawrence Sheau-yueh J. Chao has written what should become the definitive English-language introduction to the origin of Chinese family names. “In Search of Your Asian Roots: Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames,” published by Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc., for Clearfield Company, is a concise genealogical analysis of more than 600 names and their variants. The first chapter summarizes the history of and body of research on Chinese surnames, as well as explains why the spellings of names have changed throughout history. The heart of the book, chapter two, delivers a valuable analysis of 600 surnames, documenting the origins of the name, the regions with which the name was associated, and reasons why the name has changed through the centuries. The third chapter – important to those who want to delve further into the literature on Chinese family history – is an extensive annotated bibliography on Chinese surnames. The listings include both English-language and Chinese-language research. The book is equipped with separate indexes for family names, authors, titles and Chinese-character stroke numbers, which are another way to organize Chinese characters. Other useful features include a glossary, a timeline of Chinese history, and a Pinyin to Wade-Giles conversion table for those unfamiliar with the Wade-Giles method of romanizing Chinese sounds. The primary weakness of this book is its layout, which – in journalistic terms – is pretty gray. In other words, it’s not much to look at. There are not illustrations to break up the type. But what the book lacks in visual appeal is more than made up for in its information content. One warning to those who speak (or whose ancestors spoke) dialects other than Mandarin. The book follows Mandarin styles. For example, the name of my ancestors, who came from Guangdong (Canton) province, pronounced their name “Yee.” At first I could not find any information on my surname in the book because I looked for “Yee.” Recently a immigrant from Taiwan looked at some of my family letters and pronouced the family name as “Yü.” When I returned to the book and looked up “Yü” and matched the characters, I found my family’s name (it’s surname No. 603 on p. 210). I learned that my surname originated from the name of a minister in the Ch’in Dynasty (221-206 BCE). The family settled primarily in She hsien, Anhui province. The author, a staff librarian at Newman Library at Baruch College, has consulted nearly 200 books of ancient Chinese literature housed at Columbia University’s East Asian Library, the Harvard-Yenching Library at Harvard University and the Library of Congress while researching “In Search of Your Asian Roots.” She should be commended for making this vast body of knowledge accessible to the English-speaking world. Sheau-yueh J. Chao. 2000. In Search of Your Asian Roots: Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames. Baltimore: Clearfield Company Inc. (Printed by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.). 323 pp., illus., indexed, paper. ISBN 0-8063-4946-8. $29.95 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ David M. Lawrence | Home: (804) 559-9786 9272-G Hanover Crossing Drive | Fax: (804) 559-9787 Mechanicsville, VA 23116 | Email: dave@fuzzo.com USA | http: http://fuzzo.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo "No trespassing 4/17 of a haiku" -- Richard Brautigan

Posted on: General China Query Forum Board URL: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/China/General?read=178 Surname: Poon, Wah Poon, Poon Wah ------------------------- My grandfather was possibly born in the early 1900's. He left China as a young boy with his father, moving to Trinidad, West Indies - a British territory at the time. I believe his name was Wah Poon and he changed it to Joseph Poon Wah - making Poon Wah his last name. My mother moved from Trinidad and eventually ended up in Aiken, S.C. I know nothing of relatives he may have left in China. Thank you for any possible information.

Thanks Ryan I spent yesterday pouring over maps. Who would have known the name now? Well probably everyone but me. Take care, Debi ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ryan Ong" <doric24@hotmail.com> To: <CHINA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2000 8:24 PM Subject: Re: [CHINA] Canton Cemetery > Debi, > > Canton is just the former name of Guangzhou, the big big port in > southern China (home, of course, of Cantonese food and the Cantonese > language). I regret I don't know much about the area myself, but you might > have a lot better luck looking for maps and things under the name of > Guangzhou (since that's the current officially recognized name). > > Ryan > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: steamdog <steamdog@email.msn.com> > To: <CHINA-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2000 1:28 PM > Subject: [CHINA] Canton Cemetery > > > > Hi everyone: > > > > I am a new subscriber to this list but not new to genealogy. My > > gggrandfather was a mariner and drowned at sea around 1810. He was > > apparently buried in Canton China. Now I know absolutely nothing about > Asia > > (didn't pay attention unfortunately in school). I've tried to find maps > of > > Canton but they don't seem to be easy to find. The one I found was too > > choppy and confusing. I'd like to find the area so I can view the > homepages > > associated with that area. > > > > My question is one: Where is Canton, and two: do I have a chance in heck > > to find a cemetery there? > > > > Thanks for all your help, > > > > Debi > > > > > > >

Debi, Canton is just the former name of Guangzhou, the big big port in southern China (home, of course, of Cantonese food and the Cantonese language). I regret I don't know much about the area myself, but you might have a lot better luck looking for maps and things under the name of Guangzhou (since that's the current officially recognized name). Ryan ----- Original Message ----- From: steamdog <steamdog@email.msn.com> To: <CHINA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2000 1:28 PM Subject: [CHINA] Canton Cemetery > Hi everyone: > > I am a new subscriber to this list but not new to genealogy. My > gggrandfather was a mariner and drowned at sea around 1810. He was > apparently buried in Canton China. Now I know absolutely nothing about Asia > (didn't pay attention unfortunately in school). I've tried to find maps of > Canton but they don't seem to be easy to find. The one I found was too > choppy and confusing. I'd like to find the area so I can view the homepages > associated with that area. > > My question is one: Where is Canton, and two: do I have a chance in heck > to find a cemetery there? > > Thanks for all your help, > > Debi > > >

Hi everyone: I am a new subscriber to this list but not new to genealogy. My gggrandfather was a mariner and drowned at sea around 1810. He was apparently buried in Canton China. Now I know absolutely nothing about Asia (didn't pay attention unfortunately in school). I've tried to find maps of Canton but they don't seem to be easy to find. The one I found was too choppy and confusing. I'd like to find the area so I can view the homepages associated with that area. My question is one: Where is Canton, and two: do I have a chance in heck to find a cemetery there? Thanks for all your help, Debi

Posted on: General China Query Forum Board URL: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/China/General?read=170 Surname: Lui, Louis, Lee ------------------------- Looking for decendants of Lee Kim Wing (b.late 1890s).His real last name is Lui or Louis. He was a paper boy in the early 1900s which led to the false surname of Lee. He traveled from China to USA numerous times.Was a private in WWI & WWII.Had 2 wives in China. 2 children from first wife and 5 from second.During the Rape of Nanking, he was in San Antonia, TX and Oklahoma City, OK. 3rd wife was obtained when he assumed his family in China had died in the hands of the Japanese. Once mail was allowed to reach USA, 2nd wife mailed letter. 3rd wife told him to go back to his 2nd wife and family. 3rd wife had one son by him. He continued to travel back and forth between China and USA. He was a deputy in TX in the 1961. He left the States back for China and died in 1963. I am looking for the 3rd wife and son of my grandfather. He said the 3rd wife was "dark skinned" and therefore, most likely was not Chinese. Before his death in Macau, he had traveled back and forth staying a few years in the States and then a few years in China with this routine from the early 1900s to 1963. Please respond to this if you have any information. Thank you.

Howdy! Sorry about my reply to Seth Archer about the documentary. I meant to reply to him personally, but didn't look at the To... portion of the message before I sent it. Usually this poses no harm (as in this case), but every now and then one may say something not intended for public consumption. The moral of this story is "Look before you send..." Later, Dave ------------------------------------------------------------------------ David M. Lawrence | Home: (804) 559-9786 9272-G Hanover Crossing Drive | Fax: (804) 559-9787 Mechanicsville, VA 23116 | Email: dave@fuzzo.com USA | http: http://fuzzo.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo "No trespassing 4/17 of a haiku" -- Richard Brautigan -----Original Message----- From: Seth Archer [mailto:sdarcher99@yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2000 10:45 AM To: CHINA-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [CHINA] family histories Dear Researchers– We are documentary film producers working on a new exhibit for the American Family Immigration History Center, a new wing of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York due to open next year. The exhibit will consist of a series of short documentary films about people researching their families' histories. As we begin our work on these films, we’d like to talk to people who are involved in such research, and who are interested in sharing what they’ve found. People whose ancestors emigrated from China into California ports during the nineteenth century are of particular interest to us. If you’d like to participate in this project, please send me an email and tell me about your research. Thank you very much for your interest. -Seth Archer The Chedd-Angier Production Co. 70 Coolidge Hill Road Watertown, MA 02472 ph. 617-926-8300 fax 617-926-2710 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online and get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/

I have seen the announcement of your project and would like to volunteer my mother and myself, if you are interested. My mother and I have been researching her family origins for several years. My great-grandfather, Yee Jock Leong was the son of Chinese immigrants. He was born in San Francisco in the 1880s, but traveled back and forth to China several times (the final documented time was in the early 1910s. His ancestors apparently came from Taishan, in Guangdong Province. His wife, Myrtle, was of mixed Chinese and Mexican ancestry and was apparently born in Santa Barbara around 1890. She was very dark-skinned and was listed as of Negro or Colored ethnicity on her children's birth certificates. She was adopted by a couple of old ladies in Michigan. My mother and I don't know a whole lot about our Chinese heritage frankly. We've been able to piece together snippets of my great-grandfather's life from the few fragmentary documents that survived the burning (by my great-grandmother) of many of his papers after his death in 1936. What I do know (in addition to his travels to China) is that he worked as a laundryman and lived in cities as diverse as San Francisco; Chicago; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Irwin, Penn.; and Dayton, Ohio. He also apparently raised AKC-registered Chows in Dayton. We have letters, address books, a recipe book and a number of other documents. Researching my family is difficult for reasons other than the paucity of documents. My great-grandfather's name, Yee Jock-Leong, got bastardized into Yee Jackson. In many records he is listed as a Jackson rather than a Yee. It has only been recently that I awoke to the need of searching for two different "family" names. Despite the paucity of information relating to my great-grandfather, I have used my curiousity about my Chinese roots to get involved in the genealogical community by taking over ChinaGenWeb, TaiwanGenWeb, and TibetGenWeb. I maintain bulletin boards relating to the genealogy of each of the three countries, and administer a mailing list, CHINA-L, devoted to Chinese family history. Good luck in your efforts, Dave Lawrence ------------------------------------------------------------------------ David M. Lawrence | Home: (804) 559-9786 9272-G Hanover Crossing Drive | Fax: (804) 559-9787 Mechanicsville, VA 23116 | Email: dave@fuzzo.com USA | http: http://fuzzo.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo "No trespassing 4/17 of a haiku" -- Richard Brautigan -----Original Message----- From: Seth Archer [mailto:sdarcher99@yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2000 10:45 AM To: CHINA-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [CHINA] family histories Dear Researchers– We are documentary film producers working on a new exhibit for the American Family Immigration History Center, a new wing of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York due to open next year. The exhibit will consist of a series of short documentary films about people researching their families' histories. As we begin our work on these films, we’d like to talk to people who are involved in such research, and who are interested in sharing what they’ve found. People whose ancestors emigrated from China into California ports during the nineteenth century are of particular interest to us. If you’d like to participate in this project, please send me an email and tell me about your research. Thank you very much for your interest. -Seth Archer The Chedd-Angier Production Co. 70 Coolidge Hill Road Watertown, MA 02472 ph. 617-926-8300 fax 617-926-2710 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online and get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/

Dear listmembers: Please DO NOT respond to the World Family Tree post and for heaven's sake DO NOT send them money. The party or parties responsible for that post spammed a number of GenConnect sites this past week. I have reported the spam to Yahoo! and to netscape.com, where the site is hosted, and I plan to report them to Broderbund (the makers of Family Tree Maker) for possible trademark violations on the use of the term "World Family Tree." Later, Dave ------------------------------------------------------------------------ David M. Lawrence | Home: (804) 559-9786 9272-G Hanover Crossing Drive | Fax: (804) 559-9787 Mechanicsville, VA 23116 | Email: dave@fuzzo.com USA | http: http://fuzzo.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo "No trespassing 4/17 of a haiku" -- Richard Brautigan

Posted on: General Taiwan Query Forum Board URL: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/Taiwan/General?read=19 Surname: ------------------------- Please click website. Link: World Family Tree URL: <http://www.nvo.com/addis>

Posted on: General Tibet Queries Board URL: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/Tibet/General?read=1 Surname: ------------------------- Please click website. Link: World Family Tree URL: <http://www.nvo.com>

Hello Mr. Archer.... I am currently researching my husbands line. His father came to L.A., California from China. Where? We don't have a clue. He did not ever speak of it. We do know that they are Cantonese. His real name was Gun Fung Lew but he adopted the name Henry. He is deceased, so this makes it more difficult. His maternal grandfather also had the name of Henry which I find strange. I am curious as to why they would pick the name Henry. I find that the Chinese are very close mouthed when it comes to discussing their roots. My husband says that alot of the Chinese were so poorly treated upon arrival here and were made to work on the railroad, as slaves. I am looking forward to seeing your documentary...sorry I can't be of much help since I am also at a loss here in finding information. I have checked ship list, NARA etc to find out that unless you were wealthy, you were deposited in the ships cargo hold or had to work on the ship to help pay your way. Translation of records is difficult as well. I really wish that I could find out my husbands lineage because he is an only child. Hopefully your films will get people talking!! Tina Lew Seth Archer wrote: > Dear Researchers? > > We are documentary film producers working on a new > exhibit for the American Family Immigration History > Center, a new wing of the Ellis Island Immigration > Museum in New York due to open next year. The exhibit > will consist of a series of short documentary films > about people researching their families' histories. > As we begin our work on these films, we’d like to talk > to people who are involved in such research, and who > are interested in sharing what they’ve found. > > People whose ancestors emigrated from China into > California ports during the nineteenth century are of > particular interest to us. > > If you’d like to participate in this project, please > send me an email and tell me about your research. > Thank you very much for your interest. > > -Seth Archer > > The Chedd-Angier Production Co. > 70 Coolidge Hill Road > Watertown, MA 02472 > ph. 617-926-8300 > fax 617-926-2710 > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Talk to your friends online and get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. > http://im.yahoo.com/

Posted on: General China Query Forum Board URL: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/China/General?read=169 Surname: ------------------------- Please click website: Link: World Family Tree URL: <http://www.nvo.com/addis>

Congratulations, Seth, on embarking on this interesting documentary film project. My own interest has been in documenting the movement of Chinese in the 19th century to another part of the New Word, namely Guyana. There were 13,541 Chinese immigrants who arrived in 39 ships between 1853 and 1879. A majority of the descendants of these early immigrants now live in the U.S. and Canada. My own project does not address your needs directly but there are some elements that overlap. The Chinese emigrants to California were also candidates for the canefields of Guyana (then British Guiana) although the glitter of gold in Gold Mountain (San Francisco) would have been more attractive than the $4 per month received as indentured laborers in Guyana. After the anti-Chinese sentiment appeared in the U.S. West Coast the government of British Guiana passed a resolution in May 1876 to permit communication with any European House engaged in the transportation of Chinese requesting them to divert the Chinese to British Guiana because of the restriction placed on Chinese landing in the U.S. The planters were also willing to send a representative to California to see if some Chinese could be induced to go to British Guiana and to make arrangements for their deliverance. However, the scheme did not come to fruition and it appears that the oppressed Chinese in California were willing to stick it out through the hard times rather than migrate to another fate. A summary of my work can be seen at my website: http://CGRoots.tripod.com All the best, Trev Sue-A-Quan Vancouver, Canada

Dear Researchers� We are documentary film producers working on a new exhibit for the American Family Immigration History Center, a new wing of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York due to open next year. The exhibit will consist of a series of short documentary films about people researching their families' histories. As we begin our work on these films, we�d like to talk to people who are involved in such research, and who are interested in sharing what they�ve found. People whose ancestors emigrated from China into California ports during the nineteenth century are of particular interest to us. If you�d like to participate in this project, please send me an email and tell me about your research. Thank you very much for your interest. -Seth Archer The Chedd-Angier Production Co. 70 Coolidge Hill Road Watertown, MA 02472 ph. 617-926-8300 fax 617-926-2710 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online and get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/

Dear Tricia, You MUST first get the characters for his Chinese name and his village of origin, as well as the county in which the village is situated. If you can't, then your search is basically impossible. The most common sources in Australia for the former information are: * Naturalisation certificates. * Personal papers - especially letters, solicitor's papers and clan-awarded honours. * Chinese language associations - such as the Minutes of the Committee of Management of the Carlton Chinese Church of Christ and the ancestral tablets in the See Yap temple in Raglan Street South Melbourne. * Official Chinese Government correspondence - such as the "blackmail letters" sent in the early 1950s to overseas Chinese who had relatives in the PRC who could be arrested and/or executed if money wasn't forthcoming. Check the Commonwealth Police and ASIO files in the Australian Archives, as well as the Commonwealth Police and ASIO themselves. If you find any other sources, I'd be most pleased to hear about them. Jon Kehrer ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tricia Norrish" <angenup@bigpond.com> To: <CHINA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, 25 April 2000 16:24 Subject: [CHINA] Cheong SHIN HUN > Posted on: General China Query Forum > Board URL: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/China/General?read=168 > > Surname: Cheong SHIN HUN > ------------------------- > > My gggrandfather was cheong Shin Hun born c1834 in or near Canton, China. > He arrived in Australia in approx 1859. I am trying to research his life > in China, but am not sure how to or where to go for info. If anyone is > able to assist - I'd truly appreciate it!! >

bstevens@netwurx.net

Posted on: General China Query Forum Board URL: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/China/General?read=168 Surname: Cheong SHIN HUN ------------------------- My gggrandfather was cheong Shin Hun born c1834 in or near Canton, China. He arrived in Australia in approx 1859. I am trying to research his life in China, but am not sure how to or where to go for info. If anyone is able to assist - I'd truly appreciate it!!

I'm writing from Brunei Darussalam. I'm searching for the genealogy of the Huang (Yellow)family of Zhao'an, Fujian, China. My grandfather Huang Chaowu (Wee Thian Boo or Ng Tow Woo), born 1906, was a Hokkien immigrant to Southeast Asia (Nanyang) in 1934. He arrived and lived in Brunei in 1938 until his death in 1994. His generation name is "Chao" meaning "dynasty". I know that there are many of our clansmen (tongxiang zongqing) in Nanyang (especially in Singapore), and I'm desperately seeking their help in my search for my roots. If anyone has information about our family genealogy or our family associations (especially the one in Singapore), please e-mail me. Your help would be very much appreciated! Thank you. NG POH SING __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send online invitations with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com

I'm writing from Brunei Darussalam. I'm searching for the genealogy of the Huang (Yellow)family of Zhao'an, Fujian, China. My grandfather Huang Chaowu (Wee Thian Boo or Ng Tow Woo) was an Hokkien immigrant to Southeast Asia (Nanyang) in 1934. He arrived and lived in Brunei in 1938. His generation name is "Chao" meaning "dynasty". I know that there are many of our clansmen (tongxiang zongqing) in Nanyang (especially in Singapore), and I'm desperately seeking their help in my search for my roots. If anyone has information about our family genealogy or our family associations (especially the one in Singapore), please e-mail me. Your help would be very much appreciated! Thank you. NG POH SING __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send online invitations with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com