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/

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/

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/

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/