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Post by harc3 on Feb 12, 2008 15:16:38 GMT -5
Does anyone know of a company/group that does research for you, specializing in Chinese/Canadian. We know practically nothing about my husbands family, other than they were in the Vernon area in 1913, that's where his dad was born. We know they came from China, don't know when...his dad's birth certificate doesn't even have any really helpful info..........we are at a loss at where to even start. Tried the census records but didn't find anything, and don't know where to begin on the head tax records! Any help pointing us in the rght direction is greatly appreciated
Thanks!
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Post by Henry on Feb 12, 2008 16:06:44 GMT -5
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Post by harc3 on Feb 12, 2008 16:24:47 GMT -5
Thanks Henry...as soon as the family can agree on which gravestone they remember visiting as kids I'll do that! We had thought we'd figured it out but turned out the name was not right at all...and the cemetery records don't seem to have the grandparents listed for some reason. I'ts a very daunting task I must say...especially as none of the family know any Chinese and their dad died while they were quite young, so memories aren't great. Will keep plugging away at it though!!
Thanks again!
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Post by geoff on Feb 12, 2008 16:43:05 GMT -5
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Post by Henry on Feb 12, 2008 16:44:37 GMT -5
Hi Harc3
I suggest checking with the funeral home that was used for the grandparents - they may have records that would list the specific cemetery, lot/plot.
Once we have the name, village, county, and province - that information would be very useful. Over 90 % of the Chinese that emigrated to North America came from the Si Yi region - after we know the village and the name - if necessary, we can contact the village chief and check to see if there are relatives still there and about the family genealogy book.
Henry
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Post by helen on Feb 13, 2008 0:05:27 GMT -5
Do you have any idea what dialect they spoke - what their occupation was? In New Zealand the Jungseng people were the fruitshops/vege shops. The Panyu were the market gardeners and the Si Yip the laundries.
Later years came the takeaways and restaurants
Would that be fair to say that was so for the early Canadian, Australians and Americans?
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Post by harc3 on Feb 14, 2008 13:10:31 GMT -5
Thanks so much for the suggestions...much appreciated. Unfortunately we have no idea which dialect they spoke. All we know is my husbands grandfather is listed as 'Chong Kee' on his dads birth certificate, and his grandmother is listed as 'Louwsie'.
Chong Kee residence and profession is listed as Vernon BC, storekeeper. I just found a picture in the Vernon museum archives of a Chinatown storefront with 'Chong Kee' on the front..so we're pretty sure they were there, we just can't find them in the census.
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Post by Henry on Feb 14, 2008 13:49:19 GMT -5
Perhaps you can scan or take a digital photo of this picture from the Vernon museum archives if it has Chinese characters on it - then we would know the Chinese characters for the Chinese name of your husband's grandfather.
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Post by harc3 on Feb 14, 2008 15:41:20 GMT -5
Unfortunately the sign is in english!! I'm hoping to go to the Vernon cemetery this summer with someone who is pretty sure they know which gravestone is theirs...maybe we'll be able to make some progress then. I'm going to start going through the 1911 census again too...maybe I missed something.
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Post by Henry on Feb 14, 2008 18:35:25 GMT -5
I suggest bringing a good digital camera to take some photos of the gravestones.
The Chinese characters on these gravestones have been critical in linking people back to their lineage and heritage.
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Post by raymond on Feb 15, 2008 4:58:53 GMT -5
In taking photos of gravestones it is also best to shoot close at an angle such that the sun casts a distinctive shadow over the Chinese and/or English characters. This is especially true for older gravestones that are constructed of concrete or cement that have been weathered over the decades. Of course, do not use a flash since that would likely wash out the characters even more so.
If the characters are badly weathered and worn, then one may need to resort to doing a charcoal rubbing of the characters and hope that it will come out legible enough to read.
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Post by helen on Feb 15, 2008 4:59:27 GMT -5
Do you have old newspapers on line yet? We have them in NZ, and recently I found some ads that my family had in the newspapers - buying fungus, and selling stuff. Dated 1890s. The other thing is that the name Chong Kee may actually be the business names, and the owners changed hands, but the name of the shop remained the same. My family had a shop called On Kee - that became their surname. and another eg my Grand father in law was known as Ching Shing Lee, the name of a business he had for some time, but his name was actually some thing else.
In the late 1880s onwards-We have something called "Stones Directory" where people travelled the length of the country documenting names and addresses of businesses. They probably recorded the shop name - but not actually go in and ask for the name of the owner. I guess it was the fore runner of telephone listings.
Perhaps your archives could help.
Lastly, the name 'Louwsie'. may actually be "Lowe Shee" or something similar. Ladies did not have names - they were always Mrs somebody. So her last name and the word "Shee" meaning Mrs.
Wong Shee, Lowe Shee, Ng Shee etc
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Post by helen on Feb 15, 2008 5:02:01 GMT -5
Hi Raymond - How are you? And another suggestion regarding the weathered lettering - take some coloured sand, and sprinkle onto the lettering. The rain will wash it away, so it won't damage it.
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Post by harc3 on Feb 15, 2008 13:08:22 GMT -5
Thanks again everyone...Helen you may have given us a huge breakthrough...a gravestone we thought was the right one we dismissed because when we had it translated the name was Low Hun Soong....if 'Louwsie' means "Mrs" Lowe, maybe it was the right one after all, and as you say, he was known as Chong because of his store!! This may also explain why we can't find them in the census, he maybe gave his real name.....a whole new direction to check out!! Wow!! This just getas more and more confusing, and interesting, as we go!!
I'll have to dig through my stuff and try and find what else they said the stone said...thank you so much!!!
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Post by twoupman on Feb 15, 2008 17:56:48 GMT -5
The Chinese term Sih (氏) does not mean “Mrs” as indicated by Helen which is leading you down the wrong path because you are now looking for a Mr. Louw (your spelling). Sih actually is the equivalent of the French term “nee” to mean birth surname, that is, your grandmother’s birth surname was Louw and she was not the wife of Mr. Louw. houseofchinn.com |
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