Tao 陶 Surname

[jennac1]

I am trying to begin a genealogy research of my paternal family. The family name is Tao, 陶, and have relatives in Taiwan, China, and US that i know of. I understand that the surname is a common one. The family has some military background and had some prominence before WWII. In China there is a branch of the Tao family near or around Shanghai. I believe they are my grandfather's siblings. I am in search of information mainly of ancestors in China and/or Taiwan, but have no idea where to start.

Can someone point me in the right direction on where i should be looking?

[Henry]

Hi Jenna,

Welcome to our Forum.

I suggest aquiring the following, if you do not already have them:

1 Chinese names of your grandfather, great grandfather, and even your great great grandfather. These names are successive generations of your lineage in your family genealogy book and will confirm that you have the correct branch of the Tao clan lineage.

2 The Chinese name of your ancestral village, where your ancestors were born, name of the county, and name of the province. Overseas Chinese usually have this information inscribed in Chinese characters on the gravestone. You can post a digital photo for Forum members to translate for you:

siyigenealogy.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=comment&action=display&thread=421

or, add as an attachment to your posting.

3 Once the name and location of your ancestral village is identified and located - the village chief can be contacted and asked to identify your existing relatives still living in or near your ancestral village and also to acquire a copy of your family genealogy book. This genealogy book will document the Tao lineage for many generations and it is also a source to confirm the identity of people that claim to be your relatives.

4 If you need to do the followup in China, I can have somebody in China do this for you at quite a reasonable fee. I can be reached at [e-mail] and it might help you to check my website for general information on Chinese genealogy. My website is for members of the Tan clan, but, it has a lot of generic information for beginners that are applicable to most Chinese surnames - regardless of their place of origin in China.

mysite.verizon.net/vzepzaui/index.html


5 I can also arrange for an English speaking guide to take you to your ancestral village. If you do a typical tour of China, add on a couple days to the tour - so, you can visit your ancestral village. Traditionally, Chinese genealogy books only had the names of men, now, they include the names of daughters - when you visit your ancestral village, leave your information for the next update of your family genealogy book. Many of the newly revised Chinese surname genealogy books often trace the surname lineage all the way back to HuangDi, the Yellow Emperor (2697 BC - 2597 BC )


I am leaving for the airport in a couple hours for a 2 week visit to Colombia and I am not sure about the email connectivity - so, if I do not answer any of your emails for this period, please do not think I am ignoring you.

Happy Holidays,


Henry

[taotao]

Wa mate! My surname is 陶 too! Although my family is from Shanghai.
My grandparents (dads side) are from Guangzhou, my grandpa is from somewhere close to Shanghai. They only came to Shanghai to start a family when my dad met my mum. 
I don't know anyone else whose last name is Tao. My full name is 陶韬.

[thad4xx]

I am Teddy Hadiyanto. My surname is 陶. Nice to meet all of you with same surname.