Great-grandmother was sold to another family

[trevor]

I had a hunch that my grandmother’s mother (Lum 林) was from On Tong 安堂 in Chungshan 中山, but I couldn’t confirm it until now. My great-grandmother grew up with former senator, Hiram Fong’s mother and it turns out that were cousins.

Here’s a little more on my great-grandmother. She was born to Lum Wai Wo and Seu Shee. Her father was a "Ne'er-do-well" gambler who had to sell his kids off or have them adopted by relatives because he could not care for them. My great-grandmother was sold as a mui jai 妹仔 and was brought to Hawaii. Her freedom was bought by my great-grandfather, Seu Mee Soong.

I would love to find my ancestors.

[Henry]

Hi Trevor,

This is probably the location of your ancestral village in Zhongshan:

www.google.com/maps/place/Antangcun,+Zhongshan,+Guangdong+Province,+China,+528476/@22.4648702,113.2780248,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x34022bfe34e54b2f:0xd4ebdef9c577b212!8m2!3d22.464851!4d113.288346!16s%2Fg%2F1vg6r8cq?authuser=0&entry=ttu

Please email me at "[e-mail]" and I will reply with sources for Hawaiian genealogy.

Henry

[gckimm]

Hi Trevor:

Your grandmother was probably related in some way to my granduncle, who was a Lum from On Tong. I have seen references to the On Tong Lum clan genealogy but unfortunately, I do not know where you could view it. I believe that On Tong is also the ancestral village of Douglas Lam, another Forum member. If you search the site, you will find mentions of On Tong in some of his posts.

On this Chinese webpage there is a little history of the village along with some photos of the ancestral temple and other places in the village: new.qq.com/rain/a/20200903A0C3HI00. This article quotes the On Tong genealogy as saying that the founding ancestor, Lum Yuen Hing 林玄興, moved there in 1366 from another village called Lum Bin Tong 林邊塘.

It may interest you to know that On Tong is in an area of Chungshan that was formerly called Lung Doo 隆都 (or Lung Subdistrict, in Mandarin Longdu). Lung Doo is known for its own dialect, which for historical reasons has an affinity to the Chinese spoken in Fujian and Taiwan. There are many Lung Doo people in Hawaii, which has a Lung Doo Association in Honolulu. There is also a cemetery near San Francisco called the Tung Sen Cemetery which is primarily for people originating in Lung Doo.

Greg

[trevor]

Thanks, Greg. I've contacted Douglas Lam.  There is an On Tong association in Honolulu.  I will try to get a hold of them.

Are you interested in joining my group, Heungshan Genealogy?

m.facebook.com/groups/990461422084921/?ref=share&mibextid=K8Wfd2

[Henry]

Lung Doo Chung Sin Tong Benevolent Society

3941 A Pahoa Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816

Contact: Xi Lin Chan
Phone: [phone]