Finding my Kwan (關 or 关 )/Guan family roots

[eugene69]

Hi there,

Hoping anyone can provide further assistance.

I am trying to trace back my family roots back to Guangdong

Unfortunately I do not have any information on my great grandfather besides a name (potentially is adopted? Detail is hearsay). However do have some information on my great great grandfather by the name of 關举 (Kwan Ju), but disappointingly hitting another dead end as I do not have a village name for him. Without a gravestone in Kuala Lumpur (KL) I cannot confirm his exact date of death nor clues to his birthplace. I assume he did not come over to KL and passed away Guangzhou hence the absence of the grave.

However I do have information on 關举 (Kwan Ju) ‘s wife by the name of 黄南玉 (Wong Nan Yu). According to her gravestone in Kuala Lumpur (picture 1), as well as family’s account, she is from 新會區 (Xinhui District) - 杜阮鎮 (Duruanzhen) - 井根马堂村 (Cheng Kan Ma Tang Cyun).
***Using villagedb.friendsofroots website, the database matches and I can confirmed this to be true.

Although I understand this is a long shot, I am hoping is there a way I can somehow trace her marriage back to 關举 (Kwan Ju), my great great grandfather and where he had originated? Whilst it might be easy to head over to the Wong’s village to confirm, before that, is there any revenue I can conduct my research whilst being overseas? or anyone in the forum perhaps able to assist for example, a jipo containing the information of Wong and the ancestry from the village?

The only lead I have for certain is through my great great grandmother. Interestingly enough, on my grandfather’s brother's grave (picture 2), it does pertain to the address of 新會 (Xinhui) - 井根马堂村 (Cheng Kan Ma Tang Cyun). I assume all subsequent generations of the Kwan side are taking on their granmother’s village information as this was the only place they had at their time.

I’ve searched the villagedb.friendsofroots website and at 新會 (Xinhui) there seem to be two shrines at 朝岡鄉 (Chiu Kong Heung) - 談雅村 (Tam Ngar Village) and 瀧水鄉 (Lung Sui Heung) - 產埗村 (Chan Bo Village) for the 關 (Guan) roots. However, without solid evidence my great great grandfather is from 新會 (Xinhui), I cannot say for certain he is from the distinct.

Anyone’s expertise and any suggestions are deeply appreciated in this matter.


kind regards,
Yao

Picture 1 :

Picture 2 :

[gckimm]

Hi eugene69:

It was formerly common for headstones of married women to be inscribed with the names of their husband's villages. I don't know of any examples of a man with a female relative's village on his headstone. So it is curious that your grandfather's brother would have that village inscribed on his headstone if the village were only that of your great-grandfather's wife.

According to my search of Chinese websites, there is a Guan presence in Xinhui, but I don't find any connection between the Guans and the village you mention. But that doesn't mean that there were not/are not any Guans in that village. Apparently, the first Guan ancestor to move to Xinhui was a man named Guan Zhaozhi (Cantonese: Kwan Siu Gee) 關肇治，who moved there around the beginning of the Southern Song dynasty (1127).

If you can afford it, you could hire the company My China Roots to do research for you in China. However, there is no guarantee that MCR will be able to give you the results you are seeking. Or you could go to China yourself. If you are able to access a genealogy for your great-grandmother, there might be a reference to her husband and his place of origin. In fact, that might be the only way to identify your great-grandmother in her genealogy, as women traditionally were not named in genealogies. Instead, there would be a reference similar to "the third daughter was married to ____ of ____ village."

Good luck!

Greg