Chin from Sunwui to Canada

[sharon]

I am just beginning the task of searching family history on my father's side. I have very few details as I understand there were few family members, if any that also came to Canada. I have been told that he came to Canada via Hawaii/Victoria/Vancouver when he was 13 years old. I am doing research through Citizenship & Immigration and hope they can provide confirmation as of the date of entry, port of entry, passenger ship and possibly village name. He died in Canada in 1955 at the age of 47 and when I was only 2 months old. I grew up knowing little of my chinese history/culture but have always been drawn to all things chinese and have always had a deep yearning to know more but until now never had the time to start my search.

The only info I have is info written on his 1951 Canadian Citizenship Certificate:

Name: Chin Bac (k) Dew
Place of Birth: Sunwui, Canton, China
Date of Birth: July 13, 1906

He went by the name of Steve Chen.

He worked in the fish canneries in BC, worked or owned restaurants in Flin Flon, Manitoba and the small towns of Evesham, Macklin and Kerrobert, Saskatchewan.

Can someone provide any info on the surname or translate the meaning or any other info in regards to the surname?

Can someone provide more info on the county of Sunwui, in Guandong province?

If anyone on this site have also been researching their Chinese family history in Canada, I would be interested in hearing your stories or any tips or help with my search.

I have read pretty much all the threads on this site so have gleaned alot of useful/interesting information. Thank you to all who contribute.

[Woodson]

There is a General Register of Chinese Immigration which contains the information you are looking for. I know a microfilm copy is kept in the Vancouver Public Library's main branch. So depending on the city your public library may have a copy. Even if they don't you can arrange to have a copy brought through the public library system. Knowing the year of your father's arrival, 1909 or was this the year he went to Hawaii, should save you hours of scanning through the many possible years.

From the general time frame of his arrival I would say Victoria was the port of entry. Plus he would've paid the $500 head tax. Do you or another member of your family have his head tax certificate?

The official spelling (in pinyin) for Sunwui is Xinhui. See map for its location in relation to Hong Kong:



As to your surname I'll leave that to Twoupman who is much more knowledgeable on the subject.

[sharon]

Thank you for the info Woodson. Yes, once I have the year of entry confirmed from his citizenship application, then I will tackle the General Register.

No, we do not have a copy of the Head Tax Certificate, as I believe it was lost in a fire. Once I have the year of entry I may look into that further on my Mom's behalf.

Still waiting to hear from the Twoupman