Knee/Nee

[shaunak]

I am trying to find out any information on Charles Nee/Charles Knee - my great grandfather. Would like to know anything about him but in particular, any records prior to 1873 i.e his emigration to Australia, his life in China.

I have found a record of him on the Australian Chinese Naturalisation databased but can't find any other information about him. If anyone can help, it'd be most appreciated.

Certificate Year: 1873
Certificate - No: 133
Certificate Date: 03/03/73
Memorial No: 73/01722

Name: CHARLES KNEE
Native Place: CANTON
Ship: IN THIS COLONY Arrival
Year: 1850
Date of Application: 26/02/73
Age at Application: 40
Sydney: N
City: CUEN, SCONE
Primary Occupation: shepherd
Secondary Occupation:
Source: 4/1195; 4/1202 Reason: Y
Remarks: desirous of acquiring landed property & settling in the country, Letters 5 Mar

Kind regards, Shauna

[Henry]

Hi Shauna,

Please post a photo of your great grandfather's gravestone - it will probably have the Chinese characters for his name and village name. This is the information needed to identify your ancestral village, where you may want to visit one day and also from where a family genealogy book may be available.

BTW, check out Journal of Chinese Australia : www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/jca/index.html

"JCA is an online journal dedicated to providing access to research and resources on the history and culture of Chinese people in Australia.

It is a place for family and community researchers, historians and students to share their ideas and questions. We invite readers to contribute to the journal by submitting stories, articles or reviews and by responding to an article through the Feedback page."


Regards,

Henry

[shaunak]

Hi Henry

Thanks very much for your reply. That's most kind of you. To date, I don't know where my great grandfather is buried. I'm guessing that it will be somewhere in the Scone/Cuen area. I guess the next thing I need to do is find cemetery records and go from there...

My heritage is so intriguing but yet so frustrating!

Again, thank you for your help.

Kind regards, Shauna

[Henry]

Hi Shauna,

Chinese genealogy can be difficult and exasperating, but, very rewarding.

The names of one or two successive generations of ancestors and a copy of your family genealogy book, usually from your ancestral village - may be enough to link you to the lineages for scores of generations - because the Chinese have been quite good at updating and maintaining such records for hundreds and even a thousand or more years.

It is even possible for an American Born Chinese (ABC) like me to be successful even when I cannot read or write Chinese. See my website and I have only been active for less than 2 years. mysite.verizon.net/vzepzaui/index.html

The key to successful Chinese genealogy is perseverance !

Regards,

Henry

[Woodson]

Hi Shauna,

Here is the story of Peter Lee searching for his roots. His gggf went to Australia at the about the same time, if not slightly earlier, as your ggf.

legacy1.net/headtax/ht_lee_jiquan.html