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Post by geoff on Nov 12, 2007 5:37:07 GMT -5
Hello Sharon,
Please let us know you're progress. I'm in a similar situation.
I've just recently found great grandfather's 1898 death cert in Melbourne Australia & in 1909 he was exhumed & reburied in Bak Shek village Zengcheng. Following GGF's death, the family moved back to the village & maybe there are descendants over there. I know its location but need someone to contact the village etc & communicate to me in english.
Geoff
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Post by skwdvm on Nov 12, 2007 9:01:40 GMT -5
Hi Henry, Helen, and Geoff! From the ZengCheng New Zealander's Book , I know that there are some persons from Yiuh Tihn (Liel Tien) village and also some from Sun Tong Village where the other GGparents are from in NZ. I will contact the committee.
The good news is, we still have family in Yiuh Tihn. The problem is, we don't have a name for the existing relatives. Family members from the US visited 20 yrs ago. I will follow up on the suggestions made by Henry and Helen.
Wow! I can't believe that Geoff is in the same exact situation I am in! What's your ggfather's name? I have also learned that my GGfather Wong Chong Kee was also called "WONG SUEY TO." GGF was in SF, CA from 1894-1914 working as a salesman in a Chinese Drug and Medicine store.
I will be glad to "write progress notes." Thanks everyone!
SKW
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Post by Henry on Nov 12, 2007 9:39:48 GMT -5
Geoff, Since it appears that the Tung Jung Association [ www.tungjung.org.nz/ ] has a Chinese secretary - I suggest you call the Chinese secretary and request that he/she contact the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office in Guangzhou and get the contact information of the Zengcheng county government offices and then contact them for the name and number of the village chief for your ancestral village. then the Chinese secretary can contact the village chief directly and find out if you still have relatives in the village and also secure a copy of your family genealogy book with the name of your great grandfather. Henry
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Post by skwdvm on Nov 12, 2007 18:21:55 GMT -5
I tried to email the contacts listed on the Tung Jung website. My emails got returned b/c of a "bad address." I may have to use "snail mail." I didn't see contact information for Peter Wong, the Chinese secretary, either.
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Post by Henry on Nov 12, 2007 19:28:39 GMT -5
Did you try calling the following association officers to get Peter Wong's contact information?
President Sam Kwok Phone +64 4 475 7798 Mobile +64 27 4300 741
English Secretary Leslie Kwok Phone +64 4 478 0630 Mobile +64 21 499 221
Using Skype will really minimize the long distance calling charges - you should note the time difference between your location and Wellington, NZ
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Post by helen on Nov 12, 2007 22:01:02 GMT -5
My cousin went back to China recently, with a tour group. We managed to get a name of my Grandfather's sister's daughter, and an old address from way back - maybe 50 years old. The tour guide not only found the village, but managed to track down the daughter, now aged 71. My cousin speaks a limited Chinese, but managed to spend 4 hours with her new found second cousin. There is hope - just searech out any old letters, and addresses on envelopes.
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Post by skwdvm on Nov 13, 2007 6:57:11 GMT -5
I found a website called worldtime server.com. I may try to call NZ this week. Thanks.
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Post by geoff on Nov 13, 2007 13:29:31 GMT -5
Hello Sharon,
You asked for my GGF's name.
My maternal great grandfather was WONG Hong Ching aka WONG Ah Ching (in Australia), of Bak Shek village (now called Baishi village), near Shapu on railway line between Guangzhou & Hong Kong. He arrived in Melbourne Victoria Australia in 1856, aged 18 years old. He became a tea merchant in Melbourne's chinatown. He married twice in China, both times bringing his brides to Aust.
He died in Melbourne in 1898 & in 1909 he was exhumed & sent to China. His family, with the exception of 2 sons, moved from Melbourne to the village between 1898 & 1904. 4 letters addressed to my grandfather in Aust, reveal who existed in 1904. We have lost contact with those in the village since GF's death in mid 1930's.
I'm nearing my research in Aust & want to make contact with the village in China but in English language.
I bought an Australian print of "Zengeheng New Zealanders", a couple of months ago. I found an article written by a family with the same Chinese family name as ours & from the same village in China. I decided to contact the author. I sent an email to the President of Tung Jung Assoc. in the morning & in the evening received a reply from the author. She replied saying that we are "clan". A little later, her uncle sent me an email with further info. He enquired if I knew some names in Sydney. Those names he enquired about were my grandfather & his family. In 1948, the NZ clan had a trip from NZ to China via Sydney Aust. On both journeys they visited my grandfather who showed them the sights of Sydney.
How great is email/internet.........making contact with a member of the next generation (me), from across the ocean, nearly 60 years later. Also thanks to this site for allowing us to make contact & share info, with others on the other side of the world.
Geoff
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Post by skwdvm on Nov 13, 2007 17:18:58 GMT -5
Hi Geoff! Great Story. I also bought a copy of "Zengcheng New Zealanders." I didn't find any relatives, but enjoyed reading each of the Clans' history. There was also Helen's wedding photo in the book! The internet has been a great tool for genealogy. I, too, am appreciative of everyone's help. I am hoping with persistence that I can get information on my GGF Wong and Yiuh Tien village. If I can get the village chief's name, it will help.Some of the family members left for Australia. Unfortunately, I don't have names of relatives or which cities they moved to. How's your Chow/Ng research going? Anyway, I am glad that I was able to perform a "random act of genealogy kindness." I found an 86 yr.old client's family in the 1930 US Census. Looking for the Sconyers family in Oklahoma is a lot easier than Wong families in China.
SKW
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Post by geoff on Nov 13, 2007 23:25:36 GMT -5
Hello Sharon,
I live in Sydney Australia so maybe able to assist if you remember your other relatives' names in Australia.
"Chow research" for 1st & 2nd generations in Aust is nearly complete. They travelled back & forwards to China. Great grandfather had a 2nd family in Canton in 1930's, so there are living relatives there now. I hope to make contact with a member of the family who can communicate in english soon.
"Ng research" will require finding a contact at Nga Yiel village China.
By the way, Sun Tong village is about 5km distance from Bak Shek village according to page 33 of "Zengcheng New Zealanders."
Helen is a great mate (friend) in New Zealand.
Geoff
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Post by helen on Nov 14, 2007 1:10:43 GMT -5
Hi Geoff, I think we are both dragons - born the same year! Sharon also has Loo family from Dai Dung - my mother in law's mother was also a Loo. Maybe we can meet each other at Bak Shek railway station some time in 2009. That would make us try our hardest to get all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle back together again. I'm sure between the 3 of us we can unite USA, Australia, N Z and China - some common family between us!
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Post by geoff on Nov 14, 2007 1:44:30 GMT -5
Hello Helen & Sharon,
My cousin is planning to go to Bak Shek village early next year. That's why I was urgently trying to prove that GGF wasn't buried in Australia but I proved he was firstly buried in Melb, then exhumed & his final resting place is Bak Shek village China.
It's wonderful that eventhough we're physically so far apart (Helen & I are relatively close), we can discuss our common interest.....our Chinese family history.
Sharon, if you want to email me then please contact Helen for my personal email address.
Geoff
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Post by skwdvm on Nov 14, 2007 8:10:05 GMT -5
Hi Geoff & Helen,
I would love to meet you guys in 2009. We need to find out when is the best time to visit China and figure out when we can take a vacation. I know that our winter is your summer. What I need to do is, acquire names of cousins that moved to Australia.These cousins are the same generation as us whom I have never met. Has either of you been to Hong Kong? We have relatives there, too.
I will contact Helen for your email address. I need to find out if Wan Jew village is near BAk Shek ,Yiel Tien, and Dai Dun. My Mother might want to go to her ancestral village. Her Cantonese is much better than mine!
SKW
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Post by helen on Nov 15, 2007 4:40:26 GMT -5
sounds good Sharon - I hope to stay a while in the village . now that I have new found family in Sa Chuen. There were many villages around the railway line between Canton and Hong Kong. Do you have Cantonese classes available? I read somewhere that some one in Auckland has put a programme together - teach yourself Cantonese. I'll try to find out more
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Post by skwdvm on Nov 15, 2007 8:31:40 GMT -5
Helen, There is a Mandarin class avaliable in town on Sundays. No one said anything Cantonese. I live in a college town and every student from China speaks Mandarin and English. We have tried to converse in Chinese, but always wind up in English. I guess the new generation speaks Mandarin since it has been the official language of China since the 1980s. I don't know of a local Cantonese course. I have heard that there are Mandarin classes in Atlanta, GA. A lot of parents want their children to learn Mandarin. I remember reading some of your earlier posts on this website for learning to speak Mandarin and Cantonese. I think it was the US State Dept. method. I saw another opportunity to learn Chinese via a podcast. It is called " My Chinese Pod." It is at mychinesepod.com. I have not had the chance to look at it and see if it is Mandarin or Cantonese or both. I guess someonelse will have to "beta test " it for the rest of us. I don't commute on the subway to work, but learning Chinese on the way to work would be ideal. What dialect do you speak? I grew up speaking "Som Yup." The 3rd dialect. Mom speaks "Say Yup." As a child, we found it amusing how different the phrase for "chopsticks came out." The former is " Fi gee" vs. "Fi doo" . Wouldn't it be ironic if I was going back to Chinese school after 30 yrs.? I may have to "home school" myself. I am trying to get a medical / surgicalclinic set up in a place that is 3 hrs. away from my home.
Sharon K. Wong
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