Looking for Great Grandafathers home 李福忠

[dragonseeker685]

Hi there,

My ggrandfather was a labourer who came and worked in the plantations here in Samoa. He was known by the name 'Ah Chong', his full name was Lee Fook Chong 李福忠.

Could anyone help me track down his village and family back on the mainland. Unfortunately this is all the info I have my grandmother had a very distant relationship with him, she doesn't know anything about him.

He was born in 1902 and died 1959 in samoa.

[douglaslam]

A Long shot dragonseeker685, A great number of the migrants in the Pacific island nations were from Chungshan or Zhongshan. The image below is that of a well known Lee village of Hengmei 恒美. Of course, there are many villages have the same family name in my home county of Chungshan.

Is there nothing in Chinese on your grandfather's headstone, no past correspondence, scribbling on back of envelopes and so on which nay be pivotal clues?

[dragonseeker685]

Hi douglaslam,

Thank you for your response. The only paper trail I can think of is some receipts my family found of things sent back to china. I will see if I could get my hands on them, hoping there not too damaged to read.

I wanted to ask back then what was the age someone could become an indentured servant? My GGrandfather was born in 1903, his eldest child was born in 1925 and the last shipment of servants arrived in 1934.

[douglaslam]

dragonseeker685, to the ruthless recruiters or kidnappers, I don't think they cared much about the age of a person press-ganged into indentured labour. They were in it for the money and cared nothing about human misery.

Good luck with your search.