Looking for overseas descendants of Yeh Wen-lan (葉文瀾) Amoy
May 15, 2020 2:17:16 GMT -5
Post by hvlee on May 15, 2020 2:17:16 GMT -5
Yeh Wen-lan (葉文瀾) (1824 – 1887), also known as Tuck Suay (葉德水)or Tsing Choo (葉清渠), business man and philanthropic, was born in Amoy (Xiamen), Fukkien (Fujian), China. He left his home town for South-east Asia when he was young to make a living. He was said to have worked in San Francisco as a coolie during the Gold Rush. Upon return he became a successful merchant by engaging in tea export and banking business. He served Viceroy Tso Tsungtang’s in arm supplies from foreign businessmen when he was trying to kill the remaining Taiping rebels around Amoy. Apparently very satisfied with his performance and integrity, Tso recommended him to the central government to work in the proposed Foochow Arsenal or Mawei Shipyard. He was appointed General Manager by Shen Pao-chen to be in charge of daily operations. He had some command of the English language and construction knowledge as a result of his time spent in the US. His duties included procurement of materials for buildings and ships such as timber and bricks. Along with the retired French Navy officer Prospel Giquel, he held the position from July 1867 to August 1876 before he was sent to oversee the mining of coals and oil in Formosa (Taiwan). Yeh was also the comprador for HSBC in Amoy although only in name and his sons were doing the actual job. Yeh had a big family and until 1949 some of his sons and grandsons were quite successful businessmen after his death. His descendants are now all over the world including Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, North America , Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China.
Yeh Wen-lan had 13 sons including the 2nd 容卿,6th 孟陬, 7th 簡廷,8th 鶴秋(孚光),9th 嶽青,10th 大錕(崇涵,雲階),12th 松秋(益六),4th大鏞(諒卿) and 宗鑒。
His grandson Yeh Hong-fei (葉鴻飛) lived in the Philippines before 1949.
His grandson Yeh Hong-tsai (葉鴻材) lived in the Vietnam before 1949.
His 4th brother, Yeh Tsing-suan (葉清璿) and his sons moved to Kaohsiung in 1887,Taiwan and started successful business there as well. Famous people included 葉宗祺、葉鴻猷.
Almost no historical records or photos survived the notorious Cultural Revolution which started in 1966. Not a single picture of Yeh Wen-lan or the family tree book can be found on mainland China.
It is believed that the Yeh family tree book and some old pictures are still preserved in Taiwan.
Please contact me at hvlee@yahoo.com if you are a descendant of the Yeh family or you know anthing about that family.
Yeh Wen-lan had 13 sons including the 2nd 容卿,6th 孟陬, 7th 簡廷,8th 鶴秋(孚光),9th 嶽青,10th 大錕(崇涵,雲階),12th 松秋(益六),4th大鏞(諒卿) and 宗鑒。
His grandson Yeh Hong-fei (葉鴻飛) lived in the Philippines before 1949.
His grandson Yeh Hong-tsai (葉鴻材) lived in the Vietnam before 1949.
His 4th brother, Yeh Tsing-suan (葉清璿) and his sons moved to Kaohsiung in 1887,Taiwan and started successful business there as well. Famous people included 葉宗祺、葉鴻猷.
Almost no historical records or photos survived the notorious Cultural Revolution which started in 1966. Not a single picture of Yeh Wen-lan or the family tree book can be found on mainland China.
It is believed that the Yeh family tree book and some old pictures are still preserved in Taiwan.
Please contact me at hvlee@yahoo.com if you are a descendant of the Yeh family or you know anthing about that family.