Weng/Yung/Young Clan (翁氏) from Miaobien Township (庙边)

[andytan]

Hey there,

I was wondering if anyone has any information, photographs, clan genealogy books, etc. on the 翁氏 (Weng/Yung/Young Clan) from 庙边 (Miaobien Township)?

I have a third cousin once removed whose grandfather from the 翁氏 (Weng Clan) married my third great grandfather's daughter from the Chen Clan (陳氏).

My third cousin once removed Weng Clan great grandfather's name is Young Ki Chung (Chinese name is unknown as his name was obtained through the United Kingdom Chinese Immigration Documents).

He and my third great grandfather's daughter from the Chen Clan (陳氏) married and had a child named, 翁達忠 (Dá Zhōng), also known as Young Tat Chung, who immigrated to the United Kingdom in the 1930s, became a laundryman and eventually laundry proprietor.

If anyone has information about the Weng Clan, such as the Weng Clan Genealogy Book (翁氏族譜) from Miaobien and or have photographs of the township and Weng Ancestral Hall, could you post them in this thread or email me at [e-mail] referencing this thread?

Best,
Andy

[gckimm]

Hi Andy:

Miaobian is in the town of Duanfen, Taishan City 台山市端芬鎮. I believe it was formerly a township and is now a larger village overseeing smaller villages.

According to this article, from the Taishan City government website, the Weng/Yung clan settled there more than 600 years ago after migrating from Xinhui/Sunwui 新會縣County:　cnts.gov.cn/cnts/tskx/201705/49d722cdffd84b7083fbd2b52730e2f5.shtml

You will see at the bottom of the article some photos of Weng ancestral temples in villages in Miaobian. I don't know what village your cousin's family came from, but one of these temples may be in his ancestral village.

On the following site, you will see larger versions of the same photos, plus some additional photos. It looks like the Weng clan has some renovation work to do. The condition of these temples is far from unusual in Taishan and not unexpected, considering everything that China has been through. Many temples have been renovated in recent years, with funds solicited from clan members both within and outside China.
www.100citang.cn/citang/2139

Incidentally, the above website is one that is dedicated to ancestral temples. Citang 祠堂 is Mandarin for ancestral temple, a.k.a. ancestral hall. In Cantonese it is pronounced "chee tong," while in Taishan the people say "see hong."

Greg

[andytan]

Hey Greg,

Thank you for responding to my posting. I will send my third cousin once removed the links. If you know where to find more information and or photographs about Miaobien, could you please post them in this thread?

Do you by any chance know where Duanfen is located in terms of GPS coordinates? I found a Duanfen in southern Taishan, but Miaobien is very far away, so I'm not sure if that is the same Duanfen you are referring to.

Best,
Andy Tan

[gckimm]

Hi Andy:

Try this. I am not that familiar with GPS coordinates.
22°03'05.5"N 112°45'20.1"E

Greg

[andytan]

Thanks, Greg. That's the Duanfen I was referring to that was far away from Miaobien.

[gckimm]

Hi Andy:

Remember that in China a township or large village is actually located within the area of a town. According to my research, Duanfen Town is 149 square kilometers or about 92 square miles. It is quite feasible for Miaobian to be located within a town of this size and still be a distance from, say, the center of Duanfen.

Greg

[jeremychin]

Andy,

I think you are looking at the Miubin in the wrong area: 22.327591, 112.783661 (zoom out two times to see the name).

Greg has pointed to a much closer location Duanfen which is a bit south of the right Miubin, located here: 22.109800, 112.708335.

I have highlighted the village name in red in the map below as well as neighboring villages in Miubin Heung found on the VillageDB.

[hyungyee]

I actually have a copy of August 2008 "Revision of the Yung (Weng) Clan Genealogy in Taishan Miaobin". According to the document, the clan originally resided in Fujian, then moved to Nanxiong, Xinhui, Shuinan, and lastly settled in Miaobian. My cousin in NYC obtained a copy for me. My father is listed in the 25th generation. The book includes mostly charts, some pictures of larger Miaobin villages, and groups of people.

I don''t recall being able to locate an electronic copy on either FamilySearch or MyChinaRoots.

Several years ago, Henry Tom helped me locate my dad's home village: Chong An 長安 (Ch’ang-an, Cheung On) in the county Taishan 台山 Toishan, Heung: Miu Bin 廟邊鄉 Market town: Sing Mo 成務.

[Henry]

hyungyee,

I also cannot recall any of the Chinese ancestral villages during the past 15 years that I have been able to help locate thru my own Tan Genealogy website, this Siyi Forum, and also for all the people that have attended the Chinese genealogy workshops I have organized, as well as strangers that just contact me directly - probably number in the hundreds. I must be getting too old or just too many villages :-)

Henry

[andytan]

Hey hyungyee,

Thank you for contributing to my thread.

I live in New York City as well.

Do you have a digitized copy that you could share with me? If not, would your cousin be willing to lend his copy to me to digitize or can help me obtain a Weng/Yung/Young Clan (翁氏) genealogy book from Miaobien Township (庙边)?

Best,
Andy