Henry's link to the National Archives is a very good one. The office in San Bruno, CA has been a source of great treasure for my research on my grandparents' immigration through Angel Island (see
www.aiisf.org for info on that site through which thousands of Chinese, as well as other ethnic groups, came to the US from 1910-1940 (during the Exclusion period after the 1906 earthquake)). NARA in San Bruno houses copies of all the interrogations that people had to go through. I have been able to find files for three of my four grandparents there.
If you have copies of your ancestor's Certificate of Identity, or know approximately when he or she came to the US (the name of the ship is even more helpful), the staff at the San Bruno office can help you locate the files. You can also go to
casefiles.berkeley.edu/ to search for names and case numbers. Volunteers have been entering names to cross-reference the files - they are in numeric order, not by last name. The Berkeley database lists only some of the files, so don't give up if you can't find ancestors there.
Keep in mind that if you find information in the files, it could all be fictional because of the "paper names" that many people had to use to claim they were sons or daughters of citizens. Because of the racist exclusion laws, the first in US history to forbid immigration of people from any nation, Chinese immigrants had to say they were children of US-born or legally immigrating people. The 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco destroyed most of the records so many people from China figured a way into this country.
There were exceptions - people could come to the US if they were merchants and/or had money. My grandfather, for example, arrived in 1905 and came through Sumas, WA and made his way to California. He said he had a store in Canton (now Guangzhou) and showed he had cash on hand when he arrived. The Archives in San Bruno had his files because he went back to China in 1916 to get married, leaving in SF, and also returned through SF. I was also able to call the Seattle office to get his Sumas files for a small fee for copying. So his file has legitimate info, but my other grandfather's information was all "paper," including his name, so none of the information in his file is accurate as for his real home village.
If you need to contact the San Bruno office, check this link:
www.archives.gov/pacific/archives/san-francisco/contacts.htmlBill Greene is the resident expert on the Chinese files in San Bruno, and he's very knowledgeable and helpful. He helped me find my grandfather's file when I didn't think it was possible, and also suggested filing a Freedom of Information Act request to get more information (it took a year, but I got more information).
Members should feel to visit my website at
www.tonaidin.net to see results of my search for Owyang and Gong ancestors, and see their files, among other things.
Grant
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Grant,
My grandmother was an Owyang. Her name was: 美 珠 Měi zhū (Mandarin), Mei5 Zyu1 (Cantonese)
She came from:
Guangdong Province, Fatshan/Foshan City, Shuntak/Shunde District, Gwun On/Jun'an Town, Choong Moon/Cangmen Neighborhood
廣東省佛山市順德區均安鎮倉門社區
Her father's name was:
Surname –歐陽 Ōu yáng (Mandarin), Au1/Au2/ Ngau1 Joeng4 (Cantonese)
元松 Mandarin - yuán sōng, Cantonese- Jyun4 Cung4
卓修 (style name) Mandarin - zhuō xiū, Cantonese - Coek3/zoek3 sau1
My grandmother was born in 1892, so my great-grandfather probably was born around late 1850s to early 1860s. unfortunately, he did not have any sons. My grandmother had about 4 other sisters.
If you know anyone that may have the jiapu for this area, please let me know. Cyndie