Chinese-American Genealogy

How to locate your

Ancestral links

1st Start where you know

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Talk to older members of your family. They often remember things about their past and deceased ancestors that you would not suspect. Don’t forget to write it down!

Next: Go to your Library!

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Libraries have books, web site lists and other guides to start you off. Books like:

China connection : finding ancestral roots for Chinese in America / by Jeanie W. Chooey Low. Call Number   929.108995 LO

What Else?

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Libraries also have databases, microfilms

And microfiche of records or indexes.

Some Are: Ancestry Library edition. This database searches the U.S. census, birth & death records, military and other records too. Let’s search for a John Chan.

Some selected Results

家庭 =Family 91930 United States Federal Census 21920 United States Federal Census Immigration & Naturalization Records 8California Passenger and Crew Lists, 1893-1957 1Hawaii Passenger Lists, 1942-1948 1Seattle Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1957

What does the Census tell us?

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Aside from name and address, it lists all members of the household and their ages which helps you find birth & marriage records. It lists a person’s ancestry and what year a person first entered this country and if they were a citizen or not. If they were, this will help you find their immigration & naturalization records.

Other great stuff; Military Recordsfor John Chan.

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Military Records

3Stars and Stripes Newspaper, Europe, Mediterranean, and North Africa Editions, 1942-1964

3U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946

What Can I do Next?

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Try the World Wide Web. A good place to start is: Cyndi’s List at:

www.Cyndislist.com. Sample links:

Angel Island - California

General Resource Sites

One Particular Source

学 =Genealogy Angel Island-The Ellis Island of the Pacific. Angel Island, near San Francisco was the main immigrant processing station for the west coast. In 1882, the second immigration law barred Chinese, with a few narrow exceptions. This law was originally for 10 years, but was extended and expanded and not repealed until 1943, when China was our ally in World War II.  However, only 105 Chinese were allowed in legally each year.

Angel Island Quarantine & Immigration Station

Don’t Forget Ellis Island!

Many native Chinese entered the United States through Ellis Island in New York. This was especially so after World War I. China’s contribution to the allied war effort were laborers sent to Europe. Some of them emigrated here during and after the war.

Sample Ellis Island record

First Name:Ah EeLast Name:ChanEthnicity:Chinese, ChinaLast Place of Residence:Date of Arrival:Jul 24, 1917Age at Arrival:  27y    Gender:  M    Marital Status:    Ship of Travel:SatantaPort of Departure:BristolManifest Line Number:0005

The law was strict but, there wereLoopholes

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Paper sons and daughters

One class of Chinese the U.S. could not keep out were those who were already citizens of the United States by virtue of having a father who was a citizen.

Here’s how it worked.

家庭 =FamilyThose without true fathers in the United States bought papers which identified them as children of Americans.  Because official proof was difficult, an interrogation process was created to determine if the immigrants were related as they claimed.  The papers the immigrants bought included detailed family information which they studied in order to pass their interrogations.   These were lengthy and took a long time to

Immigration Fraud was investigated

Other Sources?

Other places to research are: The National Archives at: Archives.govA sample record would be:M1476Lists of Chinese Applying for Admission to the United States Through the Port of San Francisco, 1903-1947.85 Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service 27

Wat else? Historical & GenealogicalSocieties

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Every Immigrant Group has organizations that will advise the family researcher on techniques. They often maintain their own useful research centers.

A Good Place to Start!

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The Chinese Historical Society of America has online exhibitions, links to related sites, articles and even blogs about the Chinese Experience in America. They can be found at: www.chsa.org/

State Libraries

Many western states have substantial archives on Chinese-American’s. Nevada was one of the states the Central Pacific Railroad traveled through. Try searching their archives at:http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/nsla/services/genealres.htm

Railroad Archives

The Central Pacific has a website at:http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Chinese.html. The site details and has photos emphasizing the enormous contribution Chinese Laborers made to the building of the railroad.

Careful Research here can lead to a Family’s Ancestral Hall

The Hall keeps records and celebrates family functions and ceremonies.

Japanese-Americans

傳統 =Tradition . While we dwelt primarily Chinese sources in the U.S., other Asian immigrant descendants can use many of the same types of sources in print or online. A final note is the records kept by the U.S. War Relocation Authority who interned Japanese-Americans in World War II. These are in the National Archives.

One Overlooked source!

City Directories.

Thank You

I will try to answer any questions you may have.