Comments on: Chinese Genealogy

By: Woodson

Woodson — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 02:23:36 +0000

At the time China was going through a long transitional period, the end of the Qing dynasty and the establishing of a new central government. Chaos was the order of the day. On the national front we had the war lords fighting each other. The ongoing warfare displaced a huge segment of the population. Some turned to criminal activities for survival.

Kidnapping was very common. From your information your father was either from a wealthy family where many generations lived together under one roof or from a Hakka family (客家).

The fair skin and large family under one-roof do suggested a wealth family. If he was kidnapped from Guangzhou (Canton) then one of his elders could well had been a Qing official who chose to settle in Guangdong after Qing dynasty ended. This would account for a different dialect.

On the other hand huge family, with many adults and children plus the transaction took place in Hong Kong and he spoke a different dialect make me think your father may have came from a Hakka family. There is a large number of them in the Hong Kong area. They don’t integrate with the local and kept their old customs and language. They also lived in large houses that are designed to defend against intruders. Many of these houses still remain in the villages near Hong Kong.

By: Hong Woo

Hong Woo — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:48:45 +0000

Interested in finding out father’s family. Adoptive Mother went to Hong Kong in 1918 to 1920 to bring him back to Taishan. He was believed to be born around 1914. He did not know his name, nor where he came from. His adoptive mother noticed he had a different dialect and did not look like the taishanese – he was very fair skinned. He did remember his mother had bound feet. I believe he and his mother were kidnapped away from huge family, with many adults and many children (he remembered this). Are there any documents or history that were kept that may reveal who may have been kidnapping children for adoptions at this time in this region? If you know of any resources that could help me find out my father’s history I would greatly appreciate it. Please email me. Sincerely, Hong

By: woodson

woodson — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:11:45 +0000

I believe Mak, Mark and Mai are one and the same. Do you have any way of validating the purchased Mak genealogy records?

By: al mark

al mark — Wed, 26 May 2010 01:14:57 +0000

Is the genealogy booklet Mak, the same as “Mai”? I would like to buy same. My grandfather Mark Goey (Mark Ru), (Mark Yuan-Suen formal, Mai Yuan Xuan, Pinyin) came to America in 1884.

Any info will be appreciated. Thank you.

By: Adam Lee

Adam Lee — Wed, 05 May 2010 18:52:20 +0000

I’m doing genealogy research on Lau/Liu 劉 family of Mao Lin village near the town Chonglou, ten miles south of Taishan. Can anyone provide me with any leads as to where I can find their genealogy records? You can email me at adam2005lee@yahoo.com

By: woodson

woodson — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 19:06:16 +0000

Hi Amber,

Sorry, what I have is not of much help to you. Chan is the biggest surname in Guangdong. Many of the members on our message board are Chan. Please visit the message board at:

http://siyigenealogy.proboards.com/index.cgi

By: Amber Chen

Amber Chen — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:40:15 +0000

Hello, I noticed you mentioned having done research on the Chan (陈） family line. My husband is from this family tree we think, but we have no info on the family past his father. My husband’s father was orphaned very young (8 I think, but maybe a few years older). We recently learned from one of my husband’s older sisters that their father came from a chen villiage slightly south of Guangzhou and origionally traveled with a younger brother, who died in their journey. My husband’s father went by the name Chen Laizai, but the sister also told us his origional name was 陈营来 (b. abt 1922) and the younger brother’s name was 陈营富 (b. about 1926 ??)

My husband’s father traveled north of Guangzhou and settled there. My husband grew up in a small village that is part of a larger group of villages called “Bamboo town” just north of Guangzhou. He is the only son and almost the baby of the family (5 older sisters, 1 younger).

My husband’s father died very suddenly and unexpectedly when my husband was just 13 years old, so we know basically nothing about his family. Is there any hope of being able to tie into the Chan family tree with such scanty information??
Thanks.

By: sarah

sarah — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 09:22:43 +0000

hello
My Husband is seaching for information about his grandfather.
Could someone give us an idea of where to start please .
We will be thankful for ideas please email us at kepaandsarahandrews@gmail.com
His grandfather was Sing lip Hing Gin,we are not sure extactly what province he was from but stories say he was from Canton. He married Queenie Josephine Birch they had children and later had a market garden in Panmure Auckland. This is the first website we have come across that maybe helpful.
thank you

By: koten benson

koten benson — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:40:19 +0000

To John Haugen re. Lytton Joss house.
Please email me lionsgatebuddhistpriory@lyttonbc.net
Thank you,
Koten

By: Maria Leisam

Maria Leisam — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:55:23 +0000

My father came to Samoa (formerly known as Western Samoa) as an indentured laborer in the 1900s and married my mother, a Samoan. His name was recorded as Sing Chao Lei Sam but I believe this was not the correct spelling of his name. His recorded birth date was Feb 14 1914. He was from the Quagdong province or Canton as he told us. We never knew of any of his families and would like to find out any families and his correct name and any other information regarding his family line.