Guangdong province - Family History & Genealogy Message Board

Help tracing my grandfather's family

rsanchez1996 — 2013-04-22 21:46:38Z

Hi, I was wondering if you could help me trace my great-grandfather's family in china. He was from Canton, Shunde, Guangdong, China. The name he went by when he moved to Guatemala in around 1886 was Jose Sen. His name when he lived in China was either Ng Men Jeung or Ng Sen. He was born in the year 1865.
Any information anyone has about those last names such as their origins would be very helpful and very appreciated.

Re: York Nine Lee

april_kaly1 — 2013-02-24 18:34:46Z

Hi York,

My last name is also Li or Lee, also from Taishang but that's not mean we are related. You have made great progress by knowing the name of your ancestors and knowing they are from Taishan which is not that big, now you have to figure it out which city in Taishan for example Doushanzhen, Duhuzhen, etc. Zhenjiang means city. Now, once you have the name of the city you need to find a township. Townships are small communities in the cities where people living there has the same last names because women when they get married move in with their husband!s family that's why the hole township has the same last name, so once you know the city look at the township with the last name of your ancestor I'm sure there aren't many and once on the township then is useful to talk to the locals cause they certainly know each other and if not, they will ask others die you because connecting to families is very important for Chinese.

Just make sure to have the names in Chinese and other info such ad photos, documents and a translator taisanese-mandarin with you. You should go to China once you know the city in Taishan where your ancestor is from because there no reliable info on the web after you know the city and don't pay anyone from abroad they will ripped you off.

So, good luck! And if you find your ancestor share it with us 'cause myself I'm looking for my great great grandparent who migrated to the Uk with his brother, but unlike you I have nothing, only the name :(

Well, good luck!

Re: Min Tang - Any info needed

april_kaly1 — 2013-02-24 18:10:58Z

Hello,

Make sure to have the names on Chinese characters preferred in old documents and have the name of the Guangdong province (canton) where he lived, the Chinese government has a department where they register the household and the name a date of birth of its family members (only direct dorm the male side) so, make sure you have his last name right and good luck. Oh once you have the name and place, city or region where he lived, have a trusted translator who knows mandarin and Cantonese and set a mont or two months trip to China. Don't do it on phone 'cause you'll be ripped off

Good luck!

Re: My dad's family

april_kaly1 — 2013-02-24 18:00:44Z

April_kaly Skype

Re: My dad's family

april_kaly1 — 2013-02-24 17:59:51Z

It seems hard but nit impossible if you have the name and the place if birth in Chinese characters. Don't ask a translator 'cause it coud dry you to other places because la o lay can be translated in many other Chinese last names try find focumentsmwithmchinesemcharcters also for the city.

Are you sure York dad was from Guangdong 'cause Jiangxi is another big privince or it coud be another Jiangxi, just remember the ending xi/si usually means city. Which is a lot harder to find, if your father was from a town it is easier because the small cities or towns are divided into small communities or townships where people living in that townships have the same last names or are descended from a commons ancestors and they usually know each other and as Chinese keep a lomg record of their ancestor, books and photos. If you have the name and the town or municipal where he was from you simple look at the townships with your dad's last name which is more lakely to be La (in China we only register the male line)

Yor brother lives on Toluca right? It's only 1 hour away from Mexico City, tell him about to and if he buys me a coffee I can explains it to him or have a look at the name but only ifyou contact me withing a few months from now 'cause I might leave Mexico.

Re: My dad's family

april_kaly1 — 2013-02-24 17:27:51Z

Hi,

I'm april and my family are also from Guangdong province as the majority of the Chinese community in Mexico City. One advise for you is to try have your father's name in Chinese characters and and ask for help at any of the old Chinese cafeterias not the new Chinese buffet restaurants 'cause they are mostly opened by new migrants. One of them is the old 'cafe oro' in front of the old cine Cosmo between metro San cosme and metro Normal in Mexico City or the restaurant at calle Dolores in the small Chinatown in the DF.

Kwuang Moon Lahuy by itself it's hard to describe 'cause chinese names are usually formed with 3 characters or silabas in Spanish. In he order where the fist represent the last name, then last two (/sometimes one silaba) represent the name.

As your father migrated to San Francisco in 1914, a former Spanish and Mexican land here we use two last names and in a reverse order, flirt name then the last names. So, if your dad changes his name to Edmundo Quant Lahuy, I can say your dad's Chinese name was Kwuan Moon or Quant Moon and his last name Lahuy or two last names La (pronounce Lay) and Huy.

I'm myself looking for an ancestor lost in th UK, I live in Mexico City and travel after to china. Hope this help

Re: Continuing search backward in Toysun Kwang, Tung

rechmbrs — 2013-01-10 14:49:02Z

Helen,

Thanks.

RONC

Re: Continuing search backward in Toysun Kwang, Tung

helenw1952 — 2013-01-10 08:43:59Z

Thanks and well done.

Sorry I don't read Chinese but these people here do - and are very helpful. http://siyigenealogy.proboards.com/index.cgi

Re: Continuing search backward in Toysun Kwang, Tung

rechmbrs — 2013-01-10 00:35:20Z

Finally locate headstones for a father and son but have no idea of content as in Chinese.

Someone have a look please. Anything on them helpful for backward search?

Thanks,
RONC

Re: York Nine Lee

helenw1952 — 2012-11-26 07:31:02Z

Hi - Do you have any chinese characters from headstones? And information on when he left China, what dialect spoken (Probably Toishan) - what occupation?

Re: Continuing search backward in Toysun Kwang, Tung

helenw1952 — 2012-11-26 07:27:55Z

I believe you are looking for Toishan in Kwangtung province. This was part of the 4 counties in the Canton area - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sze_Yup

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taishan

Do you have any chinese characters from any headstones, or passport, documentation etc. That will probably be the only way to locate next of kin.

http://www.vpl.ca/ccg/index.html

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2010-08/10/c_1...

Continuing search backward in Toysun Kwang, Tung

rechmbrs — 2012-11-19 19:24:24Z

I'm following a line, YUET, who were born in Toysun Kwang, Tung and would like to know how I connect to their family in China. They left there in around 1920 to Canada and another in 1939 to US.

How do I get started? English, French and German my languages and probably don't have enough brain cells remaining to learn Cantonese.

Thanks,
RON C

kaifeng synagogue records

billybaskets — 2012-07-28 15:51:52Z

Did Yip Lee originate from Kaifeng, China in 1872?

York Nine Lee

cmahh — 2012-04-01 06:28:33Z

Hi,

Looking for info on York Nine Lee, a great-great-great grandfather of mine. According to his son, Lee John's death record from British Columbia, he was married to Shee Ing and was from Taishan, Guangdon Province, China.

Lee John was born in 1867 and apparently had 4 sisters.

Any help appreciated!

Min Tang - Any info needed

cmahh — 2012-04-01 06:26:23Z

Hi, looking for any info possible on Min Tang, my great-grandfather of which I know nothing at all about.

One of his wives was Ngan Shung Kwong (b. 1911 d. 1981 in Vancouver BC) and he lived in Canton, China. He had 4 children with Ngan Shung. We have no idea when he was born or died, though we presume it was sometime before 1981.

Any help at all is greatly appreciated.

Jemmy ( Jimmy ) Ah Foo

AffooJones — 2012-03-16 12:44:49Z

Jimmy Ah Foo was born abt. 1843 in Canton China.We don't know the year he migrated to Australia or what village in Canton he came from. He married Evelina Vessey ( born in Lincolnshire) in Rockhamton, Queensland, Australia in 1866. He owned a boarding house in Springsure at that time ( he was abt. 23 years of age)and went on to own several hotels and other businesses and became a Chinese Australian Pioneer of Outback and Far North Queensland. Jimmy and Evelina had 13 children who were all musical. I would love to find out what village Jimmy came from in Canton, and what year he migrated, his marriage certificate states his parents were shop keepers.
We have a friend who is trying to find out Jimmy's real name from several signatures in Chinese Characters from signed documents.
If Jimmy came to Australia before 1866 would he have come through Hong Kong and if so are there records? Would those records then tell us what Village he came from?
Jimmy never went back to China ( his wish was to be buried in Longreach, QLD, Australia).Maybe because he married an English girl. They were buried in the same grave.

Re: Chouk Seto Connections?

cmdevillier — 2011-11-20 04:02:48Z

Hi Lainie,

No problem, I hope your search turns up something great. I want to make sure you are aware of the naming mix ups that your ancestors are showing in their records: SooHoo and Seto are the same thing, and they are the surname for the family. Chouk and Joke are the same thing, and they are really the given name/individual name for your ancestor. It seems like these were switched at some point to "Joke". SooHoo or Seto is written as 司徒. I don't know your level of Chinese genealogy or language knowledge, so I am just putting that out there just in case.

There is more for your folks:
http://search.ancestry.com/iexec?htx=View&r=an&dbid=... (line 9)

Now, if the person in the passenger list above is your ancestor as well, you will notice that he has a relative in China, wife Quan Shee. Is it possible that your ancestor had two families? It would not be the first time I have heard of Chinese sojourners starting new lives in the States while still supporting a wife in the village. Actually, when I look again at the first passenger list I sent you, on the second page of it, it has the same exact information, wife Quan/Kwan (sounds the same and there's no right/wrong way to write it), still in Hoiping http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=8945&pa....

As far as the village, if these were really Seto's/SooHoo's from Hoiping, there is a chance your village Gan Woo Tun could be included in the village database here http://www.c-c-c.org/villagedb/search.cgi, though probably spelled differently (you will have to speak the name out loud and see how closely it sounds like a lot of different spellings).

The village and all that business can be clarified by a Chinese headstone/gravemarker. Do any of your ancestors have Chinese or bilingual headstones? Often the true name and village will show up there, and can confirm or put to rest the stories shown in the American legal documents.
A final thought: if you truly believe this 1921 arrival in San Francisco is your guy, I may be able to get some information for you locally, as files are kept for San Francisco arrivals just south of the city in San Bruno, and I am about 40 minutes away. Just let me know either way.

For your reference, the email to the Seattle National Archives is seattle.archives@nara.gov. You may want to email them the Seattle passenger lists.

And the Siyi forum (go-to site for Chinese genealogy research and advice) is http://siyigenealogy.proboards.com/index.cgi?. You can find me there as "Christine".

good luck!

Re: Chouk Seto Connections?

NurseLainie — 2011-11-19 19:09:46Z

I am very thankful to your recent reply to me,
I have viewed the link you sent me. http://search.ancestry.com/iexec?htx=View&r=an&dbid=... (line #18)?
which looks to be the very SAME person of which I seek ( this is my GREAT Grandfather, which I think I have a photo of) I hope to write to the agency you mentioned & search for this info.& compare photos if there is one in the Immigration file.
my grandfathers passport application has listed as his father immigrating in 1893 San Fransisco Ca.
I will attempt to post on Siyi Forum as well.... and see what it yeilds.
GREAT appreciation to you.
Lainie

Re: Chouk Seto Connections?

NurseLainie — 2011-11-15 22:36:00Z

I truly thank you for your info. will review & get back to you. I have not reviewed the link you sent yet but I would believe that it just may be the same person, I have born 1882 & 1881 on 2 different documents ( Military registration)
Soo Hoo JOKE / Chouk ( my great-grandfather)
I think you can go to my pagees & see the pics better. & compare with any pics from Seattle immigration, of which I have never seen yet.
I have that he immigrated in 1893 thru california, I believe.
if you see any info please send link.
I will renew my subscription this Friday so i can search again & see documents.

Deepest thanks!!
this has been a heartfelt journey, for me and to reconstruct why & when my grandfather & his father lived in chins & USA Boston!
please send more if you find. Sincerely, Lainie

Re: Chouk Seto Connections?

NurseLainie — 2011-11-15 22:27:20Z

Thank you for your info, will check out this weekend
Thank you very much!!

Re: Chouk Seto Connections?

cmdevillier — 2011-11-13 09:15:47Z

Hi,
Your images are really hard to see since they are small, but if I am reading this right, your great grandfather looks to be born in Boston? And his dad is Soo Hoo Chouk (Soohoo/Seto is the surname), and he is born in China? Is this record your same Soo Hoo Chouk: http://search.ancestry.com/iexec?htx=View&r=an&dbid=... (line #18)?
Was your SooHoo Chouk born around 1883? From Hoiping? If so, you have to send this passenger to the Seattle NARA (Seattle because the port of arrival for the list is there) and get a copy of SooHoo Chouk's immigration case file, which generally will have a bunch of information, depending on whether this is his real name or a paper name. If it's a paper name, you won't get a real story out of the file, but you will still get great photos probably. These files are gems of Chinese American genealogy research, created out of legalized racism but such a great snapshot of history.
Gan Wu Tun is a transliteration of a village name. The final word "tun" is how we say "village" in what is called "four counties dialect", and this does include Hoiping. It is hard to say what the real characters are for "Gan wu" -- if you have an image of a headstone or Chinese obit/death notice for SooHoo Chouk that has Chinese in it, it will probably have the characters for the village. And yes Gan Wu Tun is some place within Guangdong province, southwest of the Pearl River delta.

Feel free to post in the Siyi forum, you will get a lot more feedback there.

Re: Chouk Seto Connections?

helenw1952 — 2011-10-21 19:57:00Z

Really cool photos here - try posting your queries on this message board - everyone is helpful.

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

Re: Zengcheng Villagers - Migration 1890s-1950s

helenw1952 — 2011-10-21 19:54:50Z

Three books published in New Zealand -

Zengcheng New Zealanders (Editor Henry Chan)

Gwa Leng Wongs in New Zealand (Editor Edmon Wong - with Michael Wong and Helen Wong)

In the Mountain's Shadow - A century of Chinese in New Zealand (1870-1970) (Helen Wong)

email me helen.familytree at gmail.com

Chouk Seto Connections?

NurseLainie — 2011-10-09 15:07:51Z

In search of details or info on the names Soo Hoo Chouk
( JOKE) as I have on documents. This would bemy great grandfather, I have a doc of my fgrandfather as a 13 yr old. traveling to china from Detroit Michigan. His name is listed as Theodore JOKE, ( Chouk) his father Soo Hoo Chouk was born in ??? Gan Wu Tun provinece is this really Guangdong province?? any info would be helpful also a friend of Soo Hoo Chouk signed from my grandfathers passport his name WAS Chung Sing Seto he worked at the Cadilac Hotel in the 1919-1920's... Detroit Michigan. Soo Hoo worked in Laundry. Theodore's mother was white & theodore lived at one time on a farm in Michigan with the John Upton Parker family

Re: My dad's family

NathanTolman — 2011-09-04 21:02:06Z

Mmmm, looking at the name, it could have been Kwuang (Perhaps Gong, Ong, or Guang in Madarin) that was his surname, because Lahuy sounds more like a given name. If you have anything with his Chinese name in characters on it it would help allot. Even if you have something that looks like an official doocument in Chinese, I could take a look at it for you.

Re: My dad's family

helenw1952 — 2011-06-25 10:42:43Z

HI - I can't personally help - but these people may be able to - Do you have any headstones with Chinese characters? http://siyigenealogy.proboards.com/index.cgi

My dad's family

eduardquant — 2011-05-10 20:08:08Z

Who could me help me find my dad family in Guangdong?
My dad was born between 1898 and 1901. My grandparents farmed fish close to the Pearl River. Maybe they sold birds, too. My grandmother was a menber of an ethnic group, who came East to settle in the Pearl River Delta. My grandfather was big for Southern Chinese standards. His nickname was Panda Bear. With great sacrifice they bought a ship ticket to San Francisco. Two other teenagers, maybe family members, came with him around 1914. They all ended up in Nicaragua where they raised 3 wonderful families. My grandparents lived in a province called Jiangxi or Tiangsi. My father westernized name was Kwuang Moon Lahuy. He changed his name to Edmundo Quant Lahuy. He fathered five siblings, including me. We were borne in 1930, 1031, 1932 (Orlando, who is pediatrician living in Toluca, Mexico), I was borne in 1942 (I am an economist living in Miami USA)and my sister Socorro was borne in 1945 (living in Managua). When my gradmother died, he sent his brother living also in Managua to China. My uncle Armando came back to Nicaragua the same year. She passed away in the late 30's or early forties.

Re: CHINESE ROOTS

helenw1952 — 2010-09-04 11:19:54Z

Hi there - does he have any Chineese characters on his headstone? Did he have any siblings? Did he belong to any local Chinese clubs? He must have come after the Japanese War but before Communist China. Can you locate shipping records which would indicate where he came from? Probably via Hong Kong. What was his name?

CHINESE ROOTS

mumymo — 2010-08-04 21:31:19Z

COULD ANYONE TELL ME WHERE I WOULD GET INFO ABOUT MY GRANDAD HE WAS BORN IN CANTON CHINA AND CAME TO LIVERPOOL ON THE BLUE FUNNEL LINER SHIPS HE MARRIED MY NAN IN 1943 THEY HAD 3 CHILDREN HE DIED IN 1962

Re: chinese records

helenw1952 — 2009-10-17 19:56:13Z

That should read "headstone". If there is one, or even better an envelope with the address? post a photo on the Siyip board mentioned above

Re: chinese records

helenw1952 — 2009-10-17 19:53:42Z

Hi, it's not that easy as Canton is a city. In those days they lived in villages. Is there a heradstine that your friend has? That will show the village that thaey came from. Is it a male or a female you are searching? females are the worst, as they marry out of their village to the male village, and there are usually no records of females, about from their "Shee" name - ie maiden name. Post your query here..http://siyigenealogy.proboards.com/index.cgi?

Re: chinese records

rabbitnz02 — 2009-10-16 21:34:55Z

I am doing some research for a friend. He knows that his grandfather and great grandfather came from Canton, China and emigrated to Mexico. Who do I need to contact in Canton?

Re: chinese records

helenw1952 — 2009-10-16 07:28:54Z

The Villages hold the records - You need to know which village you come from. http://www.dearmyrtle.com/06/1014.htm

Re: Help locate my family in Shui-bian Village

helenw1952 — 2009-10-16 07:25:58Z

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

Ask the helpful peoplw here

Re: Help locate my family in Shui-bian Village

NicholsonMNA — 2009-08-11 02:27:39Z

Thank you from your message. Would you be able to contact any one in Shui-bian Village for me?

Re: Help locate my family in Shui-bian Village

b444 — 2009-08-04 00:07:31Z

I have not heard of 塘冲鄉水边村 before, but I do heard 廣東台山三八. I think you should go to 廣東台山三八 first, then enquire the people there about 塘冲鄉水边村, they might know about it. Here is the dragon dance and lion dance that they are famous for:
http://www.china-cart.com/china.asp?nid=925
Here is the introduction of 廣東台山三八 that I found for you:
http://www.xzqh.org/quhua/44gd/0781ts.htm
Sincerely hope the above information helps you, Mark.

chinese records

rabbitnz02 — 2009-05-09 18:21:51Z

hello could any one tell me how to obtain birth,marriage, and death records for someone born in Canton, China?

Help locate my family in Shui-bian Village

NicholsonMNA — 2009-02-24 23:47:32Z

I'm looking for someone to help me find a family in
塘冲鄉水边村

廣東台山三八

Shui-bian Village, Tang-cong Township, Sanba Town, Tai-shan City, Guangdong Province

Thanks

Re: CHEW/KEW - Need Chinese characters?

youngjp67 — 2009-02-11 18:00:44Z

You should know that the Chinese language does not use letters to spell words.
Chinese uses characters to represent meanings, not sounds. Sounds for each meaning are instead memorized and are different for each dialect. We who speak English use a system to represent Chinese sounds. The most popular system today is pin-yin. This was not so 100 years ago. Then it was the Wade-Giles system. In Wade-Giles the southern province my grandfather was born in was spelled Kwang-Tung today it is more commonly spelled using pin-ying as Guang-dong. They are just different way of representing the same Cantonese sounds for the characters. There many other systems which have been used.
By my understanding of Cantonese phonemes CHEW would be QIU in pin-yin. I would suspect KEW would be the same using a different system.
Unfortunately Chinese reuses its sounds. So a single word sound like QIU may be identical for several dozen completely unrelated words. You absolutely would have to know the character to know which QIU you were talking about.
I hope this was helpful.

Re: Ung Chang b.1860 m. Lim Shee

jefferyseow — 2008-07-29 01:14:57Z

I have no connection to the records in Canton China nor in the US.

You might try:

Family Search
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp

World Connect, Rootsweb Ancestry World Tree
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

The following may also be useful:

The Origin of Chinese Surnames
http://genealogy.about.com/library/authors/ucboey2a.htm

Chinese Genealogy Forum
http://genforum.genealogy.com/china/

China Genweb
http://www.rootsweb.com/~chnwgw/

Chinese Cultural Center's "In Search of Roots"
http://www.c-c-c.org/roots/roots.html

Ziplink bulletin board for Chinese surname and genealogy queries
http://www.ziplink.net/~rey/ch/queries/

Re: Ung Chang b.1860 m. Lim Shee

pfmabrey — 2008-07-28 17:02:44Z

Do you have a connection to the records in Canton China? or where I might start in the US?

Ung Chang b.1860 m. Lim Shee

jefferyseow — 2008-07-27 20:26:52Z

Sorry I do not have any information on that.

Re: Chung Keng Quee

pfmabrey — 2008-07-27 18:44:46Z

Hi Jeffery
you seem to know alot about the history of China and the name Chang. I have not been able to get pass the language barrier and was wondering if you had any leads on the Chinese who came from Canton China to Hawaii? Ung Chang b.1860 m. Lim Shee

Re: CHEW/KEW - Need Chinese characters?

Manaia_A — 2008-07-18 23:34:06Z

Helen:

I've tried to post but I'm not seeing how to do it - grin.

Where are the directions to do this.

Thanks!

--Manaia

Re: CHEW/KEW - Need Chinese characters?

helenw1952 — 2008-07-16 09:35:14Z

http://siyigenealogy.proboards28.com/index.cgi

Post your query here

CHEW/KEW - Need Chinese characters?

Manaia_A — 2008-04-08 05:36:17Z

Can someone give me the Chinese characters (or
equivalent) for the surnames: KEW and CHEW.

.....

In China, esp. the provinces of:

Kwangtung Province (China)
Canton (China)
Swatow (China) Guangdong Sheng (China)

~~ and ~~

Fukien Province (China)
Amoy (China)
Fu-chou shih (China)
Lin Village (Fukien Province, China)

.....

Would the Chinese characters be the same for KEW/CHEW
surnames in the areas listed above?

In China are KEW/CHEW surnames similar in sound?

Does the letters 'c' and 'k' have the same sound in
China? or different?

Would KEW and CHEW be different characters for the
same surname in China?

Could the Chinese surname of KEW/CHEW be found in one
province? Or many provinces?

Can someone give me the Chinese characters for KEW and
CHEW?

.....

I appreciate all thoughts/comments/suggestions to
stumble a few bricks to reach closure for my query.

Best Regards,
--Manaia

Re: Sun Gai Village Zengcheng Canton

helenw1952 — 2007-08-08 09:33:53Z

http://nzchinese.proboards54.com

Sun Gai Village Zengcheng Canton

helenw1952 — 2007-07-14 08:42:10Z

Looking for someone who can communicate in English. I have located 2 old graves in my home province in New Zealand. These men came here in the early 1900s, and it seems that they died in New Zealand alone. I would like to let their descendants know where they are buried.

NG shek hoi / Ha Fook

groovychick855 — 2007-06-05 13:18:42Z

i am looking for descendants of NG shek hoi from the village of man lau heung just south of gujing in the jiangmen municipality
Born in 1886 he worked his passage westwards towards washington state with his brother ,going through the suez canal and jumping ship in liverpool about 1905
there are descendants in san francisco
he came from a family of grocers
the name on his photo is Ng shek hoi and the name on his marriage certificate to Emma in southport in 1908 was Ha Fook and then changing name to Frank Lee
He died in 1938

Zengcheng Villagers - Migration 1890s-1950s

helenw1952 — 2007-05-12 04:09:03Z

Looking for any Descendants of Zengcheng Villages who migrated from Canton... to New Zealand. my messageboard http://nzchinese.proboards54.com/index.cgi