In June 1895, Louis Loy (Louie Loy) sought approval for a trip to China. He was born in Jung Share (Jung Sea) Village, Sun Ning District, China. His marriage name was Louie Ngee Goon. J. Edgar Mills, wrote to the Chinese Inspector in Spokane, Washington, certifying that he had known Louis Loy for over three years and Louis was doing business in 1891 as Loy On & Co., a Japanese bazar [market], on Pike Street, in the Wa Chong Building.
“Louis Loy (Louie Loy), Affidavit photo,” 1893, CEA case files, RG 85, NARA-Seattle, Louis Loy, Box 908, #7032/999.
William Y. L. Rutherford swore in an affidavit in November 1893 that he had known Louis Loy as a merchant since 1890 in the business of manufacturing and dealing with ladies’ underwear. Since 1891, Louis and his partner, Lou Suie, continued the business under the name of Quong Lee Yuen & Co. The business was in the back of the Chinese grocery, Wa Chong Company.
In June 1901, W. Y. L. Rutherford and Walter Bernett swore that they had known Louis Loy as a merchant for over ten years. Thomas M. Fisher, Chinese and Immigrant Inspector in Seattle sent a summary of his findings for interviews with Rutherford, M. S. Booth, Walter Burritt, and Alexander Wilson, to the Deputy Collector’s Office in Port Townsend. Booth was a manager at Ballargerin [a downtown Seattle department store] and lived in Seattle for twenty-nine years. Burritt and Wilson both knew Louie Loy for about ten years. Wilson, a merchant, testified that Louis visited Wilson’s store about every third day to buy silk, lace and dress goods for gowns. Louis Loy’s trip was approved. He traveled to China and returned on 1 July 1901.
In August 1909, Louis Loy applied for a trip to Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia. He wanted to bring his wife, Leong She, and his minor daughter, Louis Gim Won, back with him. His witnesses were L.B. Jackson and W. H. Greeley, both employees at Western Dry Goods Company and longtime residents of Seattle. They swore that Louis was a merchant for more than five years at 316 Yesler Way in Seatle and had done no manual labor during the last year. A photo of Louis Loy was attached to the affidavit.
A note at the end of Louis Loy’s interrogation, says, “This applicant is personally known to the examining inspector as a reputable Chinese merchant of this city.” Signed by Henry A. Monroe
A partnership list of Louis Loy & Company as of 8 October 1909 is included in the file.
Louis Loy’s trip to Canada was approved. Louis and Leong She were married at 728 Commonwealth Street, Victoria, B.C. on 19 October 1909 in the Methodist Church by A. E. Roberts, clergyman, with witnesses L. Chewkum, Chan Sui and Maggie Smith. Louis, his wife, and daughter returned to Seattle on the 20th of October. Louis’ first wife died in 1908. The immigration inspector examined Louis’ marriage license, approved it, and returned it to Louis. Ah Foon (Woon), Louis’ ten-year-old daughter by his first wife was interrogated. The family was admitted.
In February 1929, Louie Loy submitted a Request for a Return Certificate. He was now sixty-six years old, [his interrogation lists his age as 67] considered a laborer, a peddler selling Chinese pastry. Louis and his second wife, Leung She, had eleven children, all born in the U.S. He provided the names and dates of birth for his children. They were living at Canton Alley in Seattle. Ah Chung owed him $1,000. [Laborers were required to have property or debt of $1,000] Ah Chung was questioned and his testimony agreed with Louie Loy. Louis Loy was originally admitted into the United States in 1895 as a returning merchant. He was in China during the original registration period, so he did not have a Certificate of Residence. On each of his trips he used his affidavit to prove his status as a merchant. When he returned from his 1929 trip to China, he received his Certificate of Identity #62558.
“Louis Loy (Louie Loy), M143 photo,” 1930, CEA case files, RG 85, NARA-Seattle, Louis Loy, Box 908, #7032/999.
According to his file, Louis Loy’s last trip to China was in March 1931, returning and admitted in January 1932.
The reference sheet in his file lists the names and file numbers for Louis Loy’s wife, two sons, and seven daughters–potentially containing much more information on this family.
In April 1931 Ng Chin Gar 伍傳家 applied for a laborer’s return certificate, form 432. The Seattle Immigration Service wrote to the immigration office in El Paso, TX requesting a copy of his immigration file #5032/84-200. Ng Chin Gar handed over his certificate of identity #40650 which was issued to him as a “Columbus refugee” in El Paso, TX in 1923. It would be given back to him when he returned from his trip. They verified that he had the necessary $1,000 liberty bond. To qualify for reentry into the U.S., he had to return within one year and still be the owner of the $1,000 bond. Since he fulfilled all the requirements for a laborer under the Chinese Exclusion Act, the El Paso office recommended that Ng be issued a return certificate. While waiting for the approval of his documents, he was staying at the Wah Yuen store in his departure city, Seattle. He returned to the Port of Seattle in April 1932 and was admitted.
“Ng Chin Gar, Form 432, Return Certificate photo,” 1934, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, Record Group 85, National Archives-Seattle, Box 911, File 7032/1072.
Ng Chin Gar applied again for a return certificate in 1934. He was working as a kitchen helper in Austin, Texas. He was married with two sons, ages 12 and 6 years old. In his application, he stated that he originally arrived as a refugee with the U.S. army and was admitted near Columbus, New Mexico, in 1917. He went to Mexico when he was twenty years old (ca.1912).
The Immigrant Inspector Roy M. Porter made a note saying: This certificate bears the following indorsement: “Registered under Public Resolution No. 29 approved November 5, 1928.”
[This was part of a later effort to standardize and reaffirm the validity of Chinese registration certificates issued under earlier exclusion laws.]
In 1935, Ng Chin Gar was unable to return within the one-year deadline because his wife was ill. He applied to Charles L. Hoover, the American Consulate General in Hong Kong for an Overtime Certificate. Ng was asked why his wife’s mother couldn’t take care of her. Hoover approved the certificate because he thought if Ng appealed, it was likely the certificate would be approved. Ng was admitted to the Port of Seattle on 22 May 1936.
The following information is not included in the Ng Chin Gar’s CEA file:
Army camp Columbus, N.M., auto truck supply train about to leave for Mexico / Shulman . New Mexico Columbus, 1916. [?] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2002719615/.
In April 1931, Wang Chi Che 王季茝 (Chi Che Wang) was applying for a Return Permit so she could attend the annual meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in Montreal, Canada. Wang Chi Che’s file contains a Form of Chinese Certificate from 1907 when she originally arrived in the U.S.as a Section 6 student. A photo was attached and the document was signed by M. P. Boyd, American Vice Consul General in Charge, Shanghai, China.
Wang Chi Che (Chi Che Wang), Chinese Exclusion Act case files, Record Group 85, National Archives-Seattle, Box 908, File 7032/1000.
Wang Chi Che had the documents she needed to enter Canada temporarily in 1931 but was applying for the documents she would need to reenter the United States after she attended the meeting. She planned to go by way of Detroit, Michigan.
In February, Thomas Thomas, District Director of Immigration in Cincinnati, wrote to the Immigration office in Seattle asking them to furnish a landing record of Miss Chi Che Wang. She arrived as a sixteen-year-old student on the SS Minnesota in August or September 1907. She had not left the country since she arrived.
The Seattle office sent a summary of the 6 March 1931, six-page interrogation of Chi Che Wang.:
She was born in Soo Chow, China on 30 October 1891 and was admitted to the U.S. as a student in August 1907.
Attended Walnut Hills Boarding School in Natick, Massachusetts to improve her English, then Wellesley College.
Employed as head of the Department of Biochemistry at Michall Reese Hospital in Chicago from April 1920 to April 1930.
Did biological research work at the Marine Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Taught biochemistry in the Department of Home Economics at Chicago University.
Since December 1939, employed as Senior Fellow, in charge of the Department of Metabolism of the Pediatric Research Foundation in Cincinnati, receiving a salary of $4,500 a year.
Member of Honorary Scientific Society of Sigma Psi, American Chemical Society, American Society of Biological Chemists, Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine, and Institute of Medicine-Chicago section.
Speaks English fluently and idiomatically.
Information in Chi Che Wang’s interrogation that was not included in the summary: 1. Living at 825 Locust Street in Cincinnati, Ohio. 2. Her sister, Chi Tsau Wang, a Theology student, was living at the International House in Berkeley, California.
After a review of Chi Che Wang’s documents in 1931, a Return Permit was issued to her. A Reentry Permit was issued to her in 1939 with no additional paperwork.
Important research opportunity for the Asian American community regarding P-Files (Petition Files).
What Are P-Files? P-Files are Naturalization Petition Files created by U.S. Naturalization Examiners in field offices for every naturalization petition filed between September 27, 1906, and February 28, 1950.
Files dated through July 1929 are typically brief summaries (“briefs”), about half a page in length.
After July 1929, P-Files became much more detailed and often contained richer information than C-Files.
After 1950, naturalization records are generally found in C-Files (through 1956) and A-Files thereafter.
A P-File may exist even if the petition was denied or the process was never completed.
These records are held at Federal Records Centers in San Bruno, California, or Lee’s Summit, Missouri, depending on where the individual petitions for naturalization.
Why This Matters for the Chinese and Asian American Communities
For the Chinese American community, P-Files may exist for individuals who petitioned before February 28, 1950, including:
Those who applied after the passage of the Magnuson Act (December 17, 1943), which repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act
U.S.-born women who married Asian immigrants, lost their citizenship, and later regained it
Men who served in the U.S. Army during World War I and obtained citizenship under the Nye-Lea Act (1935)
These files can contain valuable genealogical, legal, and historical information that may not appear in other immigration records.
Community Research Effort
Linda Harms Okazaki is working to collect and analyze as many P-Files as possible to build a knowledge base that benefits the broader Asian American community. While her primary research focus has been on Japanese Americans, she is actively gathering information related to other Asian communities as well.
How to Participate – Please submit by or before March 15
Please provide the following information. The request cannot be made without this data.
Full name (including any variations or alternate spellings)
Date of birth
Country of birth
Proof of death
Naturalization documents (copy of naturalization petition, an index to a petition, or a naturalization certificate) – The petition is sometimes available on Ancestry. You might include an image of a petition for a Chinese immigrant and also an index card.
Location where the petition was filed
Linda will review the information, determine the appropriate court, file number, accession number, and box number, and submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the P-File.
Documents are typically delivered digitally, and participants will receive a digital copy of the records. There is no cost to submit the FOIA request, though you may need to obtain a death certificate if one is not already available.
For those who participate, a private Google Drive folder will be created to securely share documents.
No request will be made if the research subject is still living or if the documents are not provided.This is an opportunity for Linda to request something on your behalf, but you must provide the supporting documentation.
For more information or to participate, please contact: Linda Harms Okazaki LindasOrchard@gmail.com
This is a meaningful opportunity to help preserve and document the naturalization history of our Asian American families and communities.
The example below is a good starting point, though birthdate, location of petition, proof of death, and alternate names are also needed.
Linda Harms Okazaki
California Genealogical Society, Past President Nikkei Genealogical Society, Charter Member Association of Professional Genealogists, president NorCal Chapter Linda’s Orchard, LLC 925-451-1929
Doug Ng’s cousin, Debbie Jiang, found information on Doug’s grandfather, Ng Sen Wing, and great Grandfather on the blog. Doug Ng and his wife, Dorian, who live in Florida, were visiting family on the west coast so Doug sent a request to National Archives-Seattle to see his Chinese Exclusion Act family files. Ng Sen Wing and family owned a vegetable farm in Jacksonville, Florida in the early to mid-1900s. Ng’s file was extremely rich in information. Besides photos of four family members, the file contains the file numbers for Ng Sen Wing’s wife, his parents, three brothers, five nieces and nephews, and three sisters-in-laws. This enabled Doug to request to see those files also.
Doug and Dorian visited NARA-Seattle yesterday. It was so much fun to see how excited they were to read the family files.
Doug Ng holding a document from Ng Sen Wing file. RG 85, NARA-Seattle, Ng Sen Wing, 7030/351 Below: Doug and Dorian Ng, Dorian, Trish & Doug with documents from the file
There are over 110 pages in Sarah Y. Lee’s case file. Besides the photos required on various immigration documents, the file includes a wedding portrait of Sarah and Stephen Y. Wong, their marriage announcement in a local newspaper, a copy of their marriage license, and an invitation to their wedding banquet.
1924 On July 22, 1924, Sarah Y. Lee, a citizen of Canada of Chinese race, age 25, height 5’2”, dark eyes, dark hair, entered the U.S. for a brief visit. She was required to obtain a $500 Liberty Bond guaranteeing that she would not become a public charge. Her Canadian form C.I. 10 stated that she was also known as Kim Yuck, a student, and born on 26 July 1899. Her last place of residence was 223 Moss Street, Victoria, B.C. She was the daughter of Lee Deen (Tom Deen), a Chinese contractor and farmer in Coquitlam, B.C. Sarah was planning on traveling in the U.S. and visiting her brother, a student at Marquette College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin then returning to Canada in about one month. Her father swore in an affidavit that he held securities worth at least $10,000 including gold and received revenue from real estate. He had sufficient means to support his daughter. A $500 bond was taken out to assure that Sarah, an alien, temporarily admitted to the U.S. would return before the required date.
Sarah Y. Lee Affidavit photo, 1924, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, Record Group 85, National Archives at Seattle, Wong Sarah Lee, Box 858, File 17031/587.
Sarah swore that she was not addicted to narcotic drugs and was not “engaged in buying, selling, dealing in or use of any such drug or ‘Dope.’” Sarah Y. Lee was admitted for three months to the U.S. at Seattle as a Section Six Traveler. She returned to Canada before the deadline in 1924. A certified copy of Sarah’s birth certificate was included in the file. She was born in Burnaby, New Westminster, B.C. Her parents were Lee Deen and Sim Shee.
1926 Sarah applied to visit the U.S. again in January 1926. She planned to travel and visit friends in San Francisco, Fresno, and Los Angeles and return to Victoria in six months. The examining inspector, Mr. Faris, knew Sarah’s father and that the family was friends with Mr. Lee Shek Yew, a Dominion Chinese Immigration Agent in Victoria. Faris believed that Lee would return when required so he didn’t think the bond was necessary. He approved her application. Her Canadian C.I. 10 form rated her father’s and brother’s financial worth at $60,000.
On 20 May 1926 the Immigration Commissioner, received a letter from Sarah Y. Lee saying she had married (6 February 1926) a Chinese merchant from Fresno, California a few months previously. She was now Mrs. S. Y. Wong and had started her paperwork to establish her permanent residence in the U.S. with the status of wife of a merchant. Immigration started an investigation to see if the man she had married was a merchant according to the Chinese Exclusion Act.
[Yikes – this probably added 80 pages to Sarah Y. Lee’s file. Sarah was admitted into the U.S. on 23 January for six months as a single temporary visitor. She married a little over two weeks later. One has to wonder if this was all pre-planned. The marriage license was taken out on 4 February. They had a formal wedding banquet the evening after the wedding.]
Sarah’s husband, Wong Tin Yuen (Stephen Y. Wong/Wong Yuen) who was born at Wong Lit village, Hoy Ping district, China, was interviewed by James P. Butler, Immigration Service in Fresno. Wong originally arrived in the U.S. in1910 with the status of the son of a merchant. His San Francisco file 12017/28119 was reviewed. Wong had applied for a return permit in 1925 and his permit was denied. Wong had two businesses. He worked at the Chinese Bazaar on Fulton Street for four or five hours a day. He was manager at San Sam Sing Company and worked there two or three hours a day. The San Sam Sing Company had never filed a partnership list with the county clerk or filed an income tax return. During the previous year, there had been no gambling or lottery business conducted in the store and no manual labor for the last year. Because he was involved in two businesses he needed two white witnesses for each business. Wong Lung (Wong Dock Tay), Stephen’s father, was interviewed. His testimony agreed with his son’s.
Mrs. Stephen Y. Wong (Sarah Y. Lee) was interviewed by Immigration Services on 12 July 1926. She said she had no intension of staying in the U.S. when she left Canada in January. She was not engaged to get married at that time. She was visiting Mr. and Mrs. Cuyler Wong and Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Vogel in Fresno. Sarah said she had known her husband since 1924. They met in San Francisco during her earlier trip.
On 20 July 1926, Sarah Y. Lee’s attorney wrote to Luther Weedin, Commissioner of Immigration in Seattle and included an application for Sarah Y. Lee to stay in the U.S. as the wife of a merchant. The attorney mentioned that Sarah came from a highly respected family and her father and brother had a substantial financial standing. She married Wong Tin Yuen (Stephen Y. Wong) in Fresno on 6 February 1926. He enclosed a copy of the marriage license, a copy of invitation to the wedding banquet, a newspaper announcement, and a photo of the bride and groom.
Stephen Y. Wong and Sarah Y. Lee, Wedding Portrait, 6 February 1926, Fresno, California
[It gets complicated.]
Sarah needed to change her status from section six traveler to that of a wife of a merchant. This resulted in mounds of paperwork. In September G. E. Tolman, Assistant Commissioner General of the Bureau of Immigration in Washington, DC denied Mrs. S. Y. Wong (Sarah Y. Lee)’s application to change her status and said that she could not remain in the U.S. He suggested that she return to Canada and from there apply for admission to the U.S. as wife of a merchant. She should notify immigration services that she was leaving the U.S., obtain an affidavit showing that her husband was a merchant in Fresno, attach photos herself and her husband, take it to the American Consul near her home in Fresno to secure a visa, then apply for admission to the U.S. She needed to show that her husband had been a merchant for at least one year prior to her arrival.
1927 In January 1927, Mrs. Sarah Y. Wong wrote to the Seattle immigration office explaining that she had not followed through on changing her status because she has been unable to travel for health reasons. In February, the clerk at immigration services asked Mrs. Wong if she was “an expectant mother,” and when did she planned on returning to Canada. Mrs. Wong said her child was due in March and she would probably leave in May or June. She insisted that she was under a doctor’s care and could not travel. Immigration decided to let her stay until 1 June 1927. In April, Mrs. Wong asked if she could stay until August. She was again told in great detail what she must do when applying for her readmittance to the U.S. Sarah needed an affidavit showing proof that her husband was a merchant, and they were legally married.
In July, Stephen testified that his son, Eugene Wong (Wong You Jin) was born 6 February 1927 in Fresno. His white witnesses were Frank Ennis, an advertising agent; and Leo F. Jarvis, an insurance broker. Their testimony agreed with Stephen’s. Stephen’s business information was updated and showed that both businesses were successful and providing an income. Stephen Y. Wong receives a favorable recommendation for merchant status. They family left for Canada on 9 September 1927.
Stephen Y. Wong and Sarah Lee Wong Affidavit photo, 1927, CEA case files, RG 85, NARA-Seattle, Wong Sarah Lee, File 17031/587.
Mrs. Sarah Wong filed her Canadian form 257, Declaration of Non-Immigrant Alien about to Depart for the United States, with the American Consular Service and received her passport visa. In her interrogation she said her father Lee Deen, died on 29 June 1927 and her mother, Lee Shim Shee, died in January 1925, both in Coquitlam, B.C. She listed her siblings as Thomas Lee, age about 43, was living in Port Hammond, B.C.; William, age 20 or 21; Gordon Lee, age 10 or 11, living in Canton, China; oldest sister, Mrs. G. T. Lang, Cardston, Alberta; Anna Lee, 16, student, Port Hammond; Arthur Lee,14, student, Shanghai; Lorraine, 9, student, Canton City. Sarah Lee Wong and family arrived at the Port of Seattle on 19 September 1927. The next day they were admitted and Sarah received her Certificate of Identity #58369.
1935 In June 1935, Stephen Y. Wong swore in an affidavit that he was the husband of Sarah Lee Wong and the owner of Chinese Bazaar in Fresno, CA. His photo was attached to the form. In his interview with immigration Stephen said that he and his wife Sarah Wong were applying to visit Canada and taking their eight-year-old son, Eugene, and two-year old daughter, Maylene with them. Their son, Avery, born in 1929, died in 1931.
Immigration Agent Butler’s summary of the Wong family’s applications says that Stephen Y. Wong’s business, Chinese Bazaar, which dealt with Oriental art goods and novelties, had steadily grown since 1925, his white witnesses were fully qualified, and he was the sole owner of the businesses. Stephen and Sarah Wong both received endorsements. The family visited Canda and return in September 1935.
1940 Stephen Y. Wong applied to leave the U.S. for a visit to Canada in 1940. His white witness was Miss Jo Fitzpatrick, a bookkeeper for Dr. Max M. Goldstein and for the Merchants Credit Association. She had purchased art at the Wong business, the Chinese Bazaar, and known the Wong family about ten years. Frank Ennis was a witness for Wong again. Stephen and Sarah Wong and their children, Maylene, age seven, and Shannon, age three, were interviewed. Stephen was asked the same questions as he had for previous trips and he gave the same answers with some updates. His sales were about $7,500 in 1939 with a profit of $1,200. Their sons Eugene and Avery died in 1936 and 1931, respectively.
Seven-year-old Maylene was interviewed and pointed to her mother when asked. When shown a photograph of a man, she identified him as “my daddy, Stephen.” She also identified her two-year-old brother, Shannon, who was deemed too young to be questioned. Certified copies of the children’s birth certificates were reviewed and approved. Stephen and Sarah’s photos are attached to their affidavit.
On 22 August 1940, Sarah applied for a Nonimmigrant Visa at the American Foreign Service at Vancouver, B.C. and was granted a passport visa under section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act of 1924, wife of merchant (Chinese) resident in United States in exempt status. Her photograph was attached to the document.
The Wong family returned to the Port of Seattle on 25 August 1940 and were admitted. All four applied for certificates of identity. They were approved and sent to the San Francisco immigration office about a week after their arrival at Seattle. The family made another trip to Canada in August 1944. The reference sheet included in the file contains the name and file numbers for Sarah Lee Wong’s husband, brother, two sons and daughter. Their photos are probably included in their files.
Thank you to Joyce Liu, CEA Indexing Project volunteer, for telling me about this file.
