Monthly Archives: November 2015

Gambling Charges at Leong & Co. in Portland

Documents, Evidence, , , ,
Dont Throw Tickets sign
Exhibit in Dellino, Jackson, et al Circuit Court case, 1923, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Leong Hoey file, Seattle, Box 950, Case 7032/2037.

In November 1923 Leong Hoey was shot during a robbery at the building on 230 1/2 Third Street where his store was located in Portland. Police officers took the four suspects to the meeting area in the rear building so the suspects could point out their positions when the shooting began. When they walked through the door they came upon an illegal lottery game in progress.

Ten people were taken to jail on lottery charges–one Chinese, Long Chung, and nine whites. They were all released on bail.

The above sign was found pasted on the wall in the lottery room. It was signed “Hugh.” The original sign is included in Leong Hoey’s file.

[It is not clear who Hugh was in this scenario but apparently his wish to keep things neat and tidy gave the police good evidence about the  gambling operation.]

 

Leong Hoey – Portland, Oregon Store Proprietor

application for citizen's return certificate, Application for laborer's return certificate, Correspondence, photo, , , , , , , , , ,
Photo of Leong & Co. Store
Leong & Co. Store Photo, 1923, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Leong Hoey file, Seattle, Box 950, Case 7032/2037.

Leong Yuen and Leong Hoey at Leong & Co. store, 230 1/2 Third St., Portland, Oregon

According to a newspaper article included in the file [Oregon Journal, Portland, Oregon, Nov, 11, 1923, p. 1, col. 1] a gang robbed the store and shot, Leong Hoey, the proprietor, early in November. Judge Stapleton sentenced C. H. Jackson, leader of a gang, to ten years in the penitentiary and Vito Dellino  received a 2-1/2 year sentence.

In October 1932 Leong Hoey [sometimes spelled Huey or Houie] applied for a laborer’s return certificate. He owned a $1000 Fourth Liberty Loan Bond, worked in a fish cannery, was married, and had a son, See Gok, who was 8 years old. Leong Hoey arrived in the U.S. in 1910 and was admitted as the minor son of a merchant.

His file also contained a letter from his brother, Leong Yuen, answering a charge by the city Attorney that the store at 230 1/2 had been used for gambling. He explained that the rear of the building had been leased to a Chinese society to be used as a meeting place.

Leong Hoey’s application was denied. He appealed and it was approved. He left for China from Seattle on 7 October 1932 and returned the following year.

[More about the robbery and the gambling charge next time…]

Birth Affidavits for Jock Dock Kee – John H. Myer and Mrs. N. Hanley

Affidavits, photos, , , , , ,
Photo of John H Myer
Photo of John H. Myer,1929, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Jock Foo Quong file, Seattle Box 745, Case 7030/10590.
Jock Foo Quong Mrs N Hanley 7030 10590
Photo from affidavit of Mrs. N. Hanley, 1929, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Jock Foo Quong file, Seattle Box 745, Case 7030/10590.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Most affidavits in the Chinese Exclusion Act case files do not include photos of the affiants, especially if they are Caucasians. It is even more unusual to find a photo of a white, female affiant. Caucasians were frequently called upon to be witnesses for the Chinese because their testimony was considered more credible than a Chinese witness.]

Information from the Jock Dock Quong birth affidavit dated 25 January 1929:  Mrs. N. Hanley was 78 years old. She was a resident of Placerville, Idaho from 1881 to 1904. She became acquainted with Jock Yat Kee in the early 1880s. Jock Yat Kee owned and operated a large mercantile establishment in Placerville. By 1904 his family consisted of three boys and two girls, one of them being a son, Jock Dock Quong.

[Mrs. Hanley’s full name was Napina Hanley.]

According to John H. Myer’s affidavit he was 80 years old and had known Jock Yat Kee since 1881. Myer was present at Jock Yat Kee and Hu Shee’s wedding in 1898 in Placerville. Jock Yat Kee was the father of Jock Dock Quong who was born in 1901 in Placerville.

Jock Foo Quong and his brother Jock Dock Quong

Affidavits, photos, , , , , , , ,

Jock Dock Quong photo
Jock Dock Quong photo, 1929, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Jock Foo Quong file, Seattle Box 745, Case 7030/10590.

 
Jock Foo Quong was the son of Jock Yat Kee and Hu Shee. He was born about 1900 in Placerville, Idaho. He was also known as Fulton Yat Kee or Fulton Dick Kee. In 1938 he was living in Detroit, Michigan

Much of the information in this file pertains to Jock Foo Quong’s alleged brother, Jock Dock Quong. He was born on 14 June 1901 in Placerville, Idaho. There was no physician in Placerville at that time of his birth so his grandmother, Leong Shee, assisted at his birth as midwife. Jock Dock Quong did not have a birth certificate therefore when he wanted to visit to China he needed affidavits attesting to his birth in the United States.

Sworn affidavits were provided by his grandmother, Leong Shee; his father, Jock Yat Kee; and two Caucasians who knew him and his family since he was an infant: John H. Myer and Mrs. N. Hanley.

 

Photo of Leong Shee
Leong Shee

 

 
In an affidavit sworn on 4 January 1929, Leong Shee, age 83 years, stated that she emigrated to San Francisco when she was fourteen years old and that she moved to Placerville five or six years later. Jock Yat Kee married her daughter Hu Shee and they had seven children, including a son, Jock Dock Quong, born in 1901. Hu Shee died about 1911. Leong Shee took care of her grandchildren after her daughter died.

 
 

Photo of Jock Yat Kee
Photo of Jock Yat Kee,

 

 
Jock Yat Kee was about 60 years old in 1929. He emigrated to the United States in 1881. In 1898 he married Hu Shee at Placerville. This photo was attached to his 26 January 1929 birth affidavit for his son, Jock Dock Quong.

Hom Toy Hop and family

family photo, Group Photo, , , , , , ,

Hom Toy Hop family photo
Hom Toy Hop family photo, 1921, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Hom Toy Hop Foy file, Box 939, Case 7032/1755.

1921 photo of Hom Toy Hop, her husband, James Yee Quil, and their children, Rosalie, age 7; Grace, 6; Joseph, 4; and Howard, 22 months. They were living at 824 Penn Avenue, Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. Hom Toy Hop was born in Sunning, Kwangtung, China about 1885.
The family applied for return certificates in 1921 and were approved but they did not leave at that time.
In 1932 Hom Toy Hop applied again to leave. She had another daughter by then, Evelyn Yee Quil. They departed from Seattle, on 11 June 1932 on the SS President Jefferson and returned on SS President Taft in April 1933.