“Chinese Exclusion Act Case Files: A Treasure Trove of Original Documents”
Webinar presented by Trish Hackett Nicola
May 28, 2020 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
The event is an online class via Zoom
Thursday, May 28, 2020, 1 pm to 2:30 pm (PDT)
To sign up for the May 28 webinar on the on the Chinese Exclusion Act Files go to:
On Zoom, free, sponsored by California Genealogical Society
Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month got its start as a congressional bill, inspired by Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Week, with the mission of bringing attention to the contributions Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have made to the history and culture of the United States.
But did you know the whole thing was inspired by the work of two dedicated women? Jeanie Jew and Ruby Moy, who work on Capital Hill, spearheaded a campaign to get congressional support for their cause.
As a result of their lobbying, in June 1977 Reps. Frank Horton (NY) and Norman Y. Mineta (CA) introduced a resolution that called for the president to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. The following month, senators Daniel Inouye (HI) and Spark Matsunaga (HI) introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Both were passed. On October 5, 1978, President Carter signed a Joint Resolution designating an annual celebration.
In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed an extension turning it into a month-long celebration. And in 1992, the official designation of May as Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month was signed into law.
Over the years we have had the honor of recognizing many Asian American and Pacific Islander American women in our list of Women’s History Honorees:
Chien-Shiung Wu, 1984
Queen Liliuokalani, 1985, 1989
Patsy Mink, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2002
Tye Leung Shulze, 1987
Jade Snow Wong, 1991
Tsuyako “Sox” Kitashima, 1995
Alice Fong Yu, 1997
Maya Lin, 1999, 2001
Yoshiko Uchida, 1999
Yuri Kochiyama, 2003
Maxine Hong Kingston, 2004
Mary Tsukamoto, 2006
Flossie Wong-Staal, 2013
Jaida Im, 2014
Tammy Duckworth, 2014
Judy Yung, 2015
Karen Narasaki, 2016
Saru Jayaraman, 2018
Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, 2020
Terry Ao Minnis, 2020
Wilhelmina Dowsett, 2020
[Courtesy of the National Women’s History Alliance 730 2nd St., PO Box 469, Santa Rosa, CA 95402]
Fred W. Taylor, Controller of Chinese Immigration for the Port of Vancouver, B. C. swore in an affidavit in the case of Loey King, also known as Lew King 雷權 or Loey Koon, that the document he reviewed was a true copy of Lew King’s application for admission to Canada.
[It is really highly unusual that a copy of Loey King (Lew King)’s 22-page Canadian file is included in his Seattle file.]
Lew King’s Canadian record was made in accordance with the laws of the Dominion of Canada, the Chinese Immigration Act of 1906, as amended by acts assented to July 20, 1908, and July 25, 1917. [A copy of the Act was included in the file.]
On 23 August 1920, Wong Wamfong [or Wam Fong] swore in an affidavit that he was manager of the Man Sing Lung Company at 92 Pender Street East, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The business, started in March 1919, was registered as a partnership. They dealt with groceries, general merchandise, and drugs. Lew King was a member of the partnership, a merchant, and was interested in coming to Vancouver from Hong Kong to become an active partner.
Louis Gar On swore in an affidavit in August 1920 that he was managing partner of the Man Sang Lung Company in Victoria, B.C. He claimed that Lew King had been a partner for several years of the company in Victoria and was also registered as a partner of Man Sing Lung Company in Vancouver. He believed that Lew King should be entitled to enter Canada exempt from the $500 capitulation tax.
In Lew King’s interrogation, he testified that he was a merchant for Man Sing Lung Co. in Vancouver, B.C. He arrived in Vancouver on 23 November 1920. This was reported in Vancouver file number 1316/1398. His exemption as a merchant was rejected and he was admitted after paying the $500 head tax. In his statement and declaration for registration he said that he was a salesman. He was born at Ing Gar Hong, Sin Ning district, China about 1892.
Lew King left Vancouver and was admitted at the Port of Seattle in August 1921 as a Section 6 Merchant. When Lew King applied for his laborer’s return certificate in 1935, the Seattle immigration office chose to verify Lew King’s original admission in Vancouver in 1921 even though he had made two trips to China since his admittance. The Vancouver office initially recommended that Lew King not be approved. Seattle asked Vancouver to reexamine their file. Roy M Porter, Immigrant Inspector in Seattle, reviewed their report. Porter did not think there was sufficient evidence to prove that Lew King admission to the Canada or the U.S. in 1921 was fraudulent. He reasoned that if the admittance was disapproved, Lew King’s appeal would probably be sustained so he recommended that his laborer’s return certificate be approved.
At the time of his interview to leave the U.S. on 5 April 1935, Lew King presented treasury bond No. 57451A for $1,000 as proof of his statutory right for a laborer’s return certificate. He left the bond with the Goon Dip Company at 415 7th Avenue South in Seattle. He was reminded by immigration authorities that the bond must be intact in the U.S. at the time of his return to be entitled to legal readmission.
Lew King (married name Doon Hen) was 42 years old and living at 214 Washington Street in Seattle. He left Seattle on 13 April 1935 on the S.S. President McKinley.
According to section 7 of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1888, as amend, Chinese laborers were required to return within one year. 1
There is no more information in Lew King’s file and nothing in the file to indicate why he did not return but in September 1937, Marie A. Proctor, district commissioner of the Seattle District Immigration Office, canceled the certificate of identity #56504 issued to Lew King as a laborer.
1. Green Haywood Hackworth. Digest of International Law: Chapters IX – XI., Volume 3, “Chapter XI, Aliens,” (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1942), 792. (books.google.com: accessed 12 May 2020.)
Chinese Exclusion Act Case Files 