Chinese Exclusion Act (CEA) Indexing Project

Over the years, many volunteers have worked on indexing the case files. Loretta Chin, the first volunteer to work on this project started about 1993 when the case files arrived at the National Archives in Seattle.  Loretta processed the files—put them in archival folders, wrote the name and file number on each folder, then started indexing them.

When I started in 2001, Loretta became my mentor and friend. She took me under her wing and was always ready to answer my questions about Chinese culture and history. We both got excited about the unique documents we occasionally found in the files. And we loved the photos in the files, especially the ones of babies and children. Loretta retired a few years before COVID. When Loretta was in her 80s, she took two buses to get to the Archives every week.  What a dedicated volunteer!

Meet our current volunteers for the CEA files Index:
Trish – 2001 – Worked with Loretta Chin, indexes files; writes the Chinese Exclusion Act Case Files  blog
Tamia – 2007 – indexes files; previously worked on an NARA Alaska reindeer project
Lily – 2014 – indexes files;  transfers the index data to the index on the computer ; WA native with several files on her family
Rhonda – 2014 – indexes files; Seattle native,  father in files, the Who’s Who expert of Seattle area Chinese
Hao-Jen – 2015 –indexes files; Native Chinese speaker, Gary Locke family expert, contributes names in Chinese format to the blog
Joyce – 2019 – indexes files; Native Chinese speaker
Jackie & Stan – started indexing files a few months before NARA closed in March 2020 because of COVID, and are gradually getting back to indexing.

All the names and case numbers of the files are recorded in the database. We are going back and adding more detail to the index. Each file is indexed by name, date and place of birth, date and port of arrival, ship name, marital and citizenship status, admittance status, occupation, and a reference sheet listing file number, name, and relationship of related CEA files used by Immigration officials when examining an individual’s file. There is usually at least one photo in the file and sometimes vital records, maps, miscellaneous documents, and Immigration Office documents and correspondence. The National Archives was closed during COVID, but we are finally back working on the index.

Chinese Exclusion Act Files Blog by Trish Hackett Nicola

The blog contains examples of a combination of typical or unusual documents we find in the files. I started the blog in May 2015 because I want more people to know and understand the files. Each blog entry is a summary of a file and contains images or documents found in the file. The other volunteers also alert me to interesting files. Guest bloggers are welcomed.

There is a wide variety of genealogical and historical information included in the records and they can include biographical information on the applicant and his or her extended family, photographs over many years, maps, vital records, information about the village of origin, Immigration Office correspondence, and much more. And sometimes the information is not completely truthful. People said what they needed to say to get themselves and/or their families into the U.S. It is important for society to know that this law was in effect for sixty-one years—from 1882 to 1943. The consequences of the exclusion has had powerful repercussions on generations of families. After the Act was repealed, there was a quota of the number of Chinese allowed into the U.S. It was only 105 Chinese until the Immigration Act of 1965 was passed.

Even though the Act was misguided and hurtful, there is a goldmine of genealogical and historical information in the files. There is healing in studying the past and I hope more people will look for and find their family’s files.

Trish Hackett Nicola, Certified Genealogist® Emeritus
Blog Author/Editor and National Archives volunteer
THackettNIcola@gmail.com