In September 1925, C. Y. Shiu, age 37, applied to the American Consular Service at Vancouver, British Columbia for a nonquota immigration visa. He was 37 years old and was born at Canton, China. He had lived in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada since 1920 and was a Methodist minister. He had eight children, Mary, age 11, born in China, and seven younger sons all born in Canada. His church would be paying for the family’s passage from Vancouver, B. C. to Los Angeles, and they expected him to minister to his congregation for about five years.
His birth certificate, a letter of recommendation, a letter from his church and his Section 6 certificate were reviewed by Immigration and his application was approved and his photo was attached to the form.
Shui was ordained as a minister in the Methodist Church at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in June 1922 and a member of the British Columbia Conference since 1923. Rev. S. S. Osterhout, Superintendent of Methodist Oriental Missions in Canada, confirmed that Shui had been a missionary for the past nine years and a member in good standing. A letter from Rev. D. H. Klinefelter, superintendent of Pacific Coast Methodist Episcopal Chinese Missions, confirmed Shui’s transfer to Los Angeles and Pasadena with a salary of $100 per month and a house to live in.
In his letter of recommendation, George Bell stated that Shui carried out his missionary duties faithfully in Kamloops and the District of North Saskatchewan for nine years.
The nonquota visa issued to Shiu Chiu Yiu contained photos of him, his wife, and their eight children.
Top row: Tai Duck, wife; Rev. Shiu Chiu Yiu, baby Andrew (b. 1925)
Middle row: Paul (b. 1917), Timothy (b. 1923), Luke (b. 1922)
Bottom row: Peter (b. 1919), Mary (b. 1914), John (b. 1920), overlap: James (b. 1921)
The family arrived at the Port of Seattle on 26 September 1925 and were admitted.
In his Board of Special Inquiry interview, Shiu testified that his marriage name was See Wai and that he was born on 1 October 1888 in Canton, China. His parents were David Shiu and Leong Shee. He had one brother and three sisters. His mother had died but his father and sisters were all living in China. His brother, Shiu Chiu Chung, a Presbyterian minister, was living in Winnipeg, Canada. After their arrival was approved, the family left for Los Angeles on the Princess Marguerite.
The ship must have stopped in San Francisco. Although Shiu intending to on going to Los Angeles, he found out he was needed in San Francisco. He and his family were there three years, then went to Sacramento for five years and had been in Portland for two years. In 1935, his salary was $120 a month.
In 1935, Shui applied for a reentry permit. It was approved, and he spent two weeks in Canada.
In June 1937, Shiu Chiu Yiu and his daughter, Shui Kuo Ying (Mary Shiu) applied for re-entry permits. Shui gave his marriage name as Chew Lui. By then he had ten children, eight living. His sons John and Andrew had died. His children Thomas and Ruth were born in California. Shiu’s wife and the children were living in Portland, Oregon. Mary, now 23 years old, was going to China to teach for two years. She graduated from Albany College in June 1936 and her father had been teaching her Chinese. Mary had a separate file, 4009/1-3. Her father planned to go to with her as far as Vancouver, Canada and then return to Portland within two months. Mary presented her diplomas from Albany College in Albany, Oregon; Oregon State Teachers Certificate, Sacramento High School, and Junior High School in Sacramento. Their reentry permits were approved.
Shiu Chiu Yiu returned to Portland in August 1937 and was admitted.
The reference sheet in the file gives the file numbers for his wife, eight sons, one daughter, and his brother.
