Tag Archives: New York City

Yick May Gum (Katherine Lillie Shan) – Chinese and a wee bit of Irish

Actor, Application for Pre-investigation Status, Form 430, photo, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Yick May Gum Katherine Shan photo
“Yick May Gum (alias Katherine Lillie Shan) Form 430 photo” 1930, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Yick May Gum (Katherine Shan) case file, Portland Box 92, 5017/552.
[There are only a few Chinese Exclusion Act files where one of the parents is Irish. Here is one of them in anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day.]
Katherine Lillie Shan applied for her Native’s Return Certificate on 19 June 1930 in Portland, Oregon. She was working for the Orpheum Theatre circuit and they were performing in Canada. She gave the interviewer her Chinese name as Yick May Gum and said she was the daughter of Yick Bing Shan and Gertrude [maiden name not listed]. Katherine was born at 108 third Avenue, New York City on 11 June 1912. Her mother was a white woman of Irish descent who was born in Denver, Colorado. Katherine attended P.S. No. 60 grade school in New York City and then went on to Norfield Seminary [possibly Northfield Mount Herman School]. Her father was a witness for her. Her mother was working in their restaurant on the day of the interview. Katherine had two older brothers back in China whom she had never met.
R. P Bonham, Immigration District Director in Portland sent a telegram to Immigration Service in New York City on June 19 requesting Yick May Gum’s Native Return Certificate but they could not find her file. He interrogated her the next day.
Katherine’s Application of Alleged American Citizen of the Chinese Race for Pre-investigation of Status, Form 430, is included in the file with a note saying “Application withdrawn and birth certificate returned to applicant on June 24, 1930.” Signed: R. J. Norene

[There is no more information in the file. Some files do not tell us very much. This one leaves us with more questions than answers. A cross reference sheet was not included in the file so there is no reference to her father’s file and he wasn’t found in the Seattle index.]

Look Gom Hong – Son of deceased American-born Chinese citizen who resided in Seattle

Affidavit, Cerificate of identity number, Form 430, Invoice, photos, Pre-Investigation Form, reference sheet, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Undertaker’s Bill for Look Ah Pong
“Undertaker’s Bill for Look Ah Pong,” 1921, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Look Gom Hong case file, Seattle Box 650, 7030/7291.

Look Ah Pong, an American-born Chinese citizen died on 7 January 1921 and was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Seattle, Washington on 10 January. His son, Look Gom Hong, born at Sing Shu Village, Fook Chung, Sun Ning, China, originally entered the United States through the Port of Seattle in 1923. He received his Certificate of Identity #50610 upon arrival. After his entry was approved he joined his older brother, Look Gim Yook (York), in New York City.

In 1935 Look Gom Hong filled out his Form 430, Application for Pre-investigation of Status, for his upcoming trip to China. He was 25 years old and a waiter at Li Chee Gardens Restaurant in New York City. In over five pages of interrogation Look Gom Hong described his father’s and mother’s siblings, his grandparents on both sides of the family, their extended families, and many details about their village.

Look Gim Yook (York) testified on behalf of his brother. He swore that he was with their father when he died at Hai Ping Fong in Seattle. He did not have his father’s death certificate but he gave the interrogator a bill addressed to the Hip Sing Company from Collins Brothers Undertaking Company for $125 for the burial of his father. He surrendered his father’s Certificate of Identity #2671 which was issued in 1911. The interrogators then asked Look Gim Yook (York) the same questions about the family and village as his brother. [His father’s Certificate of Identity was valuable proof of the family connection.]

Look Kim Fun who was admitted to the U.S. in 1922 was from their village and testified for Look Gom Hong. He was asked the same questions about the family and village and also stated that the village had thirteen houses and a watch house. [Since it was such a small village everyone knew each other’s families making Look Kim Fun a credible witness.]

The Inspectors reviewed the interrogations and decided that the testimony of the three witnesses agreed. Look Gom Hong made a favorable impression; the brothers resembled each other and they were prompt and frank in their testimony. Look Gom Hong’s application was approved.

Photos of Look Kim York and Look Gom Hong
“Photos of Look Kim York and Look Gom Hong, Affidavit,” 1923, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Look Gom Hong case file, Seattle Box 650, 7030/7291.
The Reference Sheet in the file includes the names, relationships and file numbers for Look Gom Hong’s father, brother, two nephews, two uncles, two cousins, and a “distant relative.”

Gee G. Baine (Gee Quock Bin) – law student at Suffolk Law School, Boston

Chinese Exclusion Act-excerpt, Form 431, photo, Section 6 Student, Witnesses, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Photo of Gee G. Baine
“Photo of Gee G. Baine from Form 431,“ 1916, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Gee G. Baine (Gee Quock Bin) case file, Seattle Box RS 285, RS 34,340.

Gee G. Baine was studying law at Suffolk Law School, Boston, Massachusetts in 1916 when he applied for pre-investigation of status so he could visit China.
After a careful investigation Henry M. White, Commissioner of Immigration in Boston approved Gee’s application. White agreed with Inspector McCabe saying that the application “requires a liberal interpretation of the law to approve this application…”

“The applicant was lawfully admitted to the country and so far as developed has maintained an exempt status during the last past year. He thus has met the requirement of rule 15. True, in years gone by, he was a laborer within the meaning of the law, and at times might have been arrested on the charge of being unlawfully with the United States. It is doubted, however, that because of his doings at that time he should now be denied the right to visit his home county.”

Gee G. Baine originally entered the U.S. under the name Gee Quock Bin in San Francisco in June 1896. He lived with his uncle Dr. Gee in New York City, before moving to New Brunswick, New Jersey where he was tutored by a private teacher. He attended several schools over the years: the Thirteenth Street School In New York City, School #11 in Brooklyn, Horace Mann School in Newtonville, Massachusetts; a public school in New York City, and Berkeley Preparatory School in Boston. He was sick with pneumonia one winter then went to Boston where he worked for Mr. Monerly as a chauffeur. When his uncle Dr. Gee returned to China he gave Gee a partnership interest in the Royal Restaurant in Boston. Before Gee was accepted to law school he sometimes worked at the restaurant.

Gleason L. Archer, an attorney, the Dean and founder of the Suffolk Law School in Boston, swore in a statement that Gee Baine had been a student since August 1915 and attended classes three evening a week. He had a good attendance record and good grades having completed courses in contracts, criminal law, torts, agency, legal ethics, and real property. His personal history record showed that his references were Joseph F. O’Connell and Dr. C. H. Thomas of Cambridge.

Edgar S. Monroe, an optometrist in Boston, testified that he had known Gee about twelve years and he had seen him studying law for the last year or two. Monroe did not have personal knowledge that Gee had not worked as a laborer in a restaurant or laundry in the last year but he felt that Gee was worthy and always a gentleman—one that he would not feel ashamed to associate with in any society.

George A. Douglas, an attorney and instructor at Suffolk Law School, attested that he had known Gee since 1915 as a student in his classes in criminal law and agency. Gee attended classes faithfully. Although Douglas could not swear that Gee had not done any manual labor in the last year he knew that his attendance at school and the time needed for studying must have kept Gee extremely busy.
Gee testified that he arrived in 1896 when he was twelve years old and was admitted as a section 6 student. In the past year his only work for the Royal Restaurant was as an interpreter for the business.
In Henry M. White, Commissioner of Immigration’s letter approving Gee’s application he refers to Section 6 Exemption; rule 15 of the Chinese Exclusion Act. See Rule 15 (b)1 below:

Section 6 Exemption; rule 15 (b)
Section 6 Exemption; rule 15 of the Chinese Exclusion Act. See Rule 15 (b)

[The interviewers overlooked the fact that over the years Gee had sometimes found it necessary to work as a laborer. Because he was in the U.S. as a student he could have been deported if this became known to the authorities. The interviewers decided to concentrate on Gee’s previous year. It appeared that he was a full time student and was only associated with the restaurant in a managerial capacity.]
[Although Gee’s application was approved there is no indication in the file that he ever left the country.]

1. Chinese rules : treaty, laws, and regulations governing the admission of Chinese. [Electronic resource] https://u95007.eos-intl.net/U95007/OPAC/Details/Record.aspx?BibCode=8745586; Media #6, (1911 January 10) approved April 18, 1910, edition of January 10, 1911; ChiLR 1911.1

List of documents in file for Nelson Wah Chan King

Correspondence, Form 430, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In July 1938, Nelson Wah Chan King, age 27, applied to the U.S. Department of Labor, Immigration Service on Form 430 for a two-day visit Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His application created much paperwork and eventually was approved by Tom L. Wychoff of the Spokane immigration office but never used. Nelson cancelled his trip to Canada because he was transferred from his job in Spokane, Washington to New York City. This is a list of the documents that were in his file:

Documents listed in file
“List of documents in file for Nelson Wah Chan King” 1938, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, King Wah Chan Nelson case file, Seattle Box 767, 7030/11344.

Nelson Wah Chan King was born on 10 June 1911 in Salt Lake City, Utah, the son of Harry N. King and Lily Dorothy Shem (maiden name: Shem Mowlan). His parents were both born in San Francisco. His father owned the Kwong Nom Low Restaurant in Salt Lake City, Utah before moving to Los Angeles, California to become a merchant. Although Nelson’s grandparents were born in China, Nelson, his parents, and his brother had never been to China. Nelson’s only sibling, Paul Ming King, was born 21 January 1918 in Salt Lake City and by 1938 was a student at University of California in Los Angeles.
Nelson was working as a floor manager for the National Dollar Stores in Spokane, Washington, making $90 a month in 1938. His mother’s brother, Bruce Shem, was living in San Francisco with his wife and two sons. His father did not have siblings but he had four cousins in Salt Lake City– Walter G. King, a reporter for Salt Lake City Tribune; Ernest Q. King, M.D., a Reserve Flight Sergeant, U. S. Army and connected with a C.C. C. Camp; Raymond S. King, newspaper photographer; and Ruth King Chang, M.D. Nelson Wah Chan King’s paternal grandparents were Chan Mun Lok Way and Chan Lau Shee. His maternal grandfather was William C. Shem. Nelson could not remember his grandmother’s Chinese name—he just called her grandmother. She was living in San Francisco with her son Bruce Shem.
Nelson Wah Chan King graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles in 1933.
Nelson’s mother, Lily S. King, testified that her father was Shem Yow Ching and her mother was Leang Shee.
In his sworn statement, Nelson’s father, Harry N. King, (Chinese name: Chan Hong), stated that he was an art dealer with the Tom Gubbins Company and his father’s name was Chan See Gern.
Anna C. Stevenson also testified in Nelson’s behalf in 1938. She was a 70-year-old widow who had lived in Salt Lake City for 35 years. She had owned the apartments on Vissing Court where the King family had lived. She stated that Nelson’s mother was brought up in a Methodist home in California. Anna had last seen Nelson in 1936 on her birthday, 6 August. He brought her a present from the King family.
On 23 August 1938 Nelson Wah Chan King notified the Immigration office in Seattle that because of his transfer to New York City he would not be making his trip to Canada. It is the last document in his file.
[Although Nelson Wah Chan King and his parents were all born in the United States and never left the U.S., his grandparents were Chinese immigrants and therefore Nelson was subject to the Chinese Exclusion Act. On the positive side, there is a tremendous amount of family information in the file.]

Princess Der Ling visits Seattle

family photo, Newspaper article, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mrs White and family
“Mrs. T. C. White, newspaper article,” 1917, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Mrs. T. C. White case file, Seattle RS Box 285, RS 34,283.

Undated newspaper article included in the file: “Princess is Here, has Shopping Fad”
“Princess Der Ling, who is shown with her husband, Thaddeus Raymond White and little son, Thaddeus, Jr., during stay of family in Seattle.”
[Seattle Daily Times, Seattle, Washington, 10 April 1917, p.22] [See complete article below.]
Mrs. Thaddeus C. White entered the United States with her husband and son, Thaddeus Raymond White, on 20 October 1916. Mrs. White was also known as Elizabeth Antoinette Der Ling or Princess Der Ling, former lady-in-waiting to China’s Dowager Empress, Tzu-hai. Mrs. White was born in Tientsin, China; her husband, a Caucasian, was a U.S. citizen and businessman in China. The caption under the photo in 1917 newspaper article: “Daughter of Manchurian Prince declares that department stores of Seattle furnish never ending round of wonder and desire to buy.”
A letter in the file states that In April 1917 Mr. White complained to the Commissioner-General of Immigration in Washington, D.C. about the way he and Mrs. Konigsberg were treated by Inspector Thomson on their arrived in Seattle in October 1916. The Commissioner was satisfied that Mr. Thomson had no intention of being discourteous although he may have seemed “rather abrupt.” [The file doesn’t give any details about Mr. Thomson’s behavior or give the identity of Mrs. Konigsberg .]
Another note in the file says that Mrs. White was Princess Der Ling and had lived in U.S. about one year in 1888.
Mrs. White, her husband, and son traveled from Vancouver, B.C. via Seattle, Washington in August 1922 to New York City and were admitted as U.S. citizens. They traveled again in 1927 and were admitted.
A final memo in the file dated 28 November 1944 says, “Our attention has been called to the accidental death of this person as reported in the San Francisco newspaper Call Bulletin, on November 22, 1944.
[Mrs. White died from injuries in Berkeley, California after being struck by a truck. She had been teaching Chinese in the language War Program at the University of California. More information about Princess Der Ling can be found on Google and Findagrave.com.]


1917 White family article
Seattle Daily Times, Seattle, Washington, 10 April 1917, p.22

Pauline Poy Ling Senn – Missionary & Teacher

Certificate of Admission of Alien, photo, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Senn Pauline Poy Ling
“Photo of Senn Pauline Poy Ling,” 1918, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Senn Pauline Poy Ling case file, Seattle, Box 394, 7028/978.

Miss Senn was born on 21 March 1882 in Shin Hing, China. She first came to the United States in 1896 as a young student. She attended various schools including Baptist Mission Training School in Chicago, Illinois; Home Mission Society in Portland, Oregon; McMinnville School, McMinnville, Oregon; Adelphi College in Seattle, Washington; and Lewis Institute in Chicago. She obtained her B. S. degree from Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois in 1916. When she wasn’t going to school, she taught at mission schools.
Senn returned to China in 1918 and was a missionary/teacher at the Girls’ School for the South China Mission. Miss Senn’s witnesses on her 1918 application were Shailer Matthews, Dean of the Divinity School of the University of Chicago and Miss Nellie G. Prescott, Foreign Secretary Woman’s American Baptist Foreign Mission Society of Boston, Massachusetts.
Senn came back to the U.S. in 1924 and received her M. A. degree from Boston University in 1926. She left again for China to continue her work as a missionary/teacher. In 1937 she returned to study theology at Biblical Seminary in New York City. She had a scholarship covering one-half the tuition, room and board. Mrs. W. H. Dietz of Chicago was helping her pay the other half of her expenses.
Although the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943, there is a “Certificate of Admission of Alien” form in the file dated 25 May 1948. It states that Senn’s status was “changed from Section 4-e student to student returning to relinquished domicile in June 1924, under which status she was entitled to permanent residence.”
[Information not included in the files: Pauline Poy Ling Senn was naturalized on 14 February 1955 in Massachusetts1. She died 4 June 1979, age 97, in Alameda, California2.]

1. U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995, “Index to Naturalization Petitions and Records of the U.S. District Court, 1906-1966, and the U.S. Circuit Court, 1906-1911, for the District of Massachusetts,” database on-line, Ancestry.com (http://www.Ancestry.com : accessed 15 Mar 2017).
2. California, Death Index,” California Death Index, 1940-1997,” database on-line, Ancestry.com (http://www.Ancestry.com : accessed 15 Mar 2017).

Goon Fon – Port Townsend & Spokane

Affidavit, appeal, laborer's return certificate, photo, Return Certificate, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Goon Fon affidavit photo
“Goon Fon affidavit photo,” 1904, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Goon Fon file, Seattle, Box 1001, Case 7032/3500.

Goon Fon was born at Hom Quon village, Sun Woi district, China on 14 January 1883. He came to the United States with his father. Goon Sam, arriving at the Port of San Francisco about 1894 and went to live in Port Townsend, Washington. His father returned to China in 1902 and died there.

On 2 July 1904,  A. F. Learned, postmaster; William P. Wyckoff, Customs House official; and H. L. Tibbals, of Port Townsend, Jefferson County, Washington, swore in an affidavit they had been residents of Port Townsend for more than twenty years and were U.S. citizens. They testified that Goon Fon’s father, Goon Sam, was a bona fide merchant for more than twelve years, and a member of the Wing Sing Company, on Washington Street near Quincey Street in Port Townsend. Before leaving for China in 1902, Goon Sam gave his son a $500 share in the business.

The business closed about 1906 and Goon Fon lost his investment.

After his father left Goon Fon went to New York City and worked in the Mon Fong Restaurant on Pell Street, and then a laundry. He came back to Seattle and worked in a cannery in Alaska for Goon Dip, then moved to Spokane, Washington.

In 1924 Goon Fon applied for a return certificate as a laborer. His only proof of his status was the 1904 affidavit. He secured a $1,000 bond for the required proof of the necessary debt owed to a laborer to enable him to return to the U.S. His application was approved. While he was there, he married and had a son. When it was time to come back in 1925, he obtained a Nonquota Immigration Visa from the American Consular Service in Hongkong with his photo. He was admitted at the Port of Seattle, obtained his Certificate of Identity, and went to live in Troy, New York where he was a dishwasher at a restaurant.

In 1937 Goon Fon was living at Noodles Café, 512 Main Street, Spokane, Washington. He wanted to make another trip to China. According to his application for his “Return Certificate for Lawfully Domiciled Chinese Laborers,” he had a $1,000 loan due from Hui Cheung, who was living at 126 ½ North Wall Street, Spokane. The interrogation was thorough. Goon Fon was asked about his early life in Port Townsend—the Chinese businesses and their exact locations, the business owners, and the whereabouts of other businesses. Hui Cheung was his witness and his answers agreed with Goon Fon’s.

The Seattle Immigration office wrote to San Francisco Immigration to verify when Goon Sam and his son entered San Francisco. They could not find any record of Goon Sam in their indexes of ship manifests or other records. On 9 July 1937 they disapproved Goon Fon’s application for a laborer’s return certificate, but he had the right to appeal. The file does not say how his lawyer won his case, but the appeal was sustained, and he left for China. He returned in July 1938.

Blog post updated on 9 April 2024.

Mrs. Kenneth S. Wang (Dora Brandenberger)

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Photo of Mrs. Kenneth S. Wang (Dora Brandenberger)
“Photo of Mrs. Kenneth S. Wang (Dora Brandenberger),” 1932, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Kenneth S. Wang file, Seattle, Box 161, Case 2355/7-25.

[Date and place the photo was taken are not listed.]

Dora Brandenberger was born on 30 November 1903 in Baretswil, Switzerland. She arrived in the U.S. at New York City in November 1922 on the S.S. Adriatic. She married Kenneth S. Wang on 30 June 1932 at Jamestown, Chautauqua County, New York.
Kenneth S. Wang was born in Tang Shan, China on 2 November 1903. He came to the U.S. through Seattle in September 1924. He was here to attend pre-medical courses at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. After three years he transferred to the Medical College at University of Buffalo, New York for three and one-half more years. He was living at 24 High Street in Buffalo. Before he arrived in the U.S. he attended two years at the Chinese German School at Tientsin and four years at the Peking Academy. His father paid for his education.
At the completion of his studies Dr. Kenneth Wang, a non-quota immigrant student (Section 4 (e) of the Chinese Exclusion Act), and his wife Dora Wang left for China in July 1932. There is no indication that they returned to the U.S.
[Dora Brandenberger Wang does not have a file since she was not a U.S. citizen. There is no mention of how or where Dora and Kenneth met. Miscellaneous information found on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org: Dora was the daughter of Alfered [sic] Brandenberger and Lina Miller of Switzerland. She was a 17 year-old student when she arrived in the U.S. Kenneth Wang was her second husband. Her first husband was Ture Verner Wennersten. They divorced in 1929. Dora was a teacher and residing in St. Petersburg, Florida when she married Kenneth Wang. Kenneth lists his residence as Bemus Point, Chautauqua County, New York on their marriage license. One of the witnesses to the marriage was living in Orlando, Florida. ]

Bertha Hoy – 1905 NYC Birth Certificate

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Birth Certificate for Bertha Hoy 1905
“Bertha Hoy’s New York Birth Certificate,” 1905, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Bertha Hoy case files, Seattle, Box 1371, Case 40875/8-12.

Bertha Hoy’s birth certificate describes her as a white, female; the daughter of Tom Jung Hoy and Long Ho Hoy, born on 25 January [1905]. The date of record is 3 April 1905 and the date at the top of the document is 21 July 1908. Her father was 33 years old and was born in China. Her mother was 20 years old and her place of birth is not entered. The family resided at 5512 5th Avenue, New York City. This was their second child. A current photo [ca. 1923] of Bertha Hoy is stapled to the certificate.
The family left for China from Seattle on 30 August 1908.
Bertha Hoy returned from China on 17 January 1923. Her application for Certificate of Identity includes her Chinese name, Jung Bik Ha. Bertha presented a copy of her birth certificate as proof that she was a U.S. citizen.
An Immigrant Inspector thought it was necessary to compare her birth certificate No. 7595 with the original record on file at the Brooklyn Board of Health. A comparison was made in the presence of Dr. S. J. Byrne, whose check marks appear on the official copy and he verified it as genuine.
Witness Woo Bing, manager of the Qwong Tuck Company in Seattle, was called forth. He exhibited a Qwong Tuck Company’s departure book showing the names of hundreds of Chinese that departed for China. The book listed the Jung Hoy family’s departure on 30 August 1908.
[A note at the bottom of the interview says, “The book above mentioned shows Chinese departing for China from the year 1906 to December 3, 1912.”]
The Board of Special Inquiry unanimously agreed to admit Bartha Hoy to the United States as a returning native-born Chinese.
[Nothing in the file mentions anything about Bertha Hoy’s birth certificate listing her as “White.” They may have decided that it was a clerical error not worth pursuing.]

Tsang Gee Kay and his dog

Actor, photo, , , , , , , , , , ,

Tsang Gee Kay photo with dog
“Tsang Gee Kay and his dog,” 1921, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Tsang Gee Kay file, Seattle, Box 1305, Case 38749/1-1.

In May 1921, Tsang Gee Kay, alias Bennie One, was applying to travel from Oakland, California to Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia for two weeks. He was an actor and was playing in a skit at the Pantages. His dog was not mentioned in the file so it is assumed that the dog was part of the skit. Tsang Gee Kay was 25 years old and born in San Francisco on 2 December 1895 according to his birth certificate. His father ran a Bizarre and Chinese restaurants in Frisco. He had a brother, Ernest, and two sisters. He had never been back to China but had been to Canada three times—crossing twice at Blackrock near Buffalo, New York, and a third time at Emerson, North Dakota. Tsang Gee Kay was married to Augusta. She was living at 102-West 90th Street, New York City. They had no children. He was re-admitted at Seattle on 12 June 1921.