“May Sophie Lee, Form M143 photo” 1924, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, May Sophie Lee case file, Seattle Box 178, 2850/6-2.May Sophie Lee 李美(Chinese name Lee Soon Wah) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 18 May 1898. Her parents were Lee Toy 李才and Chee Fung. She had a younger brother named John Paul Lee 李進普, born on 9 May 1900.
In October 1908 May Sophie Lee, age ten, her mother and brother were preparing to leave the United States on the SS Siberia through San Francisco for a trip to China. The Immigration inspector examined May Sophie’s passport no. 64231, two affidavits with photos and a certified copy of her birth certificate. The birth certificate states that she is white.
May Sophie Lee’s passport1908 Affidavit with photos of Lee Toy and May Sophie LeeMay Sephie Lee’s 1898 birth certificate
Mr. and Mrs. Lee’s marriage certificate was examined, authenticated and returned to the Lees. Seven white residents from Philadelphia swore in an affidavit that they were not Chinese; they were well acquainted with Lee Toy, a merchant at Chong Woh Company; May Sophie Lee was his lawful daughter, and that she was born in Philadelphia. The signers of the affidavit were:
Signatures on Affidavit
Peter Hackett, 50 So. 4th Street
Frederic Poole, Chinese Mission, 918 Race St.
William Gallagher, 1231 Arch Street
Thomas W. Cunningham, 2112 Cherry Street
Katharine A. Lacy, Principal John Agnus School
Florence B. Scott, First Baptist Church, 17th & Samson St.
Neida S. Gilman, teacher in John Agnus School
While in China May Sophie attended school until she was 21 then attended medical school in Canton City and received a medical degree. She practiced as a physician in Shanghai for over a year before returning to the U.S.
May Sophie Lee was admitted to the United States at the Port of Seattle on 15 December 1924 as a returning citizen. She was 27 years old and was on her way to the Chung Wah & Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with plans to continue her medical career.
In 1912 Gin Mon Louie was applying to visit China. His witness, Willard A. Norse, testified that he was 50 years old and living at 1902 Yesler Way and was in the hotel business. He owned two hotels– at 114-1/2 2nd South and 122 2nd South in Seattle. For the past five years M. Hee Woo (He Wo), a Chinese doctor, rented five rooms at the hotel on 122 2nd South. Dr. Woo was Gin Mon Louie’s employer and when Woo visited China in early 1912, Gin Mon Louie took over the business for him until his return. Then it was Gin Mon Louie’s turn to visit China.
F. T. Carlton, a druggist, age 52, living a 1942 10th Avenue West in Seattle, also testified for Gin Mon Louie in 1912. They were both druggists in the same building and saw each other four or five times a day. Carlton knew that Gin Mon Louie was going to China to get married.
Gin Mon Louie application was approved. He visited China, married, returned in September 1913 and received his Certificate of Identity #12747.
When Gin Mon Louie applied to visit China in 1921 his witnesses were Dr. J. E. Godfrey and Axel Hedberg. Godfrey was a physician and surgeon residing at 103 Second Avenue South. He had lived in Seattle since 1914. He knew about a couple dozen Chinese and named Dr. Louie, Quon Foy, Chin Him and Tom Leong as examples. He stated that Gin Mon Louie was a Chinese herb doctor, not a regular licensed physician, but a sanipractor [drugless-healer/naturopathic doctor]. Dr. Lamb was his partner. Godfrey and Gin Mon Louie were friends and saw each other about once a month.
Gin Mon Louie’s other witness, Alex Hedberg, was the newspaper publisher for the Swedish Tribune and lived at 44 Rose Avenue in Sunnyside. Hedberg did not know many Chinese but was acquainted with Gin Mon Louie because Louie advertised in his newspaper. He went to Gin Mon Louie’s office monthly to collect the five dollars owed him for the ads.
Charles E. Keagy, Immigrant Inspector, visited Dr. Louie at his office and obtained a copy of M. Hee Wo (Hee Woo) Company’s income tax report for 1920. He recommended that Gin Mon Louie’s application to visit China and return as a merchant be approved.
“Seattle Correspondence: Inspector to Commissioner, 35100/27-10,” 1921, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Gin Mon Louie case file, Seattle Box 1003, 7032/3549.
In 1924 Gin Mon Louie made another trip to China. Godfrey and Hedberg were his witnesses again.
Gin Mon Louie visited China again in 1934 and returned in 1937. The interrogators asked him about his interactions in China with Chinese who were residents of the United States: Did he visit with anyone in his village that was from the U.S? Did he attend a wedding of anyone from the U.S.? Did he arrange to appear as a witness for a prospective applicant for admission to the U.S.? Louie answered no to all these questions and there were not follow-up questions.
The Examining Inspector, Roy C. Matterson, reviewed information from when Gin Mon Louie originally came into the United States. He was first admitted at San Francisco as a student in 1904 and was sometimes known as Jin Mon Yuey. Immigration listed him as Chan Man Yai but Gin Mon Louie thought it was either misspelled or mispronounced. Matterson updated Gin Mon Louie’s family information. His marriage name was Jin Lip Moon. He was married to Yee Shee and they had two sons, Jin Ok Jung and Jin Hing Lok; all living in China.
“Photos of Gin Mon Louie,” 1913, 1937, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Gin Mon Louie case file, Seattle Box 1003, 7032/3549.
Gin Mon Louie was admitted.
This is a summary of the 1904 & 1905 services provided by Dr. Mae H. Cardwell for the family of Louie Ling Heung, father of Louie Chouey. “Dr. Mae H. Cardwell, witness statement, ” 1911, Chinese Exclusion Act case files, RG 85, National Archives-Seattle, Louie Chouey case file, Portland, Box 13, 2385.
Dr. Mae Cardwell delivered many Chinese babies and cared for their families in Portland, Oregon. She frequently was called on as a witness to verify the identity of her Chinese patients and confirm the details of births, illnesses, and deaths. She kept impeccable records and had a good memory for details.
On 6 May 1911 Inspector John B. Sawyer interviewed Dr. Cardwell about Louie Chouey, son of Louie Ling Heung. Cardwell told the inspector that she had known Louie Chouey since he was a little child. She attended his mother when she was sick and delivered two of her younger children, a son and a daughter. The little girl, Long Hoo, died in 1904.The mother died from tuberculosis in 1905.
During the May 1911 interview the inspector asked Dr. Cardwell four times if this Louie Chouey was the same person she knew six years ago. She answered a firm yes the first three times she was asked but the fourth time she said that she was “pretty sure.”
On 6 June 1911 Dr. Cardwell was sworn in again and gave the inspector a summary of her records pertaining to the Louie Ling Heung family from 1904 and 1905. She said since her first testimony her suspicions had been aroused about the identity of Louie Chouey. She was no longer certain that the applicant was who he claimed to be.
[It is hard to know if the inspector’s repeated questioning planted a seed of doubt in Cardwell’s mind or if she had her own doubts.]
The inspector advised the applicant that he was not prepared to approve his application and that he had a right to appeal. There is no more information in the file. Louie Chouey did not file an appeal. [Was it because he wasn’t the person he claimed to be or did he just not have the ability to prove that he was Louie Chouey?]
[Dr. Mae Cardwell appears as a witness in many of the Portland case files. Her name generally does not appear in the index for the case files because the files are indexed by the subject of the file, not for incidental people. Since Dr. Cardwell was a witness many times her name caught the interest of the indexers. Most of those case files have a happier outcome.]
For a biography of Dr. Mae Harrington Cardwell’s impressive career go to National Library of Medicine.
None of her biographies mention her work with the Chinese community.
Chinese Exclusion Act Case Files 