Heritage Collection of the Chinatown Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library & Central Library
Introduction
This list consists of print sources found in the Heritage Collection of the Chinatown Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library and the Central Library in downtown, Los Angeles. It is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather, a representative list of resources that may be helpful to those doing research on their Chinese family histories. Consult the Los Angeles Public Library catalog for these and more resources: http://www.lapl.org, or consult your local libraries if you live outside of the Los Angeles area.
Key to Locations:
CHI Chinatown Branch – Heritage Collection
CENGEN Central Library History & Genealogy Dept.
CENLIT Central Library Literature Dept.
CENSOC Central Library Social Science Dept.
A. Chinese American History Resources
These are examples of some of the books that can provide historical context to your family history. Look to these sources for possible explanations of why, how and when your relatives immigrated and settled in the United States.
Char, Tin-Luke. The Sandalwood Mountains: Readings and Stories of the Early Chinese in Hawaii. Honolulu: Univ. Press of Hawaii, 1975. Includes historical background of 19th century China, early relations between Hawaii and China, contract labor system, Chinese organizations, economic development, family histories, lineage, and genealogy. CENGEN Call#: 996.9 C469
Hsu, Madeleine. Dreaming of Gold, Dreaming of Home : Transnationalism and Migration between the United States and South China, 1882-1943. Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ. Press, 2000. Contains data on the number of Chinese immigrants by year, number of women, places of origin in China including Taishan, and reasons for emigration. CHI CENSOC Call#: 301.450951 H8735
Lau, Estelle T. Paper Families: Identity, Immigration Administration, and Chinese Exclusion. Durham: Duke University Press, 2006. Describes how restrictive U.S. immigration policies and practices resulted in an elaborate system of “paper families” and the lasting effects these pseudo-familial structures have had on Chinese American identity. CHI Call#: 301.450951 L366
Lee, Erika. At America's Gates: Chinese Immigration during the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2003. Explores how Chinese exclusion laws transformed Chinese American lives, immigration patterns, identities, and families is explored. The text draws on various historical sources--including recently released immigration records, oral histories, interviews, and letters. CHI CENSOC Call#: 325.251 L4775
Zhao, Xiaojian. Remaking Chinese America: Immigration, Family, and Community, 1940-1965. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Univ. Press, 2002. Examines how repealed exclusion laws and the immigration laws enacted after 1940 changed Chinese American communities is included. The text uses oral histories, newspapers, genealogical documents, and immigration files to illuminate what it was like to be Chinese living in the United States during this period. CHI CENSOC Call#: 301.450951 Z623
B. Chinese American Genealogy Resources
These books specifically address Chinese American genealogy and family history research.
Byers, Paula K. Asian American Genealogical Sourcebook. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1995. Contains background essays, sources to consider in looking for information, and a listing of indexes. CENGEN Call#: Ref 929.01 A8325
Chao, Sheau-yueh J. In Search of Your Asian Roots: Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Printed for Clearfield by Genealogical Pub., 2000. Includes history of names, genealogy of over 600 surnames, bibliography, family name and stroke number indexes are included in this comprehensive resource on Chinese surnames. CHI CENGEN Call#: 929.420951 C461
Lai, Kum Pui and Law, Violet Lau, eds. Researching One’s Chinese Roots: Proceedings of the 1985 Genealogy Conference in Hawaii. Honolulu: Hawaii Chinese History Center. Articles on genealogy resources in Hawaii, Chinese names in Hawaii. CHI Call#: Ref R929R
Louie, Emma Woo. Chinese American Names: Tradition and Transition. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1998. Describes the history of Chinese names and naming practices in China and how they were Americanized during and after immigration to the U.S. are discussed in this book. CHI CENGEN Call#: 929.40951 L888
Low, Jeanie W. Chooey. China Connection: Finding Ancestral Roots for Chinese in America. San Francisco: JWC Low, 1994. Handbook for researching Chinese family history, which includes where to find immigration documents and other government records, how to translate gravestones, and how to convert the Chinese calendar, and naming practices. CHI CENGEN Call#: 929.273 L912 1994
She, Colleen. A Student's Guide to Chinese American Genealogy. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx, 1996. Includes chapters on how to start your genealogy search, clan registers, local gazetteers, oral history, and writing your family history are included. CHI CENGEN Call#: 929.01 S5385.
C. National Archives Records and Guides
Included here are print and microfilm resources on Chinese immigration available at the Los Angeles Public Library. Most information about finding immigration and other primary source documents residing at the National Archives are found online. See the Archives website: http://www.archives.gov/
Chinese Immigration and Chinese in the United States: Records in the Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1996. CENGEN Call#: REF Gen 325.251 U585. Also available online: http://www.archives.gov/research/chinese-americans/guide.html
Lists of Chinese Passengers Arriving at San Francisco, 1882-1914 [microfilm]. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1987. CENGEN Call# Ref NR 929.273 U56
Lists of Chinese Passengers Arriving at Seattle (Port Townsend), 1882-1916 [microfilm]. Washington: National Archives, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1984. CENGEN Call#: Ref NR 929.273 U56-1
D. Family Stories
1. Family Histories Incorporating Substantial Historical Research
Ching, Frank. Ancestors, 900 Years in the Life of a Chinese Family = [Qin Shi Qian Zai Shi]. New York: Morrow, 1988. While tracing his family's life story back 900 years to 11th century China, the author also reveals the significant historical events that transformed China from an isolated empire into a Communist power. CHI CENGEN Call#: 920.051 C5395
Lee, Gus. Chasing Hepburn: A Memoir of Shanghai, Hollywood, and a Chinese Family's Fight for Freedom. New York: Harmony, 2002. Memoir of the life of Lee’s family in Shanghai during the Chinese civil war and their eventual immigration to California in the 1940’s. CHI CENLIT Call#: 813 L4775L
Ngai, Mae M. The Lucky Ones: One Family and the Extraordinary Invention of Chinese America. Boston [Mass.]: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. A thoroughly researched three-generation saga of the Tape Family, one of the first middle-class Chinese American families of San Francisco who became “culture brokers” for Chinese immigrants. CHI CENSOC Call#: 301.450951 N5766
See, Lisa. On Gold Mountain: The One-hundred-year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family. New York: Vintage, 1996. Chronicle of See’s Chinese American family of Los Angeles Chinatown. CHI CENGEN Call#: 929.2 S4422-1 1996
2. Biographies and Memoirs
Chan, Corey, ed. The Wong Taw Clan. 1989. Genealogy and biographies of the Wong Taw family of California are documented. CHI Call#: Ref 929W
Chin, Tung Pok. Paper Son: One Man's Story. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2000. Memoir of a “paper son” who lived in New York during the exclusion era. CHI CENGEN Call#: 92 C5387
Larson, Louise Leung. Sweet Bamboo: A Memoir of a Chinese American Family. Berkeley: University of California, 2001. Story of the Leung family of Los Angeles. CHI CENGEN Call#: 920.073 L334 2001
Wong, Marshall. Delbert Wong: First Chinese American Judge. Los Angeles, CA: Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, 2004. Biography of Judge Delbert Wong of Los Angeles. CHI Call#: 347.092 W872Wo
Tom, K.S. Chronicle of the Chun Hoon Family. Honolulu. 1992. Story of the Chun Hoon family of Hawaii. CHI Call#: Ref 929W
Tom, K.S. Flashbacks of My Yesteryears. Honolulu. 1997. Autobiography of Dr. Tom of Hawaii. CHI Call# Ref 929T
Wing, Bob, ed. The Bowen/Wing Family: Six Generations in the United States. 1994. History and memoirs of the Bowen Wing family of Northern California is contained in this volume. CHI Call#: Ref 929B
This list consists of print sources found in the Heritage Collection of the Chinatown Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library and the Central Library in downtown, Los Angeles. It is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather, a representative list of resources that may be helpful to those doing research on their Chinese family histories. Consult the Los Angeles Public Library catalog for these and more resources: http://www.lapl.org, or consult your local libraries if you live outside of the Los Angeles area.
Key to Locations:
CHI Chinatown Branch – Heritage Collection
CENGEN Central Library History & Genealogy Dept.
CENLIT Central Library Literature Dept.
CENSOC Central Library Social Science Dept.
A. Chinese American History Resources
These are examples of some of the books that can provide historical context to your family history. Look to these sources for possible explanations of why, how and when your relatives immigrated and settled in the United States.
Char, Tin-Luke. The Sandalwood Mountains: Readings and Stories of the Early Chinese in Hawaii. Honolulu: Univ. Press of Hawaii, 1975. Includes historical background of 19th century China, early relations between Hawaii and China, contract labor system, Chinese organizations, economic development, family histories, lineage, and genealogy. CENGEN Call#: 996.9 C469
Hsu, Madeleine. Dreaming of Gold, Dreaming of Home : Transnationalism and Migration between the United States and South China, 1882-1943. Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ. Press, 2000. Contains data on the number of Chinese immigrants by year, number of women, places of origin in China including Taishan, and reasons for emigration. CHI CENSOC Call#: 301.450951 H8735
Lau, Estelle T. Paper Families: Identity, Immigration Administration, and Chinese Exclusion. Durham: Duke University Press, 2006. Describes how restrictive U.S. immigration policies and practices resulted in an elaborate system of “paper families” and the lasting effects these pseudo-familial structures have had on Chinese American identity. CHI Call#: 301.450951 L366
Lee, Erika. At America's Gates: Chinese Immigration during the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2003. Explores how Chinese exclusion laws transformed Chinese American lives, immigration patterns, identities, and families is explored. The text draws on various historical sources--including recently released immigration records, oral histories, interviews, and letters. CHI CENSOC Call#: 325.251 L4775
Zhao, Xiaojian. Remaking Chinese America: Immigration, Family, and Community, 1940-1965. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Univ. Press, 2002. Examines how repealed exclusion laws and the immigration laws enacted after 1940 changed Chinese American communities is included. The text uses oral histories, newspapers, genealogical documents, and immigration files to illuminate what it was like to be Chinese living in the United States during this period. CHI CENSOC Call#: 301.450951 Z623
B. Chinese American Genealogy Resources
These books specifically address Chinese American genealogy and family history research.
Byers, Paula K. Asian American Genealogical Sourcebook. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1995. Contains background essays, sources to consider in looking for information, and a listing of indexes. CENGEN Call#: Ref 929.01 A8325
Chao, Sheau-yueh J. In Search of Your Asian Roots: Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Printed for Clearfield by Genealogical Pub., 2000. Includes history of names, genealogy of over 600 surnames, bibliography, family name and stroke number indexes are included in this comprehensive resource on Chinese surnames. CHI CENGEN Call#: 929.420951 C461
Lai, Kum Pui and Law, Violet Lau, eds. Researching One’s Chinese Roots: Proceedings of the 1985 Genealogy Conference in Hawaii. Honolulu: Hawaii Chinese History Center. Articles on genealogy resources in Hawaii, Chinese names in Hawaii. CHI Call#: Ref R929R
Louie, Emma Woo. Chinese American Names: Tradition and Transition. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1998. Describes the history of Chinese names and naming practices in China and how they were Americanized during and after immigration to the U.S. are discussed in this book. CHI CENGEN Call#: 929.40951 L888
Low, Jeanie W. Chooey. China Connection: Finding Ancestral Roots for Chinese in America. San Francisco: JWC Low, 1994. Handbook for researching Chinese family history, which includes where to find immigration documents and other government records, how to translate gravestones, and how to convert the Chinese calendar, and naming practices. CHI CENGEN Call#: 929.273 L912 1994
She, Colleen. A Student's Guide to Chinese American Genealogy. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx, 1996. Includes chapters on how to start your genealogy search, clan registers, local gazetteers, oral history, and writing your family history are included. CHI CENGEN Call#: 929.01 S5385.
C. National Archives Records and Guides
Included here are print and microfilm resources on Chinese immigration available at the Los Angeles Public Library. Most information about finding immigration and other primary source documents residing at the National Archives are found online. See the Archives website: http://www.archives.gov/
Chinese Immigration and Chinese in the United States: Records in the Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1996. CENGEN Call#: REF Gen 325.251 U585. Also available online: http://www.archives.gov/research/chinese-americans/guide.html
Lists of Chinese Passengers Arriving at San Francisco, 1882-1914 [microfilm]. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1987. CENGEN Call# Ref NR 929.273 U56
Lists of Chinese Passengers Arriving at Seattle (Port Townsend), 1882-1916 [microfilm]. Washington: National Archives, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1984. CENGEN Call#: Ref NR 929.273 U56-1
D. Family Stories
1. Family Histories Incorporating Substantial Historical Research
Ching, Frank. Ancestors, 900 Years in the Life of a Chinese Family = [Qin Shi Qian Zai Shi]. New York: Morrow, 1988. While tracing his family's life story back 900 years to 11th century China, the author also reveals the significant historical events that transformed China from an isolated empire into a Communist power. CHI CENGEN Call#: 920.051 C5395
Lee, Gus. Chasing Hepburn: A Memoir of Shanghai, Hollywood, and a Chinese Family's Fight for Freedom. New York: Harmony, 2002. Memoir of the life of Lee’s family in Shanghai during the Chinese civil war and their eventual immigration to California in the 1940’s. CHI CENLIT Call#: 813 L4775L
Ngai, Mae M. The Lucky Ones: One Family and the Extraordinary Invention of Chinese America. Boston [Mass.]: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. A thoroughly researched three-generation saga of the Tape Family, one of the first middle-class Chinese American families of San Francisco who became “culture brokers” for Chinese immigrants. CHI CENSOC Call#: 301.450951 N5766
See, Lisa. On Gold Mountain: The One-hundred-year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family. New York: Vintage, 1996. Chronicle of See’s Chinese American family of Los Angeles Chinatown. CHI CENGEN Call#: 929.2 S4422-1 1996
2. Biographies and Memoirs
Chan, Corey, ed. The Wong Taw Clan. 1989. Genealogy and biographies of the Wong Taw family of California are documented. CHI Call#: Ref 929W
Chin, Tung Pok. Paper Son: One Man's Story. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2000. Memoir of a “paper son” who lived in New York during the exclusion era. CHI CENGEN Call#: 92 C5387
Larson, Louise Leung. Sweet Bamboo: A Memoir of a Chinese American Family. Berkeley: University of California, 2001. Story of the Leung family of Los Angeles. CHI CENGEN Call#: 920.073 L334 2001
Wong, Marshall. Delbert Wong: First Chinese American Judge. Los Angeles, CA: Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, 2004. Biography of Judge Delbert Wong of Los Angeles. CHI Call#: 347.092 W872Wo
Tom, K.S. Chronicle of the Chun Hoon Family. Honolulu. 1992. Story of the Chun Hoon family of Hawaii. CHI Call#: Ref 929W
Tom, K.S. Flashbacks of My Yesteryears. Honolulu. 1997. Autobiography of Dr. Tom of Hawaii. CHI Call# Ref 929T
Wing, Bob, ed. The Bowen/Wing Family: Six Generations in the United States. 1994. History and memoirs of the Bowen Wing family of Northern California is contained in this volume. CHI Call#: Ref 929B