Marisa Louie Lee is a freelance researcher and genealogist, who specializes in 20th century immigration and naturalization records. She formerly worked as an archivist at the National Archives at San Francisco and is the co-author of the article "The A-Files: Finding Your Immigrant Ancestors", published in the Spring 2013 issue of Prologue magazine. She worked as an archival researcher for the PBS American Experience documentary “The Chinese Exclusion Act” (Steeplechase Films, 2018). A fifth generation Chinese American, Marisa is a proud alumna of the "Roots" program which brought her to her maternal grandfather’s village in rural Kaiping, Guangdong Province.

Marisa demonstrated how to search for records relating to those who immigrated during and after the Chinese Exclusion period. She talkedabout accessing Alien Files (“A-Files”), Chinese partnership case files, and more. She shared records she has discovered on behalf of our own CFHGSC members attending the meeting. ​

Chinese Ancestors and Angel Island: 10 a.m. to 12 noon
Chinese immigrants passed through Angel Island from 1910 to 1940, being detained for days, weeks, and even years, leaving poetry on the walls as well as tens of thousands of case files still in the National Archives in San Bruno. Grant discussed some of the documents that he has found about immigrants' Angel Island experiences.

Chinese New Year Foods 12 to 1 p.m. Celebration of the Year of the Boar by eating and learning about traditional Chinese New Year foods.

​Chinese Settlements in the Sacramento River Delta: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Attendees learned about Chinese who settled in the Delta, including Locke, Walnut Grove, Courtland, Isleton, Rio Vista, and nearby towns. Even before Angel Island was in use, Chinese helped build the levees, which turned the Delta into fertile farmland, established communities, and created a rich history in the area. Grant talked about the history of the area, resources that are available, and what you can find if you visit the area.

Grant Din
Grant Din lives in Oakland with his family and is the grandson of a paper son really named Gong. He currently consults with nonprofit organizations and has been doing genealogical research for over thirty years. He worked for eight years with the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, and he still volunteers to oversee its Immigrant Voices website. Grant has a B.A. from Yale University in sociology, an M.A. from Claremont Graduate University in public policy analysis, and a Certificate in Genealogical Studies from Boston University's online program. ​

Barbara Lu-Baltazar joined CFHGSC in 2012.  Through the various CFHGSC workshops, she learned how to piece together her family history.  This past November, her research culminated in a trip to China with the Roots Plus group from San Francisco.  She spoke about her journey of discovery and how Roots Plus helped her return home to her family's village.

John Wong from ROOTS PLUS shared the process on how to get involved with ROOTS PLUS, the history of the program, and information about the groups that are now forming for the next trip to China.

Helen Chan shared the graphic novel that she has created and published Faith and Fire, A Journey to Gold Mountain.

​Thank you to the many members who brought traditional Chinese New Year food symbolizing health, fertility, togetherness, and prosperity.
 
Program: Chinese Genealogy Detectives - Solving Family Mysteries
 
Focused on research methods that uncovered genealogy mysteries of the past:
1) unusual or unique methods;
2) with lots of determined digging;
3) serendipitous findings; clues and stories that fell into our lap
 ​
Members of CFHGSC gave examples of the above:
 
Michael Ho:  Who is Uncle Boo?" Michael determined if an "uncle" in an old family photo was actually related. He used English and Chinese-language documents and oral interviews in his research.
 
Trae: Nicholson: Identified the boy on a family Certificate of Identification and the correct name.
 
Bo-Gay Tong Salvador:  Gave an account of a Tong family story about successfully finding our Hawaiian-side relatives by going through the Honolulu phone book to find surnames mentioned in an Hawaiian family history book found in the Hilo library. 
 
Patti Dung: Found a book on a Honolulu bookstore’s “bargain” table, that had my late husband’s family genealogy and photos & text on his grandfather’s plantation restaurant in Hawaii.  Had this old photo of a youngish man who I couldn't identify, but looked vaguely familiar. After viewing files at NARA she discovered It was her material grandfather as a young man.
 
Steve Kwok: Used Tony King’s jia pu help document to translate one page of his family jia pu.
 
Ben Lee: Solved the mystery of Great-Grandfather Lee's death.
 
Bill Chun Hoon: Described his family history in Honolulu, how he wrote up his family history and the family commemorative plaque at Angel Island.

Angel Island & National Archives Records
 
Find out what Chinese immigrants endured at the Angel Island Immigrant Station, 1910- 1940.
What family records are at the National Archives and Records Admininistration? 

PRESENTED BY: GRANT DIN

​Grant Din, Community Relations Director at Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF), talked about the history of immigration through Angel Island and the documents that are often available about those who have passed through it and other ports of entry. Some are available at National Archives branches, especially in San Bruno, CA, as well as Seattle, Riverside, etc.; and others need to be requested through various government agencies. Grant showed examples of some of the information that is available at the Archives and elsewhere and tips on how to find them. He will talk about deciphering some of the information one can find online such as ship manifests and "Board of Special Inquiry" reports to determine how long people were detained at immigration centers. He will also talk about AIISF's Immigrant Voices website and encourage attendees to share their family stories on it.

Grant Din has been searching for his family's and other families' stories for over thirty five years. His family's history in the U.S. started when his maternal grandfather walked across the border from Huntingdon, BC to Sumas, WA in 1905, with merchant status, and he has found documents about all of his grandparents' time spent on Angel Island. His real family name is Gong, but his paper son grandfather also went by Ow, Doon, and Din. His paternal grandmother had to pretend to be married to her brother-in-law to immigrate to America, and his maternal grandparents brought a nephew over and claimed he was a son from a first marriage - all this to get around the Chinese Exclusion Acts. In Grant's job at AIISF, he has been able to help many families learn about their family immigrant histories, with many of these stories shared on its Immigrant Voices website (www.aiisf.org/immigrant-voices). You can see some of his research on his and his wife's families at www.tonaidin.net