Attendees learned about the history of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and how it impacted Chinese immigrants and Chinese American families.

The Chinese Exclusion Act signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, was followed by a series of laws that extended the exclusion of Chinese until December 17, 1943, when the Magnuson Act was enacted. The laws made it illegal for Chinese laborers to immigrate to the United States and for Chinese nationals already in the U.S. to become citizens. The Chinese were the only specific ethnic group excluded in the history of the United States. Potential Chinese immigrants were interrogated and many were detained at Angel Island after 1910. Case files of interrogation transcripts and other records, kept at the National Archive and Records Administration (NARA) regional offices, are some of the most valuable research resources for Chinese American family historians today.

Attendees discussed how the Chinese Exclusion Act and feelings toward the Chinese impacted their family members.

DNA BASICS AND WHY YOU MIGHT WANT TO BE TESTED: 

Patti Dung discussed basic DNA background information, how DNA is inherited and changed and the amount you share with relatives. She pointed out issues with migration and ethnicity.  Reasons why Chinese Americans would want to be tested include finding & confirming relatives, validating Chinese family genealogy books, ancient migrations, and solving family mysteries such as  "mystery people", paper sons and daughters and adoptions. Patti is a former high school AP Biology and UCLA Secondary Science Methods Instructor.
 
Steve Kwok, former CFHGSC President, discussed third party DNA databases, such as GEDmatch and the security of information that you may opt to share.  He will share a recent discovery.
 
WHAT MEMBERS FOUND FROM DNA TESTS:

• Trae Nicholson discussed efforts to find relatives  through DNA testing.  She and Wayne Louie demonstrated how they validated part of the Louie zupu,
• Carol Ng showed how she would have been able to see if a "cousin" was really a cousin. 
• Ron Chun talked about his results from 3 different DNA test companies and how he used mtDNA and YDNA tests to try to answer a family question.

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.