Written by Colby Payne

Figure 1: Moy Ni Ding in his later years (Boston Globe, June 6 1931, Page 5)

Moy Ni Ding was born in Taishan, Guangdong Province, China, between 1855 and 1859 [1]. Little is known about his early life; according to his funeral announcement in the Boston Globe, he arrived in Philadelphia in 1876, and continued on to Boston within a few years [2]. As a member of the Moy family, one of the most prominent Chinese families in Boston [3][45], Moy Ni Ding and his children appeared frequently in local newspaper coverage, beginning in 1895 [4]; over time, this reportage evolved significantly. Early stories focused on Moy Ni Ding’s alleged criminal activities: in 1895 and 1896, he was twice fined for his alleged participation in running illegal lotteries in the city of Boston [4][5][6]. As his family grew, however, coverage evolved, and by the early 1900s Moy Ni Ding and his family were written about as leaders in the Chinese community of Boston [7][8]. Unfortunately, there don’t appear to be online archives for Chinese papers based in Boston in the 1890s, making it challenging to gain information about how Moy Ni Ding was perceived by members of his own community.

According to the 1900 US census, Moy Ni Ding married his first wife—possibly named Fung Shee or Fong She—in 1888 [9].  The couple appears to have had at least four children: Mamie or Ah So Non, born in Feb. 1893**[10][11]; William or Willie, perhaps born as Lan Doo or Lan Gee, born in July 1896 [12][15][16]; Rose, born in November 1898 [17]; and Lan Tue Moy, occasionally referred to as Moy Lung, born in March 1903 [13][14][18]. At an undetermined date after 1903 and several years before 1918, Mrs. Moy Ni Ding died of unknown causes [19], and it appears that the couple’s two daughters may also have died at some point prior to 1931, as neither are listed in Moy Ni Ding’s own obituary [20][21].

In 1918, Moy Ni Ding travelled to Montreal to meet and marry his second wife, whom he had married by proxy two years earlier [22][23]. The second Mrs. Moy Ni Ding, named Wong Shee or Phyllis Moy, was accompanied to Montreal from China by the 14-year-old Lan Moy [24]. The pair returned to Boston, where Phyllis soon became as involved in the Chinese-American community as her husband. One of the most successful merchants in Boston’s Chinatown, Moy Ni Ding was elected in 1924 as the president of the Boston Chinese Merchants’ Association—an organization that he also founded [25]. His illustrious community leadership also included roles as a founder and treasurer of the United States National Chinese Merchants’ Association; a councillor for the United Chinese Association of New England; the oldest member of the Boston Lodge of Chinese Masons; and the chairman of Troop 34 of Chinese Boy Scouts [26][27][28]. Phyllis served as vice-president of a Chinese Christian women’s association, the Order of King’s Daughters; president of the Chinese Women’s Club of Boston, and treasurer of the United Chinese Association [29][30][31][32]. The young William Moy was a trailblazer in his own right; while a student at English High School, he participated in track & field, football, and the swim team, and was the first Chinese boy to serve as staff for a student newspaper in Boston [33][34][35][36][37]. William went on to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the first Chinese American from Boston Chinatown to do so, where he continued his academic and athletic pursuits [38].

Figure 2: William Moy, top right, with other members of the English High swim team (“School Swimmers Summoned to Shape Up for Coming Meets.” The Boston Globe, 30 Dec. 1915)

On June 5, 1931, Moy Ni Ding died in his sleep, reportedly “of hemorrhages,” at his home at 19 Harrison Avenue [39][40]. He had lived in Boston for more than 50 years, and his obituary in the Boston Globe referred to him as “the grand old man of Chinatown” and the “leading counselor for the Chinese in America” [41][42]. He was survived by Phyllis, William, and Lan Tue; his funeral included a procession of 120 cars, as well as the Boy Scouts of Troop 34 and eight of Moy Ni Ding’s cousins, who served as pallbearers [43][44].

** All birth dates are estimates as different documents list different dates.

Works Cited

[1][2][14][20][24][27][39][41][43] “Moy Ni Ding Dies in Chinatown Here.” The Boston Globe, 6 June 1931, https://www.newspapers.com/image/431252563/.

[4] “The Moys and the Chins Ventilate Their Grievances in the Court.” The Boston Globe, 6 April 1895, https://www.newspapers.com/image/430858597/.

[5] “Chins Foiled.” Boston Post, 7 April 1895, https://www.newspapers.com/image/74359375/.

[6] “Six Defendants Pay Fines.” The Boston Globe, 6 Nov. 1896, https://www.newspapers.com/image/430769521/.

[7][19][22] “Chinatown to Celebrate.” The Boston Globe, 30 April 1918, https://www.newspapers.com/image/430768546/.

[8] “Chinese Boy Seeks Seat.” The Boston Globe, 5 April 1913, https://www.newspapers.com/image/430934565/.

[9] “1900 United States Federal Census for Ni Diug Moy.” Twelfth Census of the United States, Massachussetts, Suffolk, Boston Ward 07, District 1245, p. 17, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/records/23980611?tid=&pid=&queryId=7cbfe700-500a-4390-b4ed-0a3bc0bd6303&_phsrc=xHA139&_phstart=successSource.

[10] Chapman, Mary, editor. Becoming Sui Sin Far: Early Fiction, Journalism, and Travel Writing by Edith Maude Eaton. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2016.

[11][16][17] “1900 United States Federal Census for Ni Diug Moy.” Twelfth Census of the United States, Massachussetts, Suffolk, Boston Ward 07, District 1245, p. 17, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/records/23980611?tid=&pid=&queryId=7cbfe700-500a-4390-b4ed-0a3bc0bd6303&_phsrc=xHA139&_phstart=successSource.

[12] “Births in the City of Boston During the Year 1896.” Boston, Suffolk, Massachussetts, United States records, www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G975-M972?view=index.

[13] “Births Registered in the City of Boston for the Year 1903.” Massachusetts, U.S., Birth Records, 1840-1915 for Moy Lan Tue, p. 1677, ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5062/records/1585917?tid=&pid=&queryId=fdcf3b85-71fb-4cc4-8bc5-d4a3cc43ac60&usePUBJs=true.

[15] “Moy, “Chinatown Mayor” and M. I. T. Man, Dead.” The Boston Globe, 13 Aug. 1938, https://www.newspapers.com/image/431741753/.

[3][21][28][40][42][44] “Funeral Services for Moy Ni Ding.” The Boston Globe, 8 June 1931, https://www.newspapers.com/image/431254690/.

[23] “Wong Shee and Moy Ni Ding marriage record.” Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968, Presbyterian Knox Church, 1918, p. 14, ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1091/records/14059343?tid=&pid=&queryId=9ea25ed0-61cc-484c-89c5-1f348fd41d2b&_phsrc=xHA128&_phstart=successSource.

[25][45] “Moy Ni Ding Heads Chinese Merchants.” The Boston Globe, 24 Jan. 1924, https://www.newspapers.com/image/430300095/.

[26] “Chinese Enjoying New Year’s Fete.” The Boston Globe, 20 Feb. 1931, https://www.newspapers.com/image/436961271/.

[29] “Chinese Women Honor War Heroes at Public Reception.” The Boston Globe, 20 Sep. 1934, https://www.newspapers.com/image/431746128/.

[30] “Chinese Girls Sell Flowers, Buttons to Swell War Fund.” The Boston Globe, 23 Aug. 1937, https://www.newspapers.com/image/429071247/.

[31] “Chinese Here Pay Tribute to Bishop.” The Boston Globe, 28 Mar. 1939, https://www.newspapers.com/image/432250560/.

[32] Phyllis Ny (Wong Shee) Ding Moy Obituary, The Boston Globe, 16 Mar. 1959, https://www.newspapers.com/image/433681521/.

[33] “Around the Town.” The Boston Globe, 20 Feb. 1914, https://www.newspapers.com/image/430648005/.

[34] “English High Expected to Turn Out 150 Candidates for the Track Team.” The Boston Globe, 20 Jan. 1914, https://www.newspapers.com/image/430653801/.

[35] “Nine Jumps and the Shotput, Too.” The Boston Globe, 17 Mar. 1914, The Boston Globe, https://www.newspapers.com/image/430653961/.

[36] “School Swimmers Summoned to Shape Up for Coming Meets.” The Boston Globe, 30 Dec. 1915, https://www.newspapers.com/image/430900168/.

[37] “English High Scores 61 of the 93 Points.” The Boston Daily Globe, 30 Jan. 1915, https://www.newspapers.com/image/59030972/.

[38] “William Ding Moy.” China Comes to MIT: MIT’s First Chinese Students. https://chinacomestomit.org/first-boston-chinese.

Fig. 1. Szewczyk, Stanley, Maple Grove Cemetery, Hackensack/Little Ferry, Bergen County Clerk’s Office, n.d.

Emma May Lee was born in Sydney, Australia in April 1878, to parents Lee Fee and Elizabeth Reynolds (“New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938”). Though records of Lee Fee’s early life are incomplete, he may have arrived in Australia from China during the gold rushes of the mid- to late 1800s. The relative proximity of China to Australia made such journeys common during that era, leading to a boom in Australia’s Chinese population. Reynolds’ history is equally tricky to piece together. Though she is described as German in Edith Eaton’s (aka Siu Sin Far’s) 1890s Chinatown journalism, Emma consistently reported her mother as English in records. Such discrepancies may be attributable either to mistaken family history, or to growing tensions between the United States and Germany in the early 20th century. It is likewise unclear if Lee and Reynolds ever married, though it is unlikely given the legal status of interracial marriage in both America and Australia during this period.

In 1892, at the age of 14, Emma immigrated to New York and settled on Mott Street in Manhattan, where she lived with her father (“United States, Census, 1900”). The United States’ Chinese Exclusion Act had at that point been in effect for around ten years, so Lee may have immigrated to New York in an earlier era and sent for Emma at a later date. In 1894, Emma married Henry Lem (or Lim), a merchant from Hock Shan, China who was 20 years her senior (“New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938”). Edith Eaton’s journalism speaks apocryphally of Lee Fee’s daughters, one of whom married a white man, the other a Chinese man; it may be that she heard about Emma’s marriage through Lee Fee or other contacts. Eaton treats the story as a thought exercise, imagining that Emma might move to China with her husband, and “become” Chinese, while the other sister might lean into passing as white in the United States. However, Emma’s life played out quite differently than in Eaton’s imagination.

As the biracial daughter of a Chinese father and a white mother, Emma’s racial category became a point of contention and practical difficulty; she is listed as white in all records before 1920, other than her marriage certificate. The 1900 marriage certificate and census records from 1920 onwards give her race as “Asian” or Chinese. While it might be tempting to narrativize this as a product of evolving personal identification, it seems more likely that her documented race in various pieces of paperwork is attributable to the pragmatic concerns about her legal status and freedom of movement. Being read or listed as white likely made it possible for Emma to immigrate to the States during the exclusion period, but it could have made her marriage to a Chinese man contentious. Though New York did not legally bar interracial marriage when Emma married in 1894, listing herself as Chinese likely smoothed the process.

Emma and Henry Lem lived in Manhattan for over 25 years, before moving in 1920 to Cliffside Park in Bergen, New Jersey (“Henry Lem (1858-1949)”). They had seven children, five daughters and two sons: Lenhoe “Elizabeth” May (b. 1895), Eva Rose “Rosie” (b. 1900), Ida/Ivy (b. 1903), Emma (b. 1904), Henry (b. 1906), Henrietta (1909), and Harvard “Harvey” (1915) (“United States, Census, 1900”; “United States, Census, 1910”; “United States, Census, 1920”). They lived fairly comfortably – Henry worked first as a merchant, then owned a butcher shop – but their family life was not free from tragedy. Their youngest daughter, Henrietta, passed away at the age of three, and Emma the younger, who survived to adulthood, nonetheless died young from tuberculosis at the age of 24 (“New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949”). Her death had a profound effect on the family, particularly on Henry; when he passed away in 1948, 20 years later, he was laid to rest in the same plot in Maple Grove Park Cemetery in Hackensack, New Jersey. Emma herself died 14 years later, in 1962 in Niagara Falls, New York, at the age of 84 (“New York, State Health Department, Genealogical Research Death Index, 1957-1963,”).

Works Cited

Far, Sui S., et al. Becoming Sui Sin Far: Early Fiction, Journalism, and Travel Writing by Edith Maude Eaton. Edited by Mary M. Chapman. McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, 2016.

“Henry Lem (1858-1949).” Find-a-Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/275832419/henry-lem. Accessed 07 Feb. 2025

“New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24CZ-SB4 : Tue Feb 20 19:30:31 UTC 2024), Entry for Henry Lem and Emma Lee, 12 May 1894.

“New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949”, database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WN4-C8R : 11 May 2022), Emma Lee in entry for Henrietta Lim, 1912.

“New York, State Health Department, Genealogical Research Death Index, 1957-1963,” , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2CHT-8YQ : 11 February 2018), Emma M Lee, 21 Sep 1962; citing Death, Niagara Falls, Niagara, New York, file #64832, New York State Department of Health—Vital Records Section, Albany.

Szewczyk, Stanley. Maple Grove Cemetery, Hackensack/Little Ferry. Date unknown, Bergen County Clerk’s Office, https://bergencountyhistory.catalogaccess.com/photos/12

“United States, Census, 1900”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSJJ-CMR : Wed Jan 22 03:38:15 UTC 2025), Entry for Henry Lem and Emma Lem, 1900.

“United States, Census, 1910”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M53D-SNT : Sat Mar 09 23:45:59 UTC 2024), Entry for Henry Lem and Emma Lem, 1910.

“United States, Census, 1920”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4PJ-WP2 : Thu Jan 16 00:37:34 UTC 2025), Entry for Henry Lem and Emma Lem, 1920.

Portrait of Lee Chu, from “Dans Le Monde De Policiers.” La Presse, 1 September 1908, p. 2.

Written by Anna Navarro.

Lee Chu appears on the Register of Chinese Immigrants to Canada as having landed in Vancouver via the Empress of Japan in 1895 [1]. On the Register, Lee Chu is listed as a 33-year old merchant. Chu was refunded his head tax payment on 3 February 1896, having made a claim that his arrival in 1895 was a return to Canada after visiting China [2]. A man by the name of Lee Chu appears in Ontario newspapers in the early 1890s, with one 1893 article reporting on his having returned to China [3]. Although no explicit connection holds between the subjects named Lee Chu, the timeline affords the possibility that they refer to the same man. 

Newspaper archives detail Lee Chu’s peculiar relation to the courts during his time in Montréal. As early as 1895, Chu was reported to have been an interpreter [4], and between 1905 and 1909, Montréal City Directories list Chu as “interpreter of the Court House” [5]. In the same period, arrests, charges, and fines befell Chu for various activities, including selling liquor and cigars without a license, bribing witnesses [6], conducting a gambling house [7], and perjury [8]. In 1908, he was sworn in as a special detective of the Montréal Police Commission, the reported intent of his new position being to bring the Chinese community under closer observation [9]. Less than a year later, the Pharmaceutical Association of the Province of Québec brought twenty-three cases against Lee Chu for selling cocaine without a druggist’s license, each of which he was required to pay a fine for [10]. The total owed amounting to $1025, Chu fled to Halifax, but was arrested there and brought back to Montréal [11]. Reports suggest that Lee Chu fled to Halifax once again [12] before leaving Canada. A 1910 article reports that legal advocate Mr. J. A. St. Julien received a postcard from Lee Chu, St. Julien’s former client, wherein Chu discloses that he is safely landed in Glasgow and is in good health [13].

Aside from interpreting, Lee Chu appears to have held several other occupations. The City Directories list Chu as “Chinese and Japanese fancy goods, 213 Bleury” in 1896–97 and as “mgr Wing on Wah & Co., 514 Lagauchetiere” in 1904–05 [14]. In 1902, Chu acted as a labour contractor for an Ontario sugar beet company, attempting to recruit Chinese labourers at low wages [15].

Lee Chu seems to have held a socially significant position in Montréal’s early Chinese community, referred to in one article as “le chef de la colonie chinoise à Montréal” [the chief of the Chinese colony of Montréal] [16]. He appears as a participant in reports of community celebrations, including as the performer of a “Chinese melody, with accompaniment” at a Sunday School gathering in 1895 [17] and of a “Chinese solo” at a New Year celebration in 1896 [18]. In 1899, the Chinese Merchants of Montréal, “headed by Mr. Lee Chu,” hosted a banquet in honour of Kang Yu Wei, then head of the Chinese Reform Party [19].

According to La Presse, Lee Chu married in East Canton in 1894 [20]. His wife, listed on the Register as Mrs Lee Sue, arrived in Vancouver via the Empress of Japan in January of 1902 [21]. After an extended illness, Mrs. Lee Chu died on 4 October 1904. According to La Presse, Mrs. Lee Chu’s funeral was attended by no less than 400 people [22]. She was buried in the Chinese cemetery at Mont-Royal, where a temporary headstone bearing a Chinese inscription was placed on her grave. The name on the headstone was reported to have been Mark Shee Lee. Mrs. Lee Chu was survived by her husband and a twenty-two month old son [23].

Illustration of the funeral of Mrs. Lee Chu, from “Mort D’une Chinoise.” La Presse, 10 October 1904, p. 1.

Portrait of Mrs. Lee Chu, from “Mort D’une Chinoise.” La Presse, 10 October 1904, p. 1.

British newspaper archives suggest that Lee Chu’s legal troubles persisted beyond his departure from Canada; in 1911, The Northern Daily Telegraph reported that “A Chinese interpreter, Lee Chu, [was] charged with having incited a compatriot to murder two other Chinamen” [24]. The evidence being insufficient to convict, Lee Chu was acquitted.

Sources

[1] [21] Register of Chinese Immigrants to Canada, https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/facultyresearchandpublications/52383/items/1.0075988

[2] “Capitation Tax – Claim of Lee Chu for refund of above tax paid by him on his return to Canada after a visit to China – From Trade and Commerce Department,” https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?idnumber=1418607&app=FonAndCol

[3] The Kingston Daily News, 18 October 1893, p. 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/777337797/?match=1&clipping_id=new  

[4] “An Opium Case.” The Gazette, 12 October 1895, p. 2. https://www.newspapers.com/

[5] [14] Montréal City Directories, http://more.stevemorse.org/montreal_en.html

[6] “Lee Chu In More Trouble.” The Gazette, 3 October 1898, p. 3. https://www.newspapers.com/ 

[7] “A Fantan Case.” The Montreal Daily Witness, 28 December 1903, p. 6. https://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/4704018 

[8] “City and District.” The Gazette, 3 March 1899, p. 3. https://www.newspapers.com/ 

[9] “Dans Le Monde De Policiers.” La Presse, 1 September 1908, p. 2. https://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/3214039 

[10] “Over a Thousand Dollars and Costs for Drug Fiend.” The Montreal Star, 17 February 1909, p. 6. https://www.newspapers.com/

[11] “Lee Chu to Arrive Here This Evening.” The Montreal Star, 24 February 1909, p. 7. https://www.newspapers.com/ 

[12] “Lee Chu Again.” The Daily Witness, 30 April 1909, p. 1. https://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/4682494 

[13] “A Postcard from Lee Chu.” The Daily Witness, 23 February 1910, p. 3. https://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/4688692 

[15] “La Main-D’Ouevre Chinoise.” Le Journal, 10 November 1902, p. 6. https://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/4621051

[16] [20] [23]  “Mort D’une Chinoise.” La Presse, 10 October 1904, p. 1. https://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/3240795

[17] “Chinese Entertainment.” Montreal Daily Star, 31 December 1895. Becoming Sui Sin Far, p. 82. 

[18] “A Chinese Entertainment.” Montreal Daily Star, 18 February 1896, p. 7. https://www.newspapers.com/ 

[19] “Praise His Purpose.” The Gazette, 16 May 1899, p. 5. https://www.newspapers.com/ 

[22] “A Sa Derniere Demeure.” La Presse, 11 November 1904, p.5. https://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/3240803 

[24] “Chinaman Acquitted.” The Northern Daily Telegraph, 14 October 1911, p. 5. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000652/19111014/113/0005

Traces of a Life: Searching for Georgie Haw

Figure 1: Georgie Haw, taken from Wm. Notman and Sons, Mrs. Sang Kee’s Group, 1897, McCord Stewart Museum.

George “Georgie” Haw was born on September 29, 1895.  While George is referred to as “Georgie Sang Kee” in numerous sources, descendants of the family call him Georgie Haw, highlighting the challenging nature of naming for early Chinese in Canada. On one hand, due to discrepancies in language, many Chinese names were spelled phonetically and oftentimes different phonetic spellings referred to the same individual. On the other hand, many members of the Chinese community assumed different names according to context.

George was born to Chu Shee (see Note 1) and her husband Mr. Ho Sang Kee (see Note 2). According to numerous sources, George was the “first Chinese child born in Montreal” [1][3][5][12]. In the 1901 Canadian census [7], George’s nationality is listed as “Canadian” owing to his Canadian birthplace as well as his father’s purported status as “a naturalized British subject” [5], if the “George Gangkes” mentioned alongside other Ho Sang Kee family members is “George.” This is notable because very few of the Chinese community members in Canada at the time were considered ‘Canadian.’

George’s joyful entrance into the world [1] was commemorated in the months following his birth through Chinese traditions such as the Completion of the Moon, during which George’s head was shaved save for “a small tuft in the middle of the head which remains as the embryo of the queue of the future” [5] or as good fortune and happiness. Traditions such as the Completion of the Moon not only commemorated culturally important moments for George and his family but also allowed members of the rich and vibrant Chinese community in Montreal to gather, celebrate, feast, and enjoy each other’s company.

George’s status as Sang Kee’s eldest son and “heir” [1] was also commemorated by a portrait taken in November of 1895, which has not been located to date [17]. We know that in addition to the 1895 portrait, George’s portrait was taken alongside his mother and sister, Avis, in 1897 (see Figure 1). The ability to have their portraits taken indicates the prominent status of the Sang Kee family, a quality substantiated by Sang Kee’s infamous coverage by local newspapers as the owner of a boarding house on Lagauchetière street and, later, of a laundry on Ste. Catherine Street [13][18]. However, it is likely that George was largely unexposed to his father’s affairs since he seems to have spent most of his time with his mother, siblings, and their family servant, Jew Guey.

Hence, we may imagine that George lived his formative years playing, exploring, and learning on Lagauchetière Street and the surrounding Montreal Chinatown while surrounded by a strong Chinese community, both Christian and non-Christian. Considering that the educational system in Montreal was not yet formalized as it is today, George’s education very likely overlapped with both instruction at home as well as his attendance of religious programs such as Sunday school and school groups run by the church [19]. Thus, in addition to his performance in church events such as a Christmas show, wherein he and his peer Frankie Chin “recited very successfully a lengthy Bible exercise, concluding with a song of praise to God the Giver” [4], George was also active in his own education. Despite the difficulty of discerning what kind of school George attended, sources suggest that George was a top student and “bright lad, being usually at the head of his class and winning many prizes at the examinations” [3], and a letter penned by George from The Daily Witness (see Figure 2) states that he enjoyed subjects such as reading and geography, with his favourite subject being math [6].

Figure 2: Letter by George Sang Kee, Montreal Daily Witness, 1908.

George died on 3 March 1908, at the age of twelve, after a lengthy stay at the Children’s Memorial Hospital for what he calls “hip disease” [6]—probably bone tuberculosis, since the condition was one of the primary diseases treated by the hospital at the time [10]. George was admitted to the hospital in June 1907, just three years after the hospital’s opening in 1904 when it was still located in a house on 500 Guy Street [6][10][14]. In its early years, advocates for the hospital were endeavouring to secure funds to relocate the hospital from its townhouse location to a building with increased hospital space for better sanitation as well as outdoor spaces for the patients [11]. Despite the shortcomings of the hospital on Guy Street, George continued his education in addition to his youthful pursuits and was considered a beloved friend and patient by those around him [6]. Church records show that George, along with his mother and siblings (three sisters and two brothers), was baptized at Presbyterian Knox Church shortly before his death, indicating family members’ full conversion to the Christian faith [9][15]. George was buried just weeks before his mother passed. Sources suggest that community members gathered at the “Chinese Mission Rooms, 336 Lagauchetière street” [3][6][12] before George, and his mother a few weeks later, were both buried at Mount Royal Cemetery [2][8][9][16].

Much like the celebration of his birth, the mourning of George’s death received coverage in local newspapers and it was apparent that the grief was not only over the loss of a beloved son, friend, and community member, but also over the loss of the first Chinese-Canadian boy born in Montreal – an identity George proudly claims in the same 1908 letter signed “Your Chinese-Canadian” [6]. His short yet not insignificant life remains recorded and traceable in various archives. Were it not for these modes of record keeping and his personally penned letter, George’s life would have passed largely unnoticed to the public. But you can find traces of his life within these collections and so his status as the first Chinese child born in Montreal lives on.

Biography written by Ah-Mei Conroy, E: ahmei.conroy@ubc.ca

Notes

1. Chu Shee assumed the aliases of Mrs. Sang Kee or Haw San/Sang Kee, Chan Kee, and Jew Nuey. The name used in the article, Chu Shee, is the name used by descendants of the family today.

2. Ho Sang Kee assumed the aliases of Sam/San/Sang Kee as well as Wing Yun according to source [18].

Sources

[1] “A Celestial Babe: Causes Joy in the Hearts of Mr. and Mrs. Sang Kee.” Montreal Daily Herald, 1 October 1895, p. 3, BAnQ Numerique, https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4286230?docsearchtext=Sang Kee.

[2] “A Chinese Funeral: Remains of Mrs. Sang Kee Laid Away in Mount Royal Cemetery.” The Daily Witness, 2 July 1908, p. 7, BAnQ Numerique, https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4681797?docsearchtext=George%20Sang%20Kee.

[3] “Chinese Boy Dies.” The Daily Witness, 4 March 1908, p. 1, BAnQ Numerique, https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4681695?docsearchtext=George%20Sang%20Kee.

[4] “Chinese Festivities: Novel Entertainment Given in Stanley Street Church Last Night.” The Daily Witness, 29 December 1903, p. 10, BAnQ Numerique, https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4704019?docsearchtext=George%20Sang%20Kee.

[5] “Completion of the Moon: Sang Kee’s Baby’s Head Shaved on His Attaining the Age of One Month.” Quebec Morning Chronicle, 25 October 1895, p. 2, BAnQ Numerique, https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/3615942?docsearchtext=Sang%20Kee.

[6] “Funeral of Sang Kee: Little Chinese Boy was Great Favourite with Nurses and Patients in Hospital.” The Daily Witness, 5 March 1908, p. 1 and p. 14, BAnQ Numerique, https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4681696?docsearchtext=George%20Sang%20Kee.

[7] “George Gangkes in the 1901 Census of Canada.” Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.ca/search/collections/8826/records/14402391.

[8] “George Sang Kee in the Canada, Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current.” Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.ca/search/collections/60527/records/2440006.

[9] “George Sang Kee in the Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968.” Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.ca/search/collections/1091/records/2877535?tid=&pid=&queryId=f4607d77-46e0-4572-ad08-e2ba0db34dcb&_phsrc=WOW255&_phstart=successSource.

[10] “History.” Montreal Children’s Hospital, https://montrealchildrenshospital.ca/history/.

[11] Kalbfleisch, John. “From the Archives: Children’s Hospital Founder Faced Opposition.” The Gazette, 26 June 2017, https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/article482933.html.

[12] “La Mort D’un Jeune Chinois: Cetait Le Premier Enfant de Cette Nationalite a Voir le Jour Dans Notre Ville.” La Presse, 5 March 1908, p. 14, BAnQ Numerique, https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/3213755?docsearchtext=George%20Sang%20Kee.

[13] “Laundryman petition.” 1900, Archives de la Ville de Montreal.

[14] “Montreal’s First Children’s Hospital Opens.” McGill Bicentennial, 1904, https://200.mcgill.ca/faculties/faculty-of-medicine-and-health-sciences/montreal-childrens-hospital/.

[15] “Sang Kee in the Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968.” Baptism records, Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.ca/search/collections/1091/records/23375882?tid=&pid=&queryId=aee3be05-59dc-43ff-9a07-19d84d8f840a&_phsrc=WOW250&_phstart=successSource.

[16] “Sang Kee in the Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968.” Burial record, Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.ca/search/collections/1091/records/2877572?tid=&pid=&queryId=d81a1ee7-7daf-4a85-922f-4b2d383a0840&_phsrc=WOW252&_phstart=successSource.

[17] “The Baby Photographed: An Event in the Life of Sang Kee Junior.” The Montreal Star, 28 November 1895, p. 8, Newspapers.com by Ancestry, https://www.newspapers.com/image/740894123/?match=1&terms=George%20Sang%20Kee.

[18] “The Eternal was Touched for $24.” The Herald, 22 September 1898, p. 7, BAnQ Numerique, https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4577225?docsearchtext=Wing%20Yun.

[19] Wang, Jiwu. ‘His Dominion’ and the ‘Yellow Peril’: Protestant Missions to the Chinese Immigrants in Canada, 1859-1967. 2000. The University of Ottawa, PhD dissertation.

Wm. Notman and Sons. Mrs. Sang Kee’s Group, 1897, McCord Stewart Museum Montreal , https://collections.musee-mccord-stewart.ca/en/objects/142147/le-groupe-de-mme-sang-kee-montreal-qc-1897.

Researched and written by Aamna Rashid

Edith Eaton, in her article,  “Chinese Entertainment, at Which the Chinamen Did Their Share of the Entertaining” first mentioned Lee Tong while discussing a night of entertainment at St Paul’s Church lecture room where “all the Chinese talent of Montreal was there” (Sin Far 82). This account of a gathering of thirteen Chinese Sunday schools was published in  Montreal Daily Star, on 31 December 1895 and depicts the different recitations, in both English and Chinese performed at the event. Lee Tong is mentioned by name for reciting the commandments. 

Another article in The Montreal Daily Witness published 29th December 1896, “Chinaman make Merry” describes an orchestra held for the Chinese New Year for “John Chinaman’s” (a racial slur for Chinese people) at Knox Church. Coupled with caricatural illustrations of the performers, the article mentions Lee Tong at the same event reciting The Sabbath in Cantonese, depicting a similar interpolation between Christianity and the Chinese community. Fig.1 could possibly be a representation of Lee Tong but it is hard to confirm because of its lack of detailed captioning.

Fig 1: “A Chinese Song”, The Montreal Daily Witness, 29th December 1896, pg. 11.

Though these are evidence of Lee Tong’s involvement within the Chinese community as well as Christian Sunday school, two other articles reference a Lee Tong who completed in bicycle races, demonstrating an important aspect of entertainment and hobbies within the Chinese community. The first, titled “Chinamen on wheels cause much entertainment on the tracks” recounts a race held at the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA) grounds for the Montreal Bicycle Club (MBC) in 1898. The article was published 29th August 1898 and devotes a section commenting on the “amusing” nature of seeing Chinese cyclists. Of course, the racial undertones represent the racialization of the Chinese community but inadvertently, it documented an important aspect of Chinese-Canadian history and their participation in MBC’s events. It describes the race between “Tong Kim, Yep Sing, Loe Tong, Ham Koon and Foog Son,”, misspelling Lee Tong’s name here. Later, it describes how “Lee Tong was the only man who did not tumble and he won easily”, accompanying this claim with an illustration of him winning the race, accompanied by caricatural depictions of the other Chinese racers (Fig 2). 

Fig 2: “Chinamen on wheels cause much entertainment on the tracks” The Daily Witness, 29 août 1898.

The article highlighted that “ The race created so much excitement and amusement that the committee ‘decided to have a consolation race, which was also à great success”, pointing to the growing involvement of the Chinese-Canadian community. On 4th September 1899, The Herald published an article on the 44th annual field day of the Caledonian Society held similarly at the MAAA grounds and clubhouse.  It shows Lee Tong competing again and finishing second in the race, with Song Sing coming first and Tom Kim (another previously mentioned cyclist)  as third. It further demonstrates a separation in races by race, at least in these examples but most significantly, visualises recreation activities and hobbies that the Chinese-Canadian community held, a fact that was usually overshadowed by their racialisation and criminalization in newspapers.

In other entries, an association of Lee Tong with liquor and opium smuggling within news reports begin. One article “Corrupting a Witness” (1st October 1898) specifically refers to Lee Tong, the cyclist, and connects him with the arrest of Lee Chu of Lagauchetiere Street. It states “through the aid of Lee Tong, the Chinese bicyclist of Amherst street, the Revenue Department were able to raid Lee Chou’s premises, where they located one thousand bottles of liquor.” It further alleges that Lee Chou offered Tong a bribe of 100$ to keep silent but he refused. An account of the same story is present in “UNE AUTRE TOUANURE” La patrie, 27 octobre 1898 and “Lee Chu Bribery Case”, the Gazette, 27 October 1898 that followed the trial and instead alleges that Lee Tong had offered 100$ to Lee Chu(Chou) to act as his witness and that Chu had refused, deciding to plead guilty. Tong Hill and Lee Fook, other “Chinamen”, acted as witnesses in the case stating “On September 29th, they saw Song Sing and Lee Tong at the store of the accused….[where] Lee Tong made some remark about coming to help him out for 100$.”

While I was unable to find a definitive conclusion of the trial, another newspaper article detailed a Lee Tong’s involvement with opium dealing, citing 2 different addresses for him, 672 Lagauchetiere Street and 572 Lagauchetiere Street (possible typo) as they were published in 1902 – 14th May and 19th May respectively. Lagauchetiere Street at this time was known as the site for Chinese boarding houses for new immigrants and held a semblance of community. The first article merely announces his court date (set as 19th May)  and the charge of opium dealing while the second details him being charged for the crime. It describes him as being well known to the police as an opium dealer and “as an old man of singular appearance….weighing out the opium paste demanded by his patrons”, charged a fine of 20$ and 90 days imprisonment. The article points to the hypocrisy of the West when reporting on the Chinese community claiming “the West has surely enough vices of its own without those of the Orient” as well as the common tropes within newspapers of associating opium sales with the Chinese community.    

While I have been unable to discern Lee Tong’s exact date of immigration, date of birth, or death due to the commonality of the name, what this points towards is a diverse history of the Chinese community and individuality despite a similar name or alternatively the possibilities of changing circumstances driving different “business” endeavors even if these are all tales of the same Lee Tong. In either consideration, what remains especially significant is that it provides a story and background to immigrants, otherwise deprived of history, personhood, and hobbies, and prevents their reduction to statistics in historical imagining. 

“A Chinese Song”, The Montreal Daily Witness, 29th December 1896, pg.11 https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4666956?docsearchtext=lee%20tong

“Chinamen on wheels cause much entertainment on the tracks” The Daily Witness, 29 août 1898, pg.10 https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4702390?docsearchtext=lee%20tong

“Corrupting a Witness,” The Daily Witness, 1 october 1898, pg. 6
https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4702419?docsearchtext=lee%20tong

“The Scots A-Field”, The Herald, 4 septembre 1899, pg. 5
https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4463994?docsearchtext=lee%20tong

“City Items”, The Daily Witness, mercredi 14 mai 1902, pg.6 https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4703575?docsearchtext=city%20items

“For selling opium” The Daily Witness, 19 mai 1902, pg.1 https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4703579?docsearchtext=lee%20tong

Moy C. Winn was born on the 15^th of February 1864, at 710 Commercial Street in San Francisco’s Chinatown to Chinese-born parents (fig. 1). He evidently received a good education – in 1895, Edith Eaton reports that he is a graduate of an unspecified “American college” and that he is “singularly intelligent and prepossessing” [1].

Fig. 1: Close-up of map of San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1885, showing Commercial St. (The Library of Congress, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g4364s.ct002129)

In 1886, then aged 22, he married Eng Shee (alternately spelled Ng, Ung, and Young), who was 19 years old and living in China. Eng Shee was born in September 1867 in China and arrived in the United States in 1894, eight years after the marriage [3]. By the time she joined Moy C. Winn in America, he had settled in Boston, Massachusetts, living at 11 Oxford St [3]. There he was a merchant in what Edith Eaton refers to as the “Moy Company,” although in the 1900 census his company is listed as W.G. Lung & Co [3]. Passenger lists and records of entry to Canada and the United States from the 1890s and 1900s show Moy C. Winn travelling numerous times between China and the United States [4] [1]. In 1895, he applied for a US passport [5] (fig. 2). Moy’s entrepreneurial spirit also saw him seek business opportunities outside the Moy Company. By 1901, he was reported as a “passenger agent” for the “Chicago & Northwestern-Union Pacific-Southern [railway] route” [6] [7].

Fig. 2: Moy C. Winn’s US passport application made in 1895 while he was living in Boston (U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925. Volume: Roll 435 – 16 Jan 1895-31 Jan 1895.)

Beyond his role as a successful businessman, Moy was a prominent and well-connected figure in Boston’s Chinatown and became involved in local politics. In December of 1892 the Boston Globe reports that he cast an electoral ballot in Boston’s ward 10, a newsworthy event as he is said to be Boston’s first ever eligible Chinese voter [8]; in November of 1896 he cast a vote in Boston’s ward 7 [9] [10]. Newspaper reports of these events savour of racism and condescension, mocking Chinese voters, including Moy, for their accented English and affecting surprise that they did not require assistance in choosing a candidate or filling out a ballot. In September of 1896, Moy is selected as a councillor delegate for ward 7 [11]. In 1895, local politicians and real estate developers began agitating for the removal of some residents of Oxford Street in Boston’s Chinatown. When a Boston Globe reporter visited Chinatown to seek the local opinion on the matter, the subsequent article referred to Moy C. Winn as the “kingpin” of Chinatown [12]. Moy is said to be reticent at first, but opens up and defends the right of the Chinese community to remain in their homes when addressed by a white man known to support the “Chinese cause” [12].

Despite racist treatment, Moy and other prominent members of the Chinese community continued to assert their claim to the city’s political and social life. In 1899, Moy sat on a committee of Chinatown leaders to set up a merchandise booth at an outdoor fundraising festival for Boston’s Carney Hospital [13]. A card on the booth announced Chinatown’s contribution “in return for services rendered to their countrymen in the Carney hospital” [13]. Moy’s charitable activity was not limited to Boston; in 1900, he led efforts to raise money for the people of Galveston, Texas, after that city suffered a devastating hurricane [14].

Moy was also connected to the Chinese Freemason community. In 1907, the deaths of several local Chinese Freemasons caused a public stir. The Boston Globe reports that Moy sat on the committee planning the funeral ceremonies of Masons Wong Shee Chung and Leong Quen [15]. The presence of non-Chinese American Masons, the hiring of an American band, and the thousands of Chinese Americans expected to attend attest to the ways in which Masonic membership linked the Chinese and white communities of Boston in this period. Freemasonry became a family tradition; years later, one of Moy’s sons registered for Masonic membership [16].

Moy C. Winn and Eng Shee’s first child, a son named Harry, was born in August 1895 [17]. He was followed by sons Willie in September 1897 [18], Walter in September 1900 [14] [19] [20], and Quinn in around 1904 [21]. The children’s English names and the report that newborn baby Walter will be dressed “like an American baby, all in white” rather than in the customary red of Chinese babies suggest the family’s desire to set their sons up for success in the face of the racism and intolerance of the wider Boston community [14].

Birth records and newspaper articles note another son born to Moy C. Winn, named Jones Sing Moy, in 1896. Unlike articles announcing Walter’s birth, which mention Eng Shee, Harry, and Willie, the article introducing Jones does not mention a wife or brothers, and indeed on his birth record, he is marked as “illegitimate” and the space for the mother’s name is left blank [22] [23]. Furthermore, on a passenger list of a ship returning to the US from China in January 1903, Moy C. Winn is seen travelling with his wife and children, named as “Jones Sing Moy Wing or Winn,” “Willie Moy Wing or Winn,” and “Walter Moy Wing or Winn” – the manifest indicates that while Jones is the son of both Moy C. Winn and his wife, listed as Young Shee, the other two boys are only the sons of Moy C. Winn [1]. Given the evidence in newspaper archives, birth records, and census data from 1900, 1910, and 1920 [3] [24] [21], it seems likelier that this is a recording error and the reverse is true: that Willie and Walter, along with their brothers Harry and Quinn, are in fact the sons of Moy C. Winn and his wife, while Jones’s mother remains a mystery. Perhaps Moy had an affair or a second wife he wished to hide from US authorities due to American laws against multiple marriages. There is no trace of Jones’s mother in the historical record. In the 1900 US census, taken before Walter’s birth later that year, Ng Shee is noted as having given birth to two children [3]. Eng Shee may have lived in China for a time, possibly with some of her sons; in the 1910 census Moy C. Winn and Harry, then aged 14, are living at 4 Oxford St. with three lodgers and no other family members [24]. Moy is marked as “married” rather than “widowed.” In 1919, Willie, then aged 20 and marked as a “student”, applies for, and is issued, a passport for the purpose of visiting his mother in China [25]. In 1918, Jones, Willie, and Walter all register for the US draft [26] [27] [28], though it is unclear whether any of them saw combat in the First World War – if they did, they all survived, as their paper trail continues. Quinn only ever appears in the 1920 census, while it is possible that Harry appears in the historical record under different versions of his given name and surname. Spellings and name orders shift across documents; Willie is marked as “William Moy Wing” at least once.

Fig. 3: Ship manifest showing Moy C. Winn and his family returning to the US from China in 1903. (Registers of Chinese Laborers Departing from San Francisco, California, October 20, 1882–October 6, 1908; NAI Number: A4134; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; Record Group Number: 85.)

Moy C. Winn continued to live at 4 Oxford St., Boston, until at least 1920 [21]. In that year, the death of an Eng Shee Wing is recorded in Boston [29] who may be Moy’s wife. In February 1921, he sells some Boston property [30]. Here his paper trail ends. Given that his children, and later his grandchildren, eventually took “Wing” as a legal surname, with “Moy” tacked on as a middle name – originating no doubt in clerical errors by officials misunderstanding Chinese naming traditions – it would not be surprising if Moy’s own name had metamorphosed in the eyes of the US government by the 1920s, making him difficult to trace. His son Jones eventually became an interpreter for the US immigration service [16] – working for the very government which had sought to keep families like his out of the country and demonstrating how far his own family had come since his grandparents first arrived in California before Moy C. Winn’s birth.

Sources

[1] Registers of Chinese Laborers Departing from San Francisco, California, October 20, 1882–October 6, 1908; NAI Number: A4134; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; Record Group Number: 85.

[2] Unsigned. “A Chinese Baby. Accompanies a Party Now on Their Way to Boston.” Montreal Daily Star, 11 September 1895: 6.

[3] Year: 1900; Census Place: Boston Ward 7, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: 678; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 1245.

[4] “Mr. Moy C. Winn.” Canada, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

[5] “Moy C. Winn.” U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925. Volume: Roll 435 – 16 Jan 1895-31 Jan 1895.

[6] Unsigned. “Chinese in Railroad Business.” The Indianapolis News, 18 April 1901: 2.

[7] Unsigned. “Short Lines.” The Buffalo Times, 23 April 1901: 5.

[8] Unsigned. “Boston Has One Chinese Voter.” The Boston Globe, 15 March 1894: 8.

[9] Unsigned. “A ‘Democlat’ Voted. Light Beginning in Ward 10 – Women Are Doing Their Share.” The Boston Globe, 13 December 1892.

[10] Unsigned. “Chinamen as Voters. Interesting Scene in a Ward Seven Precinct While Three Celestials Marked Their Ballots.” The Boston Evening Transcript, 3 November 1896.

[11] Unsigned. “Delegates Chosen.” The Boston Globe, 12 September 1896: 7.

[12] Unsigned. “Chinese Wail Over Threatened Move on Oxford St. Afraid of Scheme to Deport Them. Think it Means Ruin to Their Business. Always Pay Their Rent When it is Due. Considers Themselves as Good as Their Neighbours. Peaceable if Allowed to Keep to Themselves. May Hire Counsel to Oppose Their Ejectment.” The Boston Globe, 10 January 1895: 5.

[13] Unsigned. “Large Sum Realized. Festival in Aid of Carney Hospital a Success. Chinamen’s Booth Well Patronized and Reaps Harvest. Ball Game and Electric Light Athletic Meet Prove Big Attractions.” The Boston Globe, 14 July 1899: 2.

[14] Unsigned. “Youngest Chinaman in Town.” The Boston Evening Transcript, 17 September 1900: 6.

[15] Unsigned. “To Bury Two High Masons. Wong Shee Chung and Leong Quen. Chinatown Preparing for Funerals Sunday. Victim of Feud was of Exalted Rank.” The Boston Globe, 15 August 1907: 7.

[16] “Jones Moy Wing.” Massachusetts Grand Lodge of Masons Membership Cards 1733–1990. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.

[17] Unsigned. “New Baby in Chinatown. Moy Wing the Happy Father of a Boy—Is an American.” Democrat and Chronicle, 15 August 1895: 5.

[18] “Willie Moy Winn.” Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.

[19] Unsigned. “Moy C. Winn’s Third Son. His Advent the Cause of Rejoicing Among the Local Chinese.” The Boston Globe, 17 September 1900: 12.

[20] “Walter Moy Wing.” Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.

[21] Year: 1920; Census Place: Boston Ward 5, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T625_731; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 157.

[22] Unsigned. “Feast for Moys. Music in the Air of the City’s Chinatown. Five Weeks’ Old Boy the Cause of the Celebration. Name is Jones Y. Moy, His Weight Ten Pounds. All His Father’s Friends Were Invited. Happiness Marked the Festivity of the Day.” The Boston Globe, 7 September 1896: 1.

[23] “Jones Wing Moy.” Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.

[24] Year: 1910; Census Place: Boston Ward 7, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_616; Page: 5a; Enumeration District: 1349; FHL microfilm: 1374629.

[25] “Willie Moy Wing.” Passport Applications for Travel to China, 1906-1925; Volume 30: Emergency Passport Applications: China.

[26] “Jones G Moy Wing.” World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.

[27] “William Moy Wing.” World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.

[28] “Walter Moy Wing.” WWII Draft Registration Cards For New York City, 10/16/1940 – 03/31/1947. National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147.

[29] “Eng Shee Wing.” Massachusetts Vital Records Index to Deaths [1916–1970]. Volumes 66–145. Facsimile edition. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.

[30] Unsigned. “Real Estate Transactions.” The Boston Globe, 23 February 1921: 3.

Researched and written by Cal Smith

In an 1894 unsigned article in The Montreal Witness, a presumed Edith Eaton describes how Chinese laundries organized clothes. In the article, she writes, “A reporter[,] being curious to find out how this method worked, called on Wing Wah, St. Catherine street…” [1]. The 1894 Montréal Street Directory reveals that Wing Wah’s laundry occupied 2083 St. Catherine Street [2]. The property had recently been put up to let in an advertisement in the March 1893 issue of The Daily Witness. The article describes the building as “two new Stores..suitable for Dry Goods, Stationary or Fancy Goods…Apply W. & J. S. Wylie, 2083 St. Catherine st.” [3]. 

The Register of Chinese Immigrants to Canada lists a 35-year-old “Wing Wah” as arriving in 1891 in Vancouver aboard the Abyssinia. He came from the village of Chewking in Sinning (新寧) in Canton and his occupation was listed as a “farmer.” He paid a $50 head tax and was given a C.I. 5 No. 5859. The immigration officers described “2 large scars on[?] front head.” Presumably, Wah made his way to Montréal where he became a laundryman in Montréal’s growing Chinese community. He operated his laundry, according to the Montréal City Directory, from 1893 until 1889-1900. In 1901, he appears to have moved down the street to 1486 St. Catherine while another man, Sing Lee, took over the laundry at 2083 St. Catherine [4]. 

From an 1896 article entitled “A Chinaman’s Love Story” in The Montreal Star, we learn that Wah spoke both English and Chinese [5]. The article records how a Scottish woman who only spoke English and a Chinese man who only spoke Chinese fell in love. When the man wished to propose, his lack of English (and her lack of Chinese) interfered in the proposal procedures. Luckily, “The assistance of Wing Wah, a laundryman on St. Catherine St., was summoned. He acted as interpreter…” [5]. Wah’s help in the matter secured the marriage.

Working as a laundryman would have been difficult in Montréal, which was hostile to incoming Chinese [6]. There were around 200 Chinese Laundries in Montreal at the turn of the century, and the Québec government instituted restrictive tax policies that targeted them. In October 1896, The Daily Witness records a group of sixty Chinese laundrymen, including Wing Wah, gathering to contest a recently implemented yearly $50 tax on laundries [7]. Their appeal was unsuccessful, and they were each fined $10 or threatened with a 1-month jail sentence. The 1896 tax continued to exert enormous financial pressure on the Chinese laundries. On February 24th, 1900, over 100 Chinese laundrymen joined together to sign a petition that would reduce the yearly tax from $50 to $12. The petition records the difficult life of Chinese laundrymen: “as your Petitioners are all poor and unable [to afford the tax], owing to their ignorances of the languages spoken in the Country, to compete with her craftsmen in the exercice [sic] of the various trades which are practiced here, they are compelled to earn their livelihood by keeping small laundries in various parts of the City” [8]. Wing Wah signed his name on the document in a distinct ink and hand from the rest, and he lists his new address at 1486 St. Catherine [8]. The petition was ultimately unsuccessful [9]. 

An article in May of the same year in The Montreal Daily Star writes that about 125 Chinese laundrymen were imprisoned following the petition [9]. The article notes, “The gaol [jail] is so crowded that there is no chance for an airing in the yard.” Wing Wah is included in the article’s list of men jailed. After 1901, Wing Wah disappeared from the Montréal Directory, and the property at 1486 St. Catherine became a restaurant in 1904 [10]. Wah’s fate is unknown. The two months in jail likely shuttered his laundry. He may have joined another laundry in an attempt to thwart the laundry tax’s targeting of individual business, or he may have left Montréal. 

(Laundry Chong Sing, 1911, Archives de la Ville du Montréal) [11]

Works Cited:

[1] Eaton, Edith. “No Tickee, No Washee.” Becoming Sui Sin Far: Early Fiction, Journalism, and Travel Writing by Edith Maude Eaton. Edited by Mary M. Chapman. McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, 2016. 
[2] A Street Directory of Montreal. 1894-1895, pg. 223. http://more.stevemorse.org/montreal_en.html. 

[3] “To Let….” The Daily Witness. 23 March 1893, pg 2. https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/3629516. 

[4] A Street Directory of Montreal. 1900-1901, pg, 263. https://collections.banq.qc.ca/retrieve/13737507. 

[5] “A Chinaman’s Love Story.” The Montreal Star, 28 January 1986, pg 8. https://www.newspapers.com/image/740878641/?.

[6] “19th Century.” Je Suis MTL. https://www.untoldstoriesmtl.com/en/centuries/19th-century. 

[7] “The Chinese Laundries: Operation of a One-sided Law Against Them.” The Daily Witness, 28 October 1896, pg. 6. https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4666876?docsearchtext=The%20daily%20witness,%2028%20octobre%201896.

[8] “Laundrymen Petition.” Archives de la Ville de Montréal. 24 February 1900. https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1SKAN6m_TYRmkI70ouY4zzIA55_OC4HIf. 

[9] “Laundry Tax Ruins Many Celestials.” The Montreal Daily Star. 31 May 1900, pg 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/740876821/?. 

[10] A Street Directory of Montreal. 1904-1905, pg, 278. https://collections.banq.qc.ca/retrieve/13737563. 

[11] Paré, Olivier. “Jos Song Long et Les Premières Buanderies Chinoises.” Encyclopédie du Centre du Mémoire du Montréal. June 2017. https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/memoiresdesmontrealais/jos-song-long-et-les-premieres-buanderies-chinoises#. 

(Laundry Chong Sing, 1911, Archives de la Ville du Montréal) [11]

“What Wing Sing Says” by The Daily Witness, Tuesday, July 10, 1894

By: Deanna Fitzgerald

Wing Sing was a prominent member of Montreal’s early Chinatown. Born around 1880 and hailing from China, Sing traveled to Canada during the early 1890s for a chance at economic prosperity (“Canada Records,” Familysearch). At the time of his arrival in the late nineteenth century, Montreal was an attractive location for Chinese immigrants because of its affordability and commercial opportunities. The completion of the Canadian Pacific Railroad in 1885 made Montreal increasingly accessible to newly-arrived Chinese immigrants, prompting newcomers such as Sing to travel to Quebec and join the growing diaspora of Chinatown. 

At an incredibly young age, Sing began his journey towards commercial success with a laundry business located at 699 Notre Dame Street (“Sing Wing,” Canada, City and Area Directories). Two years later, Sing is noted as both a merchant and hotel keeper for a hotel located on Lagauchetiere Street, a job he shared with fellow Chinese man, Sam Kee (Eaton, “Girl Slave in Montreal,” The Daily Witness, 1894). Alongside being business partners, Sing and Sam Kee demonstrated a friendly familiarity as two of Chinatown’s leading businessmen, with Sing even attending Sam Kee’s wedding banquet in December of 1893 among many other illustrious Chinatown residents (“Sang Kee’s Banquet,” Montreal Daily Herald, 1893). By mid-1894, Sing had also opened his own company aptly named the “Wing Sing Company” on 15 St. Lawrence Market Street, with the purpose of providing “Japanese and Chinese fancy goods” for Chinatown consumers (“Sing Wing,” Canada, City and Area Directories). His skill as a businessman is reflected in his reported earnings from a 1901 census: approximately $600, nearly twice as much as other workers in Chinatown at the time (“Canada Records”)!

Sing was no stranger to legal encounters. In early 1894, reports in The World newspaper accused Sing’s company of being a “rendezvous…for dozens of Chinamen who live in the various laundries of Montreal while waiting to get across the border” into the United States (“What Wing Sing Says”). Following the exclusion of Chinese immigration from the United States in 1882, immigrant smuggling became an infamous source of riches for those with the resources to sneak Chinese people across the border. Responding to reporters from The Daily Witness newspaper, Sing vehemently denied the claims published by The World, which also indicted Sam Kee and Lee Fee as fellow smugglers (“What Wing Sing Says”). The three of them were notoriously referred to as the “Wing Sing Gang.” Sing discredited associations with both men regarding any kind of smuggling operation, calling upon his reputation as being “highly respected” by “the Chinese in Montreal [and] by many English-speaking people” to differentiate himself from Lee Fee in particular, who had been arrested for smuggling charges in mid-1894 (“What Wing Sing Says”). Sing repudiated the claims as mere suppositions and the case was left unresolved (“Montreal Chinamen Interviewed,” The Daily Witness, 1894).

“The Petition of the Undersigned” from Archives de la Ville de Montreal, November 26, 1900

Outside of his career, Sing led a quiet personal life. His wife, referred to only as Mrs. Wing Sing in newspapers, followed him to Montreal around 1892 as one of the first Chinese women to live in Chinatown (“Montreal Chinese,” The Daily Witness, 1904). According to The Daily Witness, she took up a domestic lifestyle while Sing performed the majority of business duties as a hotel keeper and goods merchant. The two had a son together around the mid-1890s, and a photograph survives of Mrs. Wing Sing and their son wearing traditional Chinese robes as pictured below. There are no photographs of Wing Sing himself, who passed away on January 26th, 1903 due to an unknown cause and was buried in the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal (Find a Grave, Cimetière Mont-Royal). His wife outlived him for over two decades, passing on December 14th, 1928 and probably leaving behind their son, who likely remained a driven business opportunist much the same as his father (“Wing,” Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records).

“Mrs. Wing Sing and Son, Montreal, QC, 1890-95” by Eugénie Pilon, McCord Collection / Public Domain

Works Cited

“Canada records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSS1-GS5P-B?view=index : Feb 7, 2025), image 2821 of 5000.

Eaton, Edith. “Girl Slave in Montreal: Our Chinese Colony Cleverly Described, Only Two Women from the Flowery Land in Town.” The Daily Witness, 1 May 1894, pp. 10. 

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/108949617/wing-sing: accessed February 3, 2025), memorial page for Wing Sing (unknown–26 Jan 1903), Find a Grave Memorial ID 108949617, citing Cimetière Mont-Royal, Outremont, Montreal Region, Quebec, Canada; Maintained by Headstone Genealogist (contributor 46999396).

“Montreal Chinamen Interviewed: The ‘World’ Story Does Not Unduly Excite Them.” The Daily Witness, 9 July 1894, pp. 1. 

“Montreal Chinese: Six of Them Now Have Their Wives Here.” The Daily Witness, 19 March 1904, pp. 10. 

“Sang Kee’s Banquet.” Montreal Daily Herald, 20 December 1893, pp. 8. 

“Sing Wing.” Canada, City and Area Directories, 1819-1906. 

“What Wing Sing Says: One of the Accused Montreal Chinamen Speaks to the ‘Witness’.” The Daily Witness, 10 July 1894, pp. 1. 

“Wing.” Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968. 

Researched and written by Aiza Bragg

Lee Fee (~1850–?) was a prominent member of New York’s Chinese American community during the late 1800s. He was married to a German woman and had four children, including a daughter who married a Chinese man in the early 1890s [1] [2]. Lee Fee also had a distinctive personal style, with one reporter noting “he wears his hair pompadour style, and [is] attired in a gray suit and lavender negilgee [sic] shirt, with a light pearl scarf” when Lee Fee appeared in court in 1894 [3]. Situated in the heart of Manhattan’s Chinatown, Lee Fee lived in the 26 Mott St. tenement in 1894 [4] and on the second floor of 24 Mott St. in 1896 [5]. He claimed to have been living in New York since the 1870s [1].

Above drawing of Lee Fee appeared on July 19, 1894 in an article by The Montreal Daily Witness titled “These Ways Were Dark: How Lee Fee Piloted ‘Merchant’ Laundrymen from Montreal to New York”.

Lee Fee was employed as an interpreter for incoming Chinese immigrants during the height of the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882-1943), which barred Chinese labourers from immigrating to the United States and required previous immigrants to obtain documentation before they could be readmitted [6]. As the Chinese Consul at Ellis Island’s New York-New Jersey port in 1893 [7], where he interpreted between Chinese immigrants and a Deputy Collector during port interrogations, Lee Fee served as a witness and consultant on over 200 cases of Chinese immigration [8]. In February of 1893, he requested that three Chinese men be released after they were detained in New Jersey for “attempting to evade the Exclusion [A]ct”. Lee Fee claimed that they were merchants belonging to the Mott St. community and paid their $500 bail himself [7]. Due to his position as an interpreter, Lee Fee moved frequently between Montreal and New York [3], and became acquainted with notable members of the Montreal Chinese community including Wing Sing and Sang Kee [1].

In July of 1894, a reporter named R.L. Farnham of The Evening World alleged having gained the trust of Lee Fee to uncover a country-spanning smuggling operation. According to Farnham, this operation allowed an estimated 1,100 Chinese labourers to emigrate to the United States across the Canadian border under false documentation that claimed they were returning residents or merchants, two groups exempt from the Exclusion Act [1] [4] [9]. Farnham submitted his evidence to the Secretary of the Treasury, resulting in mass arrests and the closing of the Burlington, Vermont border (where many of the smuggled men were said to have entered the United States) to all Chinese immigrants [4] [10]. On July 8th, The World published a fifteen column article that claimed “thousands of Chinese men have evaded the [Exclusion Act] by paying smugglers [who] have customs connections and railway alliances, operating from New York, Boston, and Montreal [and running] from Vancouver to Mott Street”, naming Lee Fee as the leader of the operation [4]. This article also published a sworn and signed confession made by Lee Fee – Farnham claimed to have promised Lee Fee a government interpreter position in return – which admits to his involvement in helping Chinese labourers evade the Exclusion Act.

One day before The World made the case public, Lee Fee, along with a group of other accused smugglers, were arrested and arraigned in the Federal Building on charges of aiding and abetting the smuggling of Chinese labourers [10]. They were soon after sent to Ludlow Street Jail to await trial [10]. Lee Fee had friends ready to bail him out – “men who value him at a great deal more than $1000” [1] – but as he was the “one the Government seems to be most desirous of connecting with the frauds”, he was not released [11]. However, Lee Fee’s court date was repeatedly delayed due to the large amount of evidence that Special Agent John Thomas Scharf (also known as the “Chinese Inspector” tasked with enforcing the Exclusion Act) needed to produce for the case [12]. Despite the delays, Lee Fee and the other detained men were reported to be “[sitting] around in the office of Commissioner Shields chattering and laughing” while their friends raised bail [12].

Lee Fee finally faced a jury on the morning of July 17th, where he was charged with smuggling a labourer named Quong Wah (real name Lai Bak Jim – his pseudonym was reportedly Lee Fee’s idea) into the United States on June 16th under the false claim that Quong Wah was a merchant [3] [11] [13] [14]. According to Farnham’s testimony on the stand, Lee Fee had aided eleven Chinese men in crossing from Montreal to New York City with forged documentation, where he picked them up from Grand Central Station and brought them to Chinatown himself [4]. In court, Lee Fee admitted that Quong Wah was a laundryman [15]. Due to a lack of concrete evidence against Lee Fee aside from Farnham’s word, his attorney W.W. Hoover put forth a motion to dismiss the case [3] [14], but the presiding judge, Commissioner Shields, reserved his decision [16]. The hearing of related cases including Joseph Singleton, Lee How, Lee Tick, and other accused associates of Lee Fee continued until July 25th, when Scharf’s inability to produce evidence or witnesses led Commissioner Shields to call for the dischargement of all the accused men connected to the case [17]. Lee Fee was discharged on August 2nd, after 26 days of detainment [18].

In the wake of his highly publicized court case, Lee Fee returned to 24 Mott St., where he continued his employment as an interpreter [5]. The Evening World mentioned him one final time on August 29th, 1896 [19], when Chinese Viceroy Li Hongzhang (romanized Li Hung Chang in the article) visited the streets of Chinatown, which were lavishly decorated in “a riot of yellow and blue”. The article reads, “in front of Mott St. stores are panels inscribed with greetings for the Viceroy. One in front of Lee Fee’s house reads “The Middle Kingdom and the Outside World Form One Family”.” It is unknown whether Lee Fee hung the banner himself – but it seems likely that he had joined in on the festivities.

Works Cited

[1] Anonymous. “Seventeen Arrests.” The Daily Witness [Montreal, QC], 10 July 1894, p. 1, 4.

[2] Anonymous. “Half-Chinese Children.” The Montreal Daily Star, 20 April 1894, p. 3.

[3] Anonymous. “The Smuggling of the Chinese.” The Montreal Daily Star, 19 July 1894, p. 3.

[4] Anonymous. “By Ways That Are Dark.” The Daily Witness [Montreal, QC], 9 July 1894, p. 1.

[5] Anonymous. “Li Chang Up at 6.” Wisconsin Journal, 29 August 1896, p. 1.

[6] “Chinese Exclusion Act (1882).” National Archives, 8 September 2021, https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/chinese-exclusion-act. Accessed 1 February 2025.

[7] Anonymous. “Chinese Suspects Bailed.” The Evening World [New York City, NY], 22 February 1893, p. 3.

[8] Anonymous. “Kerwin and the C—.” The New York Times, 27 July 1894, p. 9.

[9] Anonymous. “Chinese Smuggling Case.” The Daily Witness [Montreal, QC], 19 July 1894, p. 1.

[10] Anonymous. “Smuggled Chinese.” The Evening World [New York City, NY], 7 July 1894, p. 6-7.

[11] Anonymous. “C— Placed on Trial.” The Evening World [New York City, NY], 17 July 1894

[12] Anonymous. “The System Blamed.” The Evening World [New York City, NY], 11 July 1894, p. 4.

[13] Anonymous. “Lew How Confessed.” The Evening World [New York City, NY], 10 July 1894, p. 1, 6.

[14] Anonymous. “Hearing of Accused Chinese.” The Sun [New York City, NY], 18 July 1894, p. 7.

[15] Anonymous.“Charged with Smuggling C—.” The New York Times, 18 July 1894, p. 5.

[16] Anonymous. “A Swarm of C—.” Telegraph-Journal [Saint John, NB], 18 July 1894, p. 4.

[17] Anonymous. “Scharf’s Witnesses Absent.” The Sun [New York City, NY], 26 July 1894, p. 8.

[18] Anonymous. “Not Eager to Bail Scharf.” The Sun [New York City, NY], 2 August 1894, p. 7.

[19] Anonymous. “Excitement in Chinatown.” The Evening World [New York City, NY], 29 August 1896, p. 3.

By: Alysha Li

Hop Wo (Ju Ho) was born in Canton in southern China around 1858 [1]. While much of his earlier travels are still unknown, Hop Wo spent time in Victoria, British Columbia and San Francisco, California [2], before eventually settling in Montreal, Quebec in the mid 1890s [1].

In Montreal, Hop Wo established several successful enterprises. In 1895, he opened the Hop Wo Company boarding house [3], promoting his business as a reflection of his Christian values, where gambling and opium smoking were prohibited [4]. Over the next decade, the boarding house relocated several times, moving from 23 Beaver Hall Hill [5] to 28 Beaver Hall Hill [6] and later to 631 Lagauchetière Street [7]. Along with the boarding house, Wo established himself as a prominent wholesale merchant [8] importing Chinese goods [1] and operating a store at Beaver Hall Hill and Palace Street [9]. His shop received local attention in 1905 when customs authorities seized a shipment of snake wine, a product used in traditional Chinese medicine [9]. By then, he was considered an influential merchant within the Montreal Chinese community and represented his community in local business affairs [2].

Figure 1: A letter to the editor of the Montreal Star from the Chinese Mission advocating for the Chinese laundries [10]

Wo’s dedication to community service was strongly guided by his faith. Shortly after arriving in Montreal, he became involved in the Christian community [11] and was a devoted member of the Presbyterian church [12]. He often attended church events organized by Rev. Dr. Thompson, a Chinese missionary [13], and his assistant, Chin Seng [14]. As his reputation as a businessman grew, Wo also took on the role of representing the Chinese Montreal community at church events [15] and as a leader in organizing charitable donations [16]. This prominent role eventually led to his involvement as one of the founders of the Chinese Mission, which became a cornerstone of the Chinese and Christian communities [1]. Through the 1910s, the Chinese Mission offered English and Christian classes [17], advocated against the unfair taxation of Chinese laundries [18], and served as a hub for community gatherings [19]. During World War I, the Chinese Mission contributed to the war effort by fundraising for the Red Cross and the Victory Loan Campaigns [20]. The center also hosted prominent Chinese weddings [21] and conducted international mission trips to Macao, China [22].

Figure 3: Mrs. Ju Ho [23]

Hop Wo passed away on May 9, 1922 at his longtime residence at 336 Lagauchetière Street West after a month long illness and was buried at Mount Royal Cemetery [1]. His leadership role in the Chinese and Christian communities was carried on by his wife, Mrs. Ju Ho (née Lum She [28]), and their children Peter, Hattie, Joy, Andrew, and Gordon [1]. Mrs. Ju Ho and Hop Wo married in China in 1894 [1] and later reunited in 1903 when she immigrated to Canada [23] with their son, Peter [29]. Peter went on to graduate from McGill University [1], where he served as vice-president of the Chinese Students’ Association of Eastern Canada in 1918 [30]. Following his father’s footsteps, he became a merchant [31] and a key figure in the Chinese and Christian communities. He was the president of the Chinese Young Men’s Christian Association [32] and through his marriage, was connected to prominent Chinese North American families [33]. Hattie was active in several Chinese and Christian causes, including the Montreal Chinese Ladies Society [34], and advocated for the training of women for medical missionary work [35]. As one of the few Chinese students enrolled at McGill University, Gordon was a founding member of the McGill Chinese club in 1927 [36] and earned a degree in civil engineering in 1932 [37]. The Wo family continued Hop Wo’s legacy through their involvement in missionary work in the following decades. In 1948, Mrs. Ju Ho, Peter, Andrew, and Hattie were evacuated from a missionary trip in China due to advancing Communist armies during the Chinese Civil War [38].

Works Cited

[1] “Chinese Merchant Called By Death.” The Montreal Gazette, 10 May 1922, p. 8.

[2] “No Chinese Theatre Here.” The Montreal Star, 27 November 1905, p. 9.

[3] “The Chinese Colony.” The Montreal Star, 15 June 1895, p. 8.

[4] “The Smuggling of Chinaman.” The Montreal Star, 22 August 1895, p. 6.

[5] “Situations Wanted.” The Montreal Star, 18 January 1900, p. 5.

[6] “Situations Wanted.” The Montreal Star, 24 July 1902, p. 7.

[7] “Situations Wanted.” The Montreal Star, 13 May 1905, p. 15.

[8] “No Chinese Theatre Here.” The Montreal Star, 27 November 1905, p. 9.

[9] “Chinese and Reptile Juice.” The Montreal Star, 9 October 1905, p. 13.

[10] “From the Chinese Mission.” The Montreal Star, 25 February 1915, p. 10.

[11] “Chinese Entertainment, at Which the Chinamen Did Their Share of the Entertaining.” Montreal Daily Star, 31 December 1895, p. 2.

[12] “Ju Ho in the Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968.” Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.ca/search/collections/1091/records/7799391?tid=&pid=&queryId=5b9d1cc3-dd1f-4ca8-89bd-31a7ab91d24f&_phsrc=ave149&_phstart=successSource.

[13] “Given a Welcome Home.” The Montreal Star, 24 October 1900, p. 11.

[14] “Chinese Lady Arrives in Town.” The Montreal Star, 27 July 1903, p. 6.

[15] “Social Gathering at Knox Church.” The Montreal Star, 13 May 1905, p. 23.

[16] “Grace Dart Home.” The Montreal Star, 25 July 1908, p. 27.

[17] “Chinese Mission Classes.” The Montreal Star, 5 July 1913, p. 13.

[18] “From the Chinese Mission.” The Montreal Star, 25 February 1915, p. 10.

[19] “Chinese Mission at Home.” The Montreal Gazette, 1 January 1915, p. 3.

[20] “Montreal Chinese Mission.” The Montreal Star, 28 December 1918, p. 7.

[21] “Chinese Couple Wed Here Today.” The Montreal Star, 24 July 1919, p. 3.

[22] “Chinese Mission Meets.” The Montreal Gazette. 9 October 1903, p. 3.

[23] “Mrs Ju Ho.” Government of Canada, http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=immfrochi&id=253679&lang=eng.

[28] “The City of Montreal, plaintiff vs. Dame Lum She, widow of Ju Ho, defendant.” The Montreal Gazette, 12 November 1938, p. 22.

[29] “Ju Bee Ack.” Government of Canada, https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Record?app=immfrochi&IdNumber=253680&q=ju%20bee%20ack&ecopy=t-16182-01149.

[30] “Chinese are alert.” The Montreal Star, 2 September 1918, p. 2.

[31] “1931 Census of Canada for Peter B Jue.” Ancestry,
https://www.ancestry.ca/search/collections/62640/records/10605264?tid=&pid=&queryId=bfc9301a-888e-4411-8ab8-a66426103c2b&_phsrc=ave155&_phstart=successSource.

[32] “New Year’s Treat at Chinese Y.M.C.A.” The Montreal Gazette, 3 January 1922, p. 6.

[33] “Chinese Wedding Tomorrow Taking Place in Christ Church Cathedral.” The Montreal Star, 31 May 1946, p. 23.

[34] “Chinese Society to Aid Refugees.” The Montreal Star, 4 March 1932, p. 20.

[35] “Training of Youth is Urged on W.M.S.” The Montreal Gazette, 1 June 1934, p. 9.

[36] “Orientals at McGill.” The Montreal Gazette, 13 October 1927, p. 6.

[37] “McGill to Confer Over 500 Degrees Convocation Day.” The Montreal Gazette. 24 May 1932, p. 6.

[38] “12 Montrealers Due From Shanghai Soon.” The Montreal Gazette, 22 December 1948, p. 13.