Tracing Ancestors
Information about Chinese people in Uk archives is very limited. However, some sources of information, such as the Census returns and Alien Registers, can give us a surprising amount of information about immigration patterns and people's lives. For example, the 1851 census revealed that 22% of the population of Liverpool was born in Ireland. By the end of 1945, census information showed a large increase in immigration to the UK due to the Second World War and the horrors of the Holocaust, the largest group of Europeans in Britain being the Polish.
Tracing Chinese family histories in the UK is a difficult and complicated process due to the way that Chinese names are written in English. In Chinese, a person's name appears as a series of characters.
A Chinese name is composed of several parts; for example, this name is Yip Cheung On. This is the way a name will appear in an official document. The first word, 'Yip', is the surname or family name, 'Cheung' is the generation name, indicating which generation of the family the person belongs to, i.e. all the members of one generation will have the same generation name and 'On' is the forename or Christian name. However, a name may not always appear in this form. Sometimes it can be written as Yip On or as On Yip. There are regional variations in terms of the way a name is written. For example, Yip can appear as Yi, Yap or Yapp in Cantonese or Ye in Mandarin. There are also national variations. For example, France colonised Vietnam, so Vietnamese Chinese names are written in French, giving different spellings again. Many Chinese adopt English forenames names.
To further complicate matters, in the past, the information on British census returns and other important documents was usually recorded by local British officials who were unfamiliar with Chinese names and often guessed at spellings. Anglicised versions of Chinese names and the cities and towns they originally came from are common. This was also the case with immigrants from other countries, such as the Irish. Trying to piece together when our ancestors arrived in the UK, where they came from, and what happened to them once they settled here can be quite difficult.
Luckily most local libraries will help with genealogical or family history enquiries, and there are many online resources available for tracing relatives, some of which are listed below. If you are a member of the Greater Manchester Libraries, you can access Ancestry and Find My Past from your local library free of charge. The research below was undertaken using these online resources.
CENSUS RECORDS OF THE CHINESE COMMUNITY IN GREATER MANCHESTER 1841-
Censuses have been held in the UK since 1801 and are held every ten years. The next census occurred in March 2011. The censuses from 1841 to 1911 are available online. These records were used to try to find early Chinese immigrants. It is quite possible that the census records did not include many Chinese immigrants, some of whom may have entered the Country illegally and didn’t want their presence known.
Apart from records of Chinese seamen who happened to be in the major ports on the day of each census, the Chinese did not appear in the North West in great numbers until the 1911 census.
Whilst most of those recorded below were single males, it is on record that some did develop relationships with local Englishwomen. However, if they married, the wife would then officially be termed an ‘Alien’ and lose certain privileges of citizenship. Consequently, very few marriages took place, and none are recorded below.
1841 -
To try and find records earlier than 1911, a search was carried out of the top one hundred most common Chinese surnames appearing in the 1841 to 1901 censuses. The search was restricted to the Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire censuses but excluded ports. Surprisingly there were only four records found for that sixty-
Date of Birth Birthplace Address Census
A Mand c. 1829 China Bolton 1851
Gin Longfoo c. 1836 China Little Bolton 1861
Yip Achew c. 1840 China Ashton -
Yung Quee c. 1881 China Clitheroe 1901
All of the above were male and were servants apart from Gin Longfoo, who was a shoemaker. According to the records, they were all single. None of them appeared on earlier or later censuses. Hence, the likelihood is that they were first-generation migrants who died without having children or returned to China, and their time spent in this country was under twenty years.
A Mand was born in China in 1829. He was 22 years old at the time of the 1851 Census. The surname Mand is also a British name, so some assumptions are involved in considering him Chinese. He lived at 2 Market Place, Bolton, with six other people. His occupation is stated as a servant. The occupation of four of the residents is that of grocer and tea dealer. The others are housekeepers or servants. Most likely, they were not servants of that particular household but worked elsewhere.
Gin Longfoo was born in China in 1836 and was 25 years old at the time of the 1861 Census. He lived at 144 Folds Road, Little Bolton, formerly a weaver’s house, with six other household members. He is a shoemaker and is listed in the household as a lodger. The family consisted of a husband, a wife, two sons and a daughter. They also had a house servant. The husband and the two sons are also listed as boot and shoemakers. Interestingly he is the only Chinese person with a trade to be found in the area before 1911.
Yip Achew was born in China in 1840 and was 21 years old at the time of the 1861 Census. He lived in Ashton under Lyne at Birch House. This was the home of a cotton manufacturer, his wife and their daughter. They also employed a cook, a housemaid and a nurse.
Yung Quee was born in Pekin (sic), China, in 1881 and was 20 at the time of the 1901 Census. He lived in Clitheroe at 177 Fairfield with three other domestic servants.
The 1911 Census
The 1911 census shows the beginning of the leading Chinese migration into the Manchester area. Several records of Chinese people were found, again searching for the most common Chinese surnames. Seven Chinese households were found, all listed as Chinese laundries. They were all born in China. These were as follows:-
Date of Birth
Chung Lee Laundry worker 1877
Logan Servant 1872
65 Liverpool Road, Eccles
Chung Lee was 34, and Logan was 39 at the time of the Census. Both were single. The record shows that their laundry was at the address given above. The property has seven rooms.
Date of Birth
Hop Sing Lee Laundry Proprietor 1890
Moy Jim Fat Laundry Assistant 1889
327 Moston Lane, Moston, Manchester
Hop Sing Lee was 22, and Moy Fat was 21 at the time of the Census. Both were single. The property has five rooms and is now a convenience store selling African foods
-
Harry Wong Laundry Assistant 1881
Chu Cox “ 1887
Chu Sun “ 1892
Wong Dai “ 1897
51 Manchester Road, Chorlton
Harry Wong was 30, Chu Cox 24, Chu Sun 19 and Wong Dai 14 at the time of the Census. The latter three, including the fourteen-year-old Wong Dai, are all listed as workmen, their occupation was given as laundrymen. The property has seven rooms and was almost certainly the place of business. It is now an Indian takeaway.
Quong Yen Laundry 1881
Wong Coon Laundry 1883
Jon Loy Laundry 1891
Jon Hung School 1898
Jon Gone School 1898
Jon Linn School 1899
145 Broughton Street, Salford
Quong Yen was head of the household and 30 years old, Wong Coon was 28 and Jon Loy was 20 at the time of the Census. The latter two are listed as his assistants. Quong Yen and Wong Coon were married. The three younger members of the household were listed as scholars. They do not appear on later Censuses, so they presumably returned to China following their education. They are cousins of Quong Yen. All of them lived in just three rooms which was also the place of business.
Hang Chin 1876 Laundryman Head
Bin Chin 1890 “ Cousin
Hing Chin 1890 “ Cousin
1046 Ashton New Road, Clayton, Manchester
Hang Chin was 35, and his two cousins, Bin Chin and Hing Chin both 21 at the time of the Census. They were all born in the Canton region of China. Hang Chin is a widower, and Hing Chin is listed as married. The record mentions both their wives in China, but this has been crossed through for some reason. The property has three rooms. It is now a private dwelling.
-
Charles Young 1878 Laundryman Head
Ching Ling 1864 " Lodger
Joseph Lung 1886 " "
145 Market Street, Hyde
Charles Young was 33, Ching Ling was 47, and Joseph Lung was 25 at the time of the Census. They are all from Canton in China. The property has two rooms and was also the place of business. It is currently a Chinese takeaway called Kongs
Juny Lung 1863 Laundry Head
Jon Lan 1873 laundry Cousin
20 Bury New Road, Cheetham, Manchester
Juny Lung was 48, and his cousin Jon Lan was 38 at the time of the Census. They are both from Canton in, China, and both are married. The property has four rooms and is now a launderette.
…………………………………
Outside Manchester, there is one record of a launderette from Crewe:-
Sing Wah Chinese laundry 1878
Fough Frot Ironer 1889
106 Nantwich Road, Crewe
Sing Wah was 33 and Fough Frot 22 at the time of the Census. They were both born in China and Sing Wah is registered as married. Sing Wah mistakenly filled in the section about marriage particulars which the wife should have only filled in. This was subsequently crossed out, but it reads that he has been married for four years and has one living child. There are seven rooms on the property which was also the place of business.
Students
A few students from China were found living in the area at the time of the 1911 Census:-
Date of Birth
CR Wang Engineering Student 1886
Wei Han Yang Mining Student 1883
Percy Liang Student 1892
Chorlton
………………………..
Date of Birth
Shang-
Shang-
Conclusion
The above is not necessarily a comprehensive list of the Chinese immigrants from 1841 to 1911. Still, it is certainly an indication of the general migration trend into the area at that time. Chinese laundries did not seem to exist until after the 1901 Census. None of the recorded individuals can be found on previous or successive Censuses indicating that there was no sustained Chinese community in the area before 1911.
Researched by Ken Shaw
寻根
要在英国找到自己得族谱相当难，而且会颇费周折，因为当时的汉语名字都是用英文拼写的。此外，中文里还有很多是重名重姓的。
不过，人口普查登记和外籍人登记都可以提供一些意想不到的相关信息。
1841 -
我们在1841至1901年期间的人口普查登记记录中，试图查找中国百家姓中的普遍姓氏。但令人惊讶的是，在这近六十年的时间里仅仅只有4项华人的记录。他们都出生于中国。Gin Longfoo是Bolton的皮匠，Yip A. Chew是住在Ashton-Under-Lyme市Birch House棉厂老板的仆人。
1911年人口普查
这次人口普查显示，该时期是大量华人移民涌入曼城地区的开始。我们查到了7个出生于中国的华人家庭，他们都登记的都是在开洗衣店。我们其他的一些研究表明，这一时期在曼城其实有更多的华人，但他们当中很多人并不愿意接受官方性的登记。
外籍人登记
曼彻斯特地区的人口普查记录已经被损毁了。但1914年至上个世纪60年代索福尔德市的外籍人登记记录现还存放于曼城警察博物馆里。那时，每个外国人都要去警察局登记， 无论是新移民，还是搬家，或是结婚生子，等等这些都是每个外籍人员之后想要入籍的主要证明。截至目前，我们已经找到了有关华人移民的100多条记录。