Faculty:
- Coordinator and Instructor: Grant Din, MA
- Other Instructors: Ron Chan; Al Cheng; Patrick Chew; Baldwin Chiu; Tammy Hepps; Michael Ho; Larissa Lam; Leona Lau; Eric Leach; Marisa Louie Lee; Jeanie Low; Carly Lane Morgan, JD; Trish Hackett Nicola; Linda Harms Okazaki
Tuition:
- Regular Price: $585.00
- NGS Member Price: $550.00
Description:
This course will focus on Chinese American genealogy from the early gold miners and railroad builders through years of government exclusion and the records left behind. Post World War II, it will talk about ways families began to be created and reunited through war brides legislation and then finally the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. It will also provide information on learning about families in China.
Student Prerequisites: None
Recommended:
We ask students watch, before the course, two films available for free (with a library card) on Kanopy: Chinese Couplets by Felicia Lowe and Far East Deep South by Larissa Lam and Baldwin Chiu.
Important Notice Regarding Course Materials:
Sessions will be recorded and available through Friday, 11 July 2025, at 11:59 PM ET.
All times are listed in Eastern Time.
Live sessions may be subject to schedule adjustments by your course coordinator.
| Day | Session | Time | Session Title | Description | Instructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday 23 June |
Intro | 10:00 – 10:30 AM | A chance to meet and greet your class | Self-introductions by participants about what they hope to get from the course to help their research/brick walls they hope to overcome. | Din |
| 1 | 10:30 – 11:45 AM | Introduction to Chinese American Genealogy | Grant will provide an overview about Chinese across the United States and information from various documents – ship manifests, censuses, death records, etc., to learn about early Chinese immigration pre-exclusion- gold rush, railroads, urban settlements, etc., as well as ports of entry including Angel Island, and the development of Chinese communities including in rural areas such as the Sacramento River delta, segregated schools, Titanic survivors, etc. | Din | |
| 2 | Noon – 1:15 PM | Case Study 1 – Women of China Camp: Following the Paper Trail | This session discusses the history of China Camp, a Chinese fishing village in San Rafael, California in use beginning in the 19th century, focusing on the women who lived there in the early days. We’ll look at how racial discrimination, cultural practices, and immigrant isolationism affected how these women appear in historical documents and the strategies we can use to research their lives. | Morgan | |
| 3 | 2:15 – 3:30 PM | Chinese American Research in Federal Records (Part I) | The Chinese Exclusion Act focused intense scrutiny on immigrants and American citizens of Chinese descent during the Chinese Exclusion period (1882-1943) and beyond. Records relating to these early Chinese immigrants, Chinese Americans, and their communities are available today at National Archives facilities nationwide and through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In this two-part session, discover how to locate case files, what they contain, and the limitations of their use for genealogical research. | Lee/Nicola | |
| 4 | 3:45 PM – 5 PM | Chinese American Research in Federal Records (Part II) | Continued from Part I Presentation | Lee/Nicola | |
| Tuesday 24 June |
5 | 10:30 – 11:45 AM | Case Study II – My American Ancestor, Ng Shue Hah | Born in Fresno, California in 1887 to pioneer Chinese immigrants, Ng Shue Hah lost her U.S. citizenship when she married her non-citizen husband, an immigrant from China. Lee will discuss researching her great-grandmother’s story and describe re-connecting with long-lost family members from the Ng family. | Lee |
| 6 | Noon – 1:15 PM | Chinese Cemeteries and Resources in Gravestones | Patrick will talk about the family history information to be found at Chinese gravesites and cemeteries and the celebration of Qing Ming, “tomb sweeping day” where respects are paid to ancestors. | Chew | |
| 7 | 2:15 – 3:30 PM | Chinese Names | Michael will discuss Chinese naming conventions and practices that family history researchers may encounter in their research, including the rare two-character names like Owyang (his mother’s maiden name). Other topics will include surnames, pronunciation variations, name order, married women’s names, alternate names, searches and strategies. | Ho | |
| 8 | 3:45 PM – 5 PM | Oral Histories |
Whenever possible, starting with living relatives is a great way to build your knowledge, but it can sometimes be challenging. Sometimes, people don’t want to talk; they say they have nothing to say or just don’t want to tell you! Whatever the case, get started soon. Get basic skills and learn tips and tricks from Grant, who, in his work, was able to interview several people who spent time on Angel Island. He will speak with filmmaker Felicia Lowe about the challenges she faced getting her mother to tell her story!
|
Din | |
| Extra | 5 PM – 5:30 PM | Enhancement Session | Discussion of Homework/Studies | Din | |
| Wednesday 25 June |
9 | 10:30 – 11:45 AM | Jiapu (Chinese Family Genealogy Books) and How to Use Them | Jiapu, or jiak po in Cantonese, are family tree and history books that track family histories for hundreds or even thousands of years. Many were destroyed in the Cultural Revolution in China from the mid-sixties to mid-seventies, but others survive in China and the United States. Learn about these invaluable resources and how to find these volumes and indexed copies online from Eric Leach, FamilySearch, and Clotilde Yap, My China Roots. They will also talk about other resources relevant to Chinese American researchers | Leach |
| 10 | Noon – 1:15 PM | Going to the Motherland | There are excellent participatory programs that help Chinese Americans search for and then visit their ancestral villages, especially in Guangdong Province, where most pre-World War II Chinese immigrants originated. This session will provide information about In Search of Roots/Roots+, how they work to help participants identify their ancestral villages, and its Village Database, and describe other programs that provide an opportunity to visit China. | TBD | |
| 11 | 2:15 – 3:30 PM | Building Chinese American Families after Exclusion and the end of WWII | The highest influx of Chinese G.I. War Brides in American history transformed the Chinese American community from a bachelor society to a baby boomer population. Learn how our moms embarked on a journey to America under the 1945 War Brides Act with not just their heritage, but a vision for a brighter future, and how they faced enormous hurdles while giving birth to the first major Second Generation of Chinese Americans on a national scale. | Lau | |
| 12 | 3:45 PM – 5 PM | Behind the Camera at Far East Deep South | Baldwin Chiu and Larissa Lam, Behind the Camera at Far East Deep South. Larissa Lam directed, wrote and produced, and her husband Baldwin Chiu produced and was featured in an award-winning documentary about Baldwin’s grandfather’s and great-grandfather’s lives running a grocery store in the Black community of Cleveland, Mississippi. Baldwin’s father, Charles, grew up not knowing his father or anything about how he made a living thousands of miles away. The film earned a standing ovation at the 2022 NGS conference in Sacramento. All students are encouraged to watch the film for free on the Kanopy website before the course starts, and to join Grant to ask Baldwin and Larissa questions about their story and research. | Chiu/Lam | |
| Thursday 26 June |
13 | 10:30 – 11:45 AM | Sharing Your Story: Telling Chinese American Family History Through Quilts | Jeanie has been a longtime advocate through Save Our National Archives of preserving the records in the National Archives in San Bruno, is also a quiltmaker and artist. She brings her research and family stories to life through constructing elaborate quilts and will detail her research and her artistic process through this workshop | Low |
| 14 | Noon – 1:15 PM | Using DNA to Build Your Tree | Beyond traditional archival research, interviewing family members, and researching in China, DNA can open new doors to finding family members. Learn about the steps you can take to use DNA as a tool for growing your family tree. Linda Harms Okazaki will help you identify your DNA goals, examine which test(s) are best for your needs, and learn about the limitations of using DNA in the Asian American population. | Okazaki | |
| 15 | 2:15 – 3:30 PM | Embracing Technology to Tell Family History Stories | Ron will discuss resources, tools, and best practices for creating family history stories, the use of artificial intelligence for oral histories, techniques for restoring photos, and how to craft a digital legacy. | Chan | |
| 16 | 3:45 PM – 5 PM | Case Study III – The Chinese Laundrymen of Homestead | Tammy Hepps researched and maintains an extensive website about the large Jewish community that existed in the steel town of Homestead, Pennsylvania, located near Pittsburgh. In her research, she learned about Joe Wah, Homestead’s longest-serving Chinese laundryman, the discrimination he and other Chinese faced, and their challenges in building families. Learn about Tammy’s research and these pioneers. | Hepps | |
| Extra | 5 PM – 5:30 PM | Enhancement Session | Discussion of Homework/Studies | Din | |
| Friday 27 June |
17 | 10:30 – 11:45 AM | Student Presenation and Speaker Participation | Student presentations and speaker and participant suggestions I, plus areas the class didn’t have time to discuss earlier. | Din |
| 18 | Noon – 1:15 PM | Student Presenation and Speaker Participation | Wrap-up/questions, and looking toward the future: with the great growth in the numbers of new Chinese immigrants since 1965, what will their children and grandchildren need to know? How can our participants help them prepare? | Din |