Honourable Ancestors

My Search for the Chinese Connection

by Jon Kehrer

18 July 2008

Overview

This article was originally published during December 2004 as Honourable Ancestors: My Search for the Chinese Connection in The Ancestral Searcher, 27(4): 328-333. Some minor additions and corrections have been made, as more information has come to light.

It must NOT be republished reprinted or reproduced in part or in whole by any means, what so ever, unless permission in writing has been received from me beforehand, who at all times retains the copyright.

Background

What causes so many ordinary people to dive into the murky, archive-infested waters of family history?

With me, it was the death of my maternal grandfather, Harry Edward Hoyling, in Brisbane on 5 September 1970. For it was then that I realised, I hardly knew him. Since then, I slowly discovered a most marvellous story intertwined with a Chinese heritage and ancestry.

Tracing Chinese ancestry is difficult, because of the differences in culture, language and script. Yet often the techniques and sources are similar.

Harry Edward Hoyling
London 1920

In Australia

I interviewed as many relatives as possible in that branch of the family over a number of years, read widely in English, collected whatever documentation was available, and made as many contacts as possible, in order to understand what had happened.

The first important clue came from a taped discussion with my grandfather in Brisbane in 1966, where he said he was sent from Melbourne Victoria to a place he called Sunning in China, which was somewhere to the west of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province.

It wasn't until many years later, when I read the book Chinese Migration and Settlement in Australia by C.Y. Choi, that I discovered that this was the name of a county and not of a town or village, and that it had been renamed Toishan by Sun Yatsen in 1912. Together with the neighbouring County of Sunwui, these two counties accounted for over 80% of all Chinese emigrants to Victoria prior to World War I, and were two of the four rural Sze-Yap Counties on the western edge of the Pearl River Delta.

C.Y. Choi also explained that emigrants from the Sze-Yap Counties had established a benevolent society, which had built and run the Chinese Joss House located in Raglan Street South Melbourne. Ancestral shrines were built into the temple, on which memorials were placed for all who were registered with the society and had died in Australia. These ancestral tablets recorded the name of the deceased in Chinese characters on the obverse, and the year of death and native village on the reverse. He surveyed those recorded from 1893 to 1913, and showed that those from Toishan County had mostly come from the far north-east, including the famous Melbourne merchant Louey Ah Mouy, who haled from the village of T'ang Mien P'ao.

This gave me the ancestral county and region for my emigrant ancestor and my great grandfather, Ham Hoy Ling.

The next important clue came from an interview in Melbourne in 1991 with Sylvia Wyngrave, who was my grandfather's youngest sister. In passing, she mentioned that their father, Ham Hoy Ling, had been baptised in the Carlton Chinese Church of Christ.

I subsequently approached the incumbent, and discovered that the only records available from that time were the Minutes of the Committee of Management, which had been recorded in Chinese characters. The minister kindly searched them, and found that one of the committee members had been Ham Hoy Ling (i.e. 譚開令), or at least someone who had a name that sounded like that in the Toishanese dialect. He questioned one of the oldest members of the congregation, and she confirmed that this was the right man, and that he had run a cook shop in Little Bourke Street Melbourne called the Mei Hong Gooie. A check of the Post Office Directories for that period showed Ham Hoy Ling as the occupier.

This gave me the Chinese characters for my emigrant ancestor and great grandfather, Ham Hoy Ling. When the characters are romanized by the current Pinyin system from the Mandarin dialect, they become Tan Kai Ling. The clan name is Tan², being the second registered in the Bai Jia Xing [See The Bia Jia Xing or Book of Hundred Surnames in The Ancestral Searcher 24(2): 60-73, Canberra 2001]. By a similar transformation, Toishan County becomes Taishan County.

The next important clue came from my research into my grandfather's life.

He had been the chief Chinese translator for both customs and courts in Victoria just prior to World War I, so over the years I had perused the indexes to The Argus newspaper for that period for anything to do with Chinese, Customs or Immigration, and discovered that he had been prosecuted four times, all unsuccessfully, in 1913 for conspiracy to smuggle coolies into Australia. In one of the related English-language articles, he gave his Chinese name under oath as Ham Toong or Tung [See Chinese Immigrants: Evidence for Defence in The Argus 4 October 1913 page 20].

Some time later I established a site on the Internet in August 2001, which I called Taishan Genealogy [See www.apex.net.au/~jgk/taishan/menu.html]. Here I progressively collected together any English-language resource that I could find, that might be remotely useful in researching family history in Taishan County. Not only did this educate me as to the peculiarities of research in China, in general, and Taishan County, in particular, but also acted as a "honey pot" attracting the genealogical "flies" who might be of help to me.

In February 2003, my site attracted an important "fly", Washington Lee Tom, also known as Tom Heng Lee, from San Antonio Texas. He e-mailed that he had found my great grandfather on page 196 of the Jiapu, or Clan Register, published in 1996 by the Toi-Shan Tom Kwong Yu Association of San Francisco. The digital photograph of that page attached to the e-mail was convincing.

I forwarded the same by e-mail to Jimmy Tsang, who runs the Taishan International Web, the only other English-language web site on Taishan County [See www.taishan.com/english/index.htm]. As he runs a genealogical service along with his computer store in Taicheng, the capital of Taishan County, he proved to be a good local contact, who, for a price, could arrange transport, accommodation, advice, translators and introductions.

In the meantime, I had joined the Chinese Australian Historical Society on the advice of Ian Welch [See www.hermes.net.au/cahs]. He later put me in contact with Professor Huang Kunzhang of the Institute of Overseas Chinese Studies at Jinan University in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, who referred me on to Professor Mei Weiqiang of the Department of Propaganda at Wuyi University in Jiangmen City, the capital of the prefecture of which Taishan County is a part. He passed my enquiries onto the Bureau of Overseas Chinese Affairs in Taicheng, the capital of the County of Taishan. His support and prestige were vital in navigating the local government and party bureaucracies.

In China

Now it was time to do some spade-work in Taishan County.

Most airlines fly to the new Hong Kong International Airport on Lantau Island, and from there, train bus or taxi will get you to the China Ferry Terminal on the western side of Kowloon Peninsula, from where ferries sail to many ports in the Pearl River Delta. Chu Kong Shipping Enterprises have large hydrofoils sailing several times a day to San Bo, which call in at Gongyi in Taishan County. You can book at the China Ferry Terminal, but I booked at the CKS Agency in the Shun Tak Centre on Hong Kong Island several days beforehand to be sure of getting a seat. There was supposed to be a free bus meeting the ferry at Gongyi, but it didn't meet me. Some friendly locals gave me a lift into Taicheng.

I stayed at the Taishan Overseas Chinese Hotel in the centre of Taicheng, across from the upstairs MacDonalds Restaurant on Tongyi Road. Jimmy Tsang had arranged a double ensuite bedroom with cable-television, air-conditioning and refrigerator, but no meals. So from experience I can recommend not only the MacDonalds Restaurant, but also the Good Place Coffee Shop on Huan Shi Xi Lu, and the CRC Supermarket for groceries off Chenyixi Plaza near the Central Post Office at the far end of the pedestrian mall.

My spade-work got underway with a morning meeting, arranged and mediated by Jimmy, with Tan Can Hui, a retired headmaster from the local Tan Clan Junior School on Huan Shi Xi Lu, which was founded in 1907. We discussed the details I had supplied to Jimmy, and resolved numerous misunderstandings. Tan Can Hui left to arrange a meeting for the next day with the leadership of the local Tan Clan Association.

With the support and prestige of Professor Mei Weiqiang, I had previously arranged an afternoon meeting with the Taishan County Bureau of Overseas Chinese Affairs located on Huang Chen Nan Back Street, which was attended by Guan Ze Feng who was its Vice-Director, Victor Liu who was one of his English-speaking subordinates, Mr Qang who was Director of the Taicheng Bureau of Overseas Chinese Affairs, one of the Association who worked for the Bureau, Jimmy as mediator, and myself. Misunderstandings had to be resolved, before Mr Qang was authorised to help.

In the morning, Guan Ze Feng also attended the next meeting, which eventually decided on a way forward. We were to visit a wide-spread selection of Tan Clan villages, checking for lineages which matched in some way what I had supplied. If any were found, neighbouring villages were to be checked for more exact matches.

That afternoon, Jimmy and I boarded a minibus I had rented, along with Mr Qang and two members of the Association, for the offices of the local People's Committee of the Communist Party, who had to be approached for authority and advice.

From there, the first village we visited was Bei Hou (i.e. 庇厚) or "Generous Shelter" in Pak Sui Heung (i.e. 白水鄉) or "White Water District", just a few kilometres outside town. It was a typical Punti village of seventeen regimented rows of very small, brick and tile houses, set beside a concrete-covered "village green", two ponds and extensive paddy fields.

The old man of the village was 83 year old Tan Xi Pan, and the story he told was exciting. Mr Qang was grinning like a Cheshire Cat, and I was hopeful, but it was only after my second and third visits to the village, that I was certain my spade-work had hit pay-dirt, as their lineage did not match the one that I had supplied.

So what convinced me?

Tan Xin Qiu, who was Tan Xi Pan's eldest son, had an old handwritten family register of their lineage, in which Tan Kai Ling appeared. That meant there were two men of the same name (i.e. Ling) of the same generation (i.e. Kai) and of the same clan (i.e. Tan) in the same region, which was unusual and acceptable, but not definitive, as I had also supplied the name from my Australian investigations.

This is my proof number one!

According to Tan Xi Pan, this Tan Kai Ling was his great grandfather, who had emigrated to Australia, where he had two shops, one called the Mei Hong Gooie. This was a match, as there was a shop by that name in Little Bourke Street Melbourne, and another attached to the British Queen Hotel in the Victorian goldfield village of Vaughan, as witnessed by the Post Office Directories of the time. His great grandfather also died in Australia, but his bones were never repatriated for reburial with his ancestors in China. This was also a match, as confirmed by his Victorian death certificate of 4 March 1936, and the deed for his grave and associated monumental inscriptions in the Coburg General Cemetery Melbourne.

Tan Xi Pan continued with his grandfather, Tan Zhao Song, or Ham Sue Tong in the local Toishanese dialect. This can be considered a match, as my grandfather had given his Chinese name as Ham Toong or Tung, as previously discussed. His grandfather also served in the army in Britain during World War I, and was given a "garden" for his services. This is another probable match, as my grandfather served in Egypt, Gallipoli, France, Belgium and England in the Australian Army Service Corps as number 702, and took out a Prickly Pear Lease near Tara on the western Darling Downs Queensland in 1911, but only settled there in 1920.

Tan Xi Pan continued with his father, Tan Gim Sue or Ham Gim Sue in the local Toishanese dialect, whose mother's clan name was Li. This is a probable match, as my grandfather's Chinese son was documented as both Gim Sue and Ah Lee. "Ah" is an honourific term, rather like "Mr". His grandfather returned to Australia when his father was four years old in 1900, making 1896 the year of birth. This is also a probable match, as my grandfather's Chinese son was documented as being both 26 and 30 in 1926/27. The two reports which document the names and ages are in the same file and written only a year apart by the same officer. As he probably used different interpreters on each occasion, the same question in English could easily have been interpreted differently by the different interpreters eliciting these different answers [See file A1/1928-24614 Re Application by Hoy Ling for Permission for his Grandson to visit Australia in The Australian Archives]. The years are all reasonable, as my grandfather spent eight years in China from the time he was thirteen years old, and was born on 25 September 1877 at Vaughan according to his Victorian birth certificate [See Items of News in Mount Alexander Mail 22 November 1905 page 2c and Birth in Mount Alexander Mail 2 October 1877 page 2b].

However Tan Xi Pan claimed his grandfather had five sons and his great grandfather had three wives, and that does not match. However, if it was his great grandfather who had five sons and grandfather who had three wives, in addition to his traditional Chinese wife, that would be a match. As I was relying on a translator whose English had been learnt at high school, that is not an unreasonable conclusion.

This correspondence of all known facts and resolution of all known contradictions without exception is my proof number two!

On one of the latter visits, another branch of the family arrived. They were Tan Xin Feng and Tan Yong Chiang, who were two of the three children of Tan Xi Zhan, who had died in 1993, and was the brother of Tan Xi Pan. They brought with them the envelope and return address slip from the last remittence which was received from Australia.

31 JAN 1946
MELBOURNE VICTORIA

Canton Tower Caf�
146 Bourke Street
Melbourne
Australia.

Mr. H.E. Hoyling
Denham Street,
Clayfield
Queensland
Australia.

This is a match, as the Telephone Directories, Post Office Directories, both Commonwealth and State Electoral Rolls and memories of both my mother and aunt give Denham Street Clayfield Queensland as his home address in 1946. In addition, the address slip was in his distinctive misleading handwriting, and one of his cousins was working at the Canton Tower Caf� after World War II.

This is most convincing, and is my proof number three!

After nine days, it was time to leave.

I had already booked my return ferry ticket at the China Travel Service desk in the hotel lobby, and the free bus was calling. Most of my new "family" came to farewell me, and it was with some sadness that I left.

Back in Australia

And now that I have returned to Australia, what is my way forward?

I am waiting upon photocopies of the Clan Register from the Tan Clan Association, and Village Register from Bei Hou. I have high hopes, as the lineage supplied by Washington Lee Tom was founded by Tom Bok Chong, a high military official for the Southern Sung Dynasty, whose grandfather was born in 902AD or 908AD.

The index on the Internet to the Sydney-based Tung Wah News and Tung Wah Times should have entries for the trials of 1913. As my grandfather was the only translator of the four being tried, it should be easy to find his Chinese name in the corresponding Chinese-language articles. They should match that supplied from Bei Hou, and be my proof number four!

Then there are the large-scale topographical maps of Taishan County published by the US Army Corps of Engineers in 1949 and 1960 in the Map Room of the National Library of Australia.

And so it goes on.

Acknowledgements

This research in Taishan County could not have been accomplished without the kind professional assistance of Professor Huang Kunzhang, Professor Mei Weiqiang, retired Headmaster Tan Can Hui, Vice-Director Guan Ze Feng and Director Qang; the hospitality and enthusiasm of the families of Tan Xi Pan (1921+), Tan Li Zhen (1922+) and Tan Xi Zhan (1926-1993), especially of Lei Qiong Qu, Tan Xin Qiu, Tan Yong Chang and Tan Xin Feng; and the services and friendship of Jimmy Tsang and Penny Huang.