Hello all,
I'm helping a friend research his family tree, and his grandfather was Chinese. Apart from knowing his mother's name, there is little that they know about the family, and I really don't know where to start to look into the Chinese side of his family. I have tried contacting DNA relatives but either they didn't reply or didn't know anything about their Chinese ancestry.
Here's all the information that I have:
- Ah Choi Wong (British name), his Chinese name was Wong Tin Wo we believe. He was born (we think) on 7th December 1938 in Sha Tau Kok, near Hong Kong. We do not know if this date is correct as he did use someone else's passport to get into England after WW2, but he was definitely from Sha Tau Kok as he told stories about growing up there. His mother's name (we think this is a fake name from her passport) was Kiu Lee/Lee Kiu Wong. She wasn't married to Ah Choi's father - he said he would marry her and then ran off to Panama! So we don't even know Ah Choi's father's name, as he never spoke of him.
Ah Choi was married in Horncastle, Lincolnshire in 1962, England, to my friend's grandmother. He lived in Lincolnshire until he died on 20th March 2010. Family rumours said he was the first Chinese Free Mason in England.
His mother, Kiu Lee, also came over to England (we think about 1964), and she died in Grimsby in 1985. On her gravestone, it says that she was born 27th February 1911, and we think she was from mainland China (as opposed to Hong Kong).
To Note: these following men are said to be Ah Choi's cousins on his father's side.
- Benedicto 'Ben' Wong (went to Panama and started a business named after him - I did try to contact him via his company but got no reply. He is still alive and has 2 children in Panama)
- Florencio Wong (according to UK records, he was born 3rd June 1928 in China, and he died in Lincolnshire on 26th June 2004 - he married and had 3 children in England, but kept a house in Hong Kong).
- Vincent (maybe Victor) Wong (supposedly went to Panama in the 1950's).
There are also photos of a 'family reunion' at the family temple (that Benedicto had built) in (I believe) Sha Tau Kok, which pictures Ah Choi, his cousin Benedicto, and 27 others.
So I would really appreciate help with finding Ah Choi's family, and finding more out about his life - I don't even know where to start looking. I appreciate that it is going to be really difficult because of the fake names and passports. I would just really like pointers in the right direction.
Thank you for any help you can offer,
Holly
