The Know Your Records program consists of free events with up-to-date information about our holdings. Events offer opportunities for you to learn about the National Archives’ records through ongoing lectures, monthly genealogy programs, and the annual genealogy fair. Additional resources include online reference reports for genealogical research, and the newsletter Researcher News.
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The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Of all the documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government, only 1%–3% are determined permanently valuable. Those valuable records are preserved and are available to you, whether you want to see if they contain clues about your family’s history, need to prove a veteran’s military service, or are researching an historical topic that interests you.
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May 10, 2017
Although the search for a Chinese Exclusion Act case file may be difficult and challenging, the rewards can be great for the family and social historian. Presented by the National Archives at Seattle Director Susan Karren in recognition of the Chinese Exclusion Act’s 135th anniversary.
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Susan Karren Director
National Archives at Seattle, WA
Susan Karren is the Director of the
National Archives at Seattle. She
has been with the National
Archives for 30 years, 27 of them
in Seattle. She has also worked in
Washington, DC and in Chicago.
Sue received her M.A. in history
from Brigham Young University.
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OH, THE STORIES THEY TELL:
Chinese Exclusion Acts Case Files
at the
National Archives & Records Administration
Who? Where? When?
• Any person of Chinese ancestry, whether U.S. citizen or alien, entering or reentering the U.S.
• Ports from San Francisco to New York
• 1884–1943
6
What? How many?
• Photos, interrogations, forms
• Almost half million individual case files
7
Where do I look for these?
• Exclusion files were kept by the district that created the first file even if later travel occurred through different districts
• Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) records are held by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) facility that serves the state in which the port, district or city is located
8
Everyone of Chinese descent. . .
Soong Ching Ling 1907
Madame Sun Yet Sen
Soong May Ling 1907
Dr. Sun Yet Sen Madame Chiang 1910 Kei-shek 9
Even the most American of professions. . .
Actress Anna May Wong
10
Photos included in files can also show:
Changes in fashion over time
Americanization of the person
Family portrait styles Interiors and exteriors of
Chinese businesses
11
Watch your ancestor grow up
1893 (1 year old)
1899 (7 years
old with
father)
1906 (14 years old with sister)
1914 (22 years old) 12
Chinese-American Families
San Francisco, February 1914 13
Chinese-American Families
San Francisco, May 1914 14
Chinese-American Families
1922 15
Interrogations
16
Forms also give personal glimpses into family life
17
. . . and show that INS didn’t even always understand the laws
18
How do you prove you are who you say you are?
• Interrogations often focused on identification of family members in photos and descriptions of places the person was supposed to know.
• Hand drawn maps by parent and child used for comparison
• Fill-in-the-blank maps for persons who were returning to a city in which they claimed to have formerly lived
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Interrogations
• Information varied depending on a person’s situation but usually included
• name(s), age, place of birth, marital status, place of marriage, occupation
•May include • names of parents and siblings and where they live • number and names of children • travel history • descriptions of cities, towns and villages
20
Merchant? Laborer?
• Files contain documentation to help support and reject a person’s status
• Photos provide an interesting glimpse of 20th century business life in the U.S.
• Can be used to show the development of business districts
21
Olympia, WA - 5th and Columbia
ca.1903 22
Tuck Tung Co., Seattle, WA ca.1905 gambling establishment?
23
Austin, Texas restaurant
513 Congress Ave. Austin, Texas
ca. 1904 24
Chinese businesses
Lee Bing business
Mt. Holyoke, MA ca.1904
25
Chinese businesses
Lace House Dry Goods Company
1517 Market St.
St. Louis, MO (ca. 1909) 26
U.S. Cities - Seattle
Seattle, 1890 27
A view of post-fire Seattle,
1903
28
Two maps, one village father’s, with annotationsVillage map
29
How do I locate a file?
A case file number is gold!
• do you have any documents the person left behind – you may already have what you need
• Have you located a file for another family member – check for a cross-reference sheet
30
Certificates of Identity
May still be with owner and can lead to case file
31
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Certificate of Residence
32
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.,.,pin the .~'.f.lL tJ;zy of _______ MARCH. ·······-···-· A.D . •• J..9-29.!... - - • - .., T.":\ A
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Permits to Re-enter
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An unusual cross-reference sheet
Charley Toy 7030/115
34
Indexes
• Not all are easily accessed but we have our ways
• INS created indexes (a few)
• NARA created indexes (not all electronic)
• some on-line
35
How else?
• Gather information from other family members
when and where did the person first arrive or leave?
who were they traveling with?
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Using other family members to find information
• INS used information from other files to verify information given during interrogations. Files may include:
• Cross-reference sheets • Carbon copies of interrogations from
other files
37
Good Luck!!
Remember • Gather documents
• Get creative and • Ask an archivist!
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Thank you for attending!
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