H1. Why were the Chinese
immigrants called "Coolies?"
The word "coolie" originates from India and during the 19th century it referred to wage earners, particularly those who worked for low or subsistence pay.
Large numbers of indentured labourers were
initially introduced to the West Indies from India and the term was then extended to
Chinese labourers when the latter were obtained a few years later. In
official contracts and correspondence, from the British
administrative point of view, the word was a general designation for
all Asian immigrant workers. However, in British Guiana (and even in
today's Guyana) the word "Coolie" became associated with the much
larger numbers of people who originated from India while the Chinese
became known as "Chinamen."
H2. My ancestor is said to have
arrived in 1876 but there is no boat shown for that year. What
gives?
There were a limited number of Chinese who arrived in the colony from
neighbouring countries and who were officially recorded as "casuals."
There may also be the possibility that recollections of the date may
not be accurate or that the handwritten records may have been
misread.
G1. My ancestor's name appears
as an immigrant on one of the ships but why are no descendants
shown?
Each list of descendants is entered only after receiving confirmation
of the ancestor and the ship. There are similar sounding names and
spellings for some Chinese immigrants and in these cases the ancestor
cannot be correctly identified without additional documentation. For
example there were two persons named Chan-A-Shing on the
Chapman and the names Li-A-Tak and Wong-A-Fook
appear on the records of several different vessels.
G2. There seems to be a lot of
surnames with "-A-" in the middle. Why is that?
In Chinese the prefix "A-" is added to a person's given name as a
familiar way of addressing a person. In English this practice is
comparable to adding the suffix "-y" or "-ie" to a name thereby
producing Annie, Bobby, daddy, mommie, etc. In most cases the
familiar term of address then became part of the surname so that Fung
Gong-fat became known as Fung-A-Fat. In some other cases the "A" is
an authentic Chinese name (meaning second place, runner up, junior)
which became a part of the hyphenated family surname.
G3. It seems that quite a few
of the names are for Trinidadians. Any comments?
After completing their term of indenture the Chinese labourers were
permitted to stay in the colony or could apply for passports to
emigrate elsewhere. From the 1870s onward a significant number chose
to go to Trinidad where the prospects for advancement appeared to be
better.
G4. How can I get a copy of the
full names of descendants for an immigrant?
Databases are being maintained by several genealogists who have more
than 10,000 names on file. In order to retain privacy, lineage charts
and descendants charts can be sent only to those persons who appear
as descendants (or their spouses). Some of the lineage charts occupy
only one page while others require up to 18 pages to list 4
generations. A charge for the cost of copying and mailing is
requested.
G5. Why are the names shown for
only four generations?
It would be a never-ending task to maintain records for the latest
additions to the various families and the main objective is to trace
back to the roots and immigrants who came as indentured labourers in
the period 1853 to 1979. However, some genealogists do have
compilations beyond the fourth generation, particularly for their own
family trees.
G6. On which boat did my
ancestors arrive?
The
answer to this question is one of the major objectives of the website
creator and other genealogists. Passenger lists for only a few boats
have been found in the archives and it is not alway easy to pinpoint
the correct ancestor (see G1). In
some cases the answer may lie hidden away in records kept by a family
member. See Rooting to get some ideas on how to follow up
on this.
This is the Frequently Asked Questions page.
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