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Birth Date
I was born in Goon Do Hung, China. I grew up growing rice on our farm with mother and my five other sibilings while father was in America working. He would send money home every now and then. One day we got a letter from father explaining how he wanted me to immigrate to America where he was and work with him building railroads. So that's just what I did; I saved up $25 and made the move to the Golden Mountain. -
Arriving at Angel Island
After sailing for 19 days we arrived at Angel Island. The sight was oddly welcoming; I wasn't quite sure how it would be. The next day we were taken to the actual island by a ferry. As I waited in line I looked around at the strange building trying to fathom what amazing feat I was making. It took a while until I was up for physical and legal examination, but what seemed to be shortly after that I took my first step into America. That step was only the first of many on this new journey. -
Starting New Job
I went to Rock Springs coal mine where father worked. I wasn't sure how it was going to go when I saw him, but I was nervous. He left for America in 1870 when I wasa four so I vaguely remember him leaving. He would visit every few years, so I got to see him then, but we weren't very close. I wandered around for a while and then, I saw him. Out of impulse I hugged him which was considered immature at this age. We caught up for a few minutes then got to work with a group of other Asian immigrants. -
Rock Springs Massacre
This was when father died. A large number of Asians were hired rather than Americans and that didn't suit well. They refused to work with us, Asians. So long story short, they ended up murdering 28 Chinese people. One of the 28 happened to be father. It was devasting and I was then very confused of what my next move would be. I sent a letter to the family back home explaining and moved on. It was one of the hardest things I had to do in my life. -
Brother Arrives
My younger brother, Cai, came to Rock Springs on this day. Mother had sent him because she said they weren't doing so well from the money I was making alone. She would've sent him sooner, however, the Chinese Exclusion Act was still around so he wasn't able to come for awhile. The Chinese Exclusion Act was created because some whites were worried of losing all their jobs to immigrants. So to solve that issue they made that in order to keep more Chinese from coming to America for ten years. -
Family Comes to America
After going back and visiting, Cai and I agreed that our family shouldn't be living in Goon Du Hung anymore because it was a very poor and lacked opportunities for anything other than poverty. So they all saved up and made the trip over to America. It was such a happy day when they all arrived. We were together again and were hopeful for the future. Everyone got some kind of job and began to become accustomed to this new life. Because of America, we were able to lead happy lives together.
