PBS - "Ancestors in the Americas"

Forum: Ancestors in the Americas

Topic: Unknown family history
Posted By: Ruby
Date: 05 May 2002 8:55 AM

I am a second generation Cantonese American on my father's side and a first generation on my mother's. Family history was and still is a puzzling element. Not much is discussed about how my father's father came to the United States. I believe that he was involved in the exporting and importing of textiles. My parents were married by means of an arranged setting in which my father went to Hong Kong to marry and bring to the United States my mom. The marriage was set up by his father and her grandfather. Their marriage lasted until October of 1991 when my dad died of cancer. I know that I have a rich family history in that my dad's father owned and operated a casino for minorities in Reno, Nevada. I have casino chips and dice to retain that history for me. We donated a craps table to the Nevada Historical Socity in Carson C ity, Nevada. But much of that era is a blur for me as this history is not discussed as there are some "political" issues linked to my dad's father's death. I assume that he did not die of natural causes. During the time of the casino, he and many other Chinese in the community created and sustained a Joss House in which new Asians were able to come to the Reno area and become settled with the assistance of other Chinese. Members would make sure those that came would be successful in ther ventures so they would be able to contribute funds to the Joss House as well as send money home to China. There are very few children of the Joss House today. They are still vital members of the Chinese community as well as the overall community of Reno, Nevada. I would like to know more about what that period was like and try to understand what place, besides an outsider, the Chinese represented--we were and still are not Black, Hispanic, nor White. In such a period of distintive racial lines, where did we stand and how were we viewed?

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