Chong Family History 1900-1910

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Foreword:   Although the old newspaper articles are fun to read, they were generally written with a degree of sensationalism.  However, the articles do give an interesting glimpse into the family's early life in Madera.

Yee Chung Dies from Alcohol in 1902

Yee Chung last farmed a fruit orchard on the Dorn Ranch, where he died on April 26, 1902.  Newspaper accounts indicated Yee Chung had gone to Fresno on Thursday and returned to the ranch under the influence of alcohol.  He went back to town and returned around 6 o'clock Thursday.  When getting into bed a few hours later, he fell to the floor.  His wife became alarmed, and he told her not to fear, that he was not going to die.   Those were the last words he spoke, for he never regained consciousness [ full story ].   He died the following afternoon between 3 and 4 o'clock Friday afternoon, in the presence of Dr. Alfred H. Byars who had been summoned to the Dorn Ranch.  Dr Byars was apparently the family physician.

During an inquest at the ranch by the coroner, Richard Curtis Jay (see picture below of hearst), on Saturday, a jury was sworn.  W. Weakley, Joe Osborn and Clarence Osborn (pictured in suit at left) testified that the deceased had been drinking heavily for the past two years.   Based on their statements, and Mrs. Chung's account of his death, the jury returned a verdict of death from excessive drinking.  He was buried at the Borden Chinese Cemetery, at the rear and to the west of Borden. 

We know that the family's nearest neighbors when on the Dorn Ranch was the Osborn family, who lived a quarter mile away; quite possibly Joe and Clarence were Yee Chung's close friends and neighbors.  The 1900 census listed John & Sarah Osborn, with son Clarence (20), and daughter Hazel (7); we know from Lin's 1929 testimony their daughter was Hazel.  The 1898 Madera County voter records lists a Joel Osborn, and Wilson Weakley, both farmers in Borden.   E. Chan also had heard he died from apoplexy, as he drank a lot, leading to his unfortunate, sudden death.

After Yee Chung died, the family lived off of his estate money.  The children were only 12½, 11, 8, 6, 5, and 2, and Look was born exactly three months later on July 26.  Yet they survived the ordeal, and were ultimately very successful in family, business, and life.  In 1929, Bing Chong testified he did not know whether his father's remains were later shipped back to China, like many of those at the Borden cemetery.  Even if the remains were sent back to China, Bing was likely too young to recall.  Lin's daughter said that Mr. Chung's ashes were sent back to China (if true, probably to the burial area for the Leong village, Luk Yee Tau), but this has not been verified.  However, it is conceivable Yee Chung's remains are still buried at Borden.  It was the custom in the old days to send the bones back to China.  A person might have been buried for about 10 years, then fellow villagers would exhume the grave, and put the bones in a jar/box and send them back to China to be buried.  So Yee Chung might be in the village in China.  At right, Mrs Dorothy Murray visits the old Madera courthouse, where her grandmother Mrs Yee Chung would go to settle disputes.

The old Courthouse is now the Madera Historic Museum.  There are many artifacts in the many rooms, displaying all facets of early Madera life.  The museum is all done by volunteers. Our Borden painting of Yee Chung's store was on display at the Madera County Library for a month or so, then will be on permanent display at the museum.
At the Madera Chinese display in the museum, there is a picture of the only other Chinese person identified in Madera.  There is a long tapestry from the old Joss house in the main entry way; it has some Chinese characters on it which we translated.  Ron Chong's teacher friend identified three Leong brothers on the inscription.  But could it be our relatives names on the tapestry, given they were still pretty young.
which we will try to get translated

Ah Mooey testified in 1929 that her father had been working on the Dorn Ranch, located about six miles from Madera.  Borden was about three miles southeast of Madera.  Bill Coate says there were several Dorn ranches to the west of Madera, all near the Howard School, where he believes the children went to school.  Dorothy Sun gave her version of how Yee Chung died, according to her mother Ah Mooey.  Ah Mooey was 11 years old at the time and she was the only one in the house.  Yee Chung was lying down and kept calling out to her.  She went to him and he told her to "Don't be afraid."  She then saw a white shadow coming from his body -- and then he was gone.  Was it her imagination or an apparition?  Whatever it was, it certainly made an everlasting impression on a young 11-year old.

Mrs Chong's 1929 testimony of a April 26, 1902 death for Leong Chong would mean the eldest, LE Chong, or Lee Chong, was only 12½ when it happened, and Look Chong was born three months later on July 26.  Although some descendants had heard that Lee Chong had to assume leadership for family, he was still very young, and would have been difficult for him.  The family must have faced extreme hardship raising so many children, particularly with the very young ages and one still to be born.
 

Lawyers Fist Fight in Court, While Appointing Administrator for Yee Chung Estate

"Mrs Chung, Would you please stand and face the court?"   When Yee Chung died, petitions were filed immediately to be named administrator of his sizable estate at the Madera County Courthouse, shown at the left.  Mrs Yee Chung nominated C. Charlie to administer his estate, and filed a petition for letters of administration.  At the same time, the Madera County Coroner, Richard Curtis Jay rushed to file similar petitions.  Both sides hired a lawyer to represent in court.  H. H. Welsh of Fresno represented the family; whereas, a well known lawyer named William H. Larew represented the county coroner.  They met on May 25, 1902 in what now exists as the Madera County Courthouse, with Superior Court Judge WIlliam Conley presiding.  The old courthouse is the Madera County Historical Museum, located in downtown Madera at 210 W. Yosemite Avenue, Hours: 1-4:30, Sat-Sun (also 5:30-7:30 weekdays during Christmas season when the museum is decorated in festive spirit).

Judge Conley was highly esteemed in Madera, and entered his career on the bench as the first presiding judge of Madera.  As he looked upon the Chinese defendants, he was known for meting out justice and mercy to these "hearts that knew other land", and had drifted to western shores (Madera Mercury, June 24, 1923).  May 20. 1893, he was elevated to the bench and took the oath of office, being the youngest superior judge that had up to that time been elected in the state.  Fourth generation Jay descendants still run the Madera morturary at the turn of the century, i.e. 2000.

When the court case opened, Larew charged that Mrs. Yee Chung was not in fact the wife of the deceased, and even extended himself by alleging that the children were therefore illegitimate.  This got the Yee Chung family infuriated, and even more, their attorney H. H. Welsh.  Welsh put witnesses on the stand to prove that Yee Chung had no wife in China, and said he was steamed that Larew would allege such an issue.  On the other hand, Larew called Welsh's witness a liar, and suggested Welsh was also untruthful.  With the accusations becoming too heated, Judge Conley adjourned the court for lunch.  The two lawyers then broke out in a fist fight, with Welsh making the first surprise blow to the cheek.  Luckily court was adjourned, and Welsh was not cited for contempt of court.  Welsh offered that he had known Yee Chung and his family very well, and knew that Larew's statements were false.  This caused his act of violence.   Rather than having lunch, the two agreed to proceed to the Madera Athletic Hall, where they would box to settle their differences.  In a 20 minute, two round brawl, Welsh won and Larew excited with a black eye, forehead lump, and a broken right cheek bone.  When the court session resumed, Judge Conley ruled in favor of C. Charlie, and Mrs. Yee Chung's attorney. This of course means that the Judge thought Mrs. Chung to be the lawful relict of Yee Chung.  [Lawyers' courtroom antics ... ][full story ]


Madera Mercury, May 1, 1902.  Petition for Letters:

"Chow Tui, through his attorney, H. H. Welsh, today petitioned for letters of administration over the estate of Ah Bow, commonly known as Yee Chung, deceased.  The estate consists of pesonal property, real estate in Fresno, and a lease hold on the Dorn orchard.  The estate is valued not to exceed $10,000 (ten thousand dollars)."

Yee Chung Buried at Borden Chinese Cemetery was Leong Yee Chong

The Madera County historian, Bill Coate, is certain that our great-grandfather was the man known in Madera as "Yee Chung". According to Madera newspaper accounts, when he died, he was operating a  fruit farm on the "Dorn" ranch.  He is reported to have had a wife and seven children, one of whom was Ah Moy who later married the Coulterville merchant.  This information ascertains that grandpa "Chong" was known as Yee Chung in the Madera area.  Mr. Chung's obituary made the front page news in the Madera Mercury on May 2, 1902.  Having an obituary on the front page was rather unusual for the times, let alone for a Chinese person, and gave an account of Yee Chong's funeral at 9:30 am Sunday.   Both Caucasian and Chinese friends attended the services at the cemetery.  This leads one to believe he was quite prominent in the community.  People from Fresno came to pay respects.  The burial took place in the Borden Chinese Cemetery as we know, and there were offerings of food (chicken) at the grave site.

The Borden Cemetery probably had 100 to 200 burials.  The original markers were wood, but weeds grew heavily around the markers, which led to a fire that destroyed the wood markers.  Some time later, seven replacement gravestones were placed at the cemetery.  From the inscriptions, they were done by someone who had an elementary knowledge of Chinese, done in something he described as grade school characters.  The rest of the cemetery is an unkempt dirt lot, that butts up against grape vineyards.

Note picture of Richard Curtis Jay & Son mortuary services on horse-drawn hearst, which may have been used for the funeral by the mortician, Mr. Jay.  Some  family members believes that Yee Chung is still buried at the cemetery.  That is, his remains were never sent back to China, as was customary with many early Chinese buried at the cemetery.    However, it was customary upon arrival in the U.S. for the immigrant to pay a Chinese company to take care of his remains, in event of death, and return them to his village in China.  On the other hand, Bing Chong told his descendants that he had visited father's gravesite in China in 1929.  Although Bing's 1929 testimony stated he did not know if his fathers remains were ever sent to China; he may have changed his story once he was in the village, and visited his father's grave site, as he claimed.  Other family members suggest he may have visited the Leong family cemetery, rather than his father's, since he was not sure in his testimony.  The only way to find out is for someone to locate and find his grave site in China.  Perhaps, if we can locate descendants of Tam Po Kwan, a grandson of Leong Yee Chong's family in China, they may know whether Leong Yee Chong's grave site resides in China, or the U.S.  They may know better than American descendants, particularly if they had visited the grave site.

The site was placed on the historic register of Madera County in 1982, with a plaque mounted in stone.  This plaque was supplemented by a newer granite marker shown above in 1993.

In 1992, the Madera Irrigation District (M.I.D.) was going to auction off the cemetery land for back taxes.  When Bill Coate became aware of the plan to sell the cemetery, he talked to 90 school kids at the Sierra Vista School about the situation.  The children would say:  "But what can we do to change the plan to sell?"  Another suggestion was made for the school kids to raise enough money to pay the back taxes.  Eventually, the M.I.D. waived the back taxes because of the embarrassment of having 90 school children raising money to pay off the irrigation district.
 

Mrs Chung Proposes Trip to China for Family in 1903

At death, Yee Chung left a sizable estate for the family; fhis wealth allowed the family to consider a trip to China in 1903, the year after his death.  She obtained affadavits from the Madera Courthouse for return to the U.S. after traveling to China, e.g. Tung Lin Leong affadavit .   Lin's picture taken at 7½ years old in 1903, in anticipation of the trip, is shown at the left.  However, without income, his estate must have dwindled rapidly, leading to eventual economic hardships and forcing the family to leave the Madera area.  Mrs Chong testified that births of their children were recorded in Madera.   Files containing certificates of birth for the three children on the 1929 China trip (Moy, Lin, Bing) appeared on records establishing fact of birth obtained in the court in the County of Madera.  These birth certificates were filed of record on May 9, 1927.  So perhaps some of their birth records are still available.  The 1890 Madera County census was destroyed by fire. 

The ruins of the Madera County Courthouse after the 1905 Christmas Eve fire can be seen at the below right; however, the records were not burned in the fire since only the roof section burned.

Closed Borden Store for Lack of Business

Mrs. Chong testified the family closed the Yee Chong Store in Borden in for lack of business, saying "there was no business so we closed up".  She did not state the year the store closed, but we presume the store was closed in the late 1880's when the town of Borden went into rapid decline, and Yee Chong ventured into farming.  Lin recalled in her testimony (hearing) that when her father's store closed up the people moved away from Borden to Madera.   The Borden post office was closed in 1906, and merged into the Madera post office.   Lin testified there were other Chinese living in the town of Madera.
 

Arson Attempt on Mrs Yee Chung's Home

In August, 1904, there was an attempted arson by another Chinese on Mrs Yee Chung's house.  Some fiend, with indications that another Chinese was the guilty party, made a dastardly attempt to set fire to Mrs Yee Chung's residence on Saturday night.  Their residence was about four miles from town, in a old building.  She had  been buying fruit in the neighborhood marketplace in competition with several other Chinese, and was unusually successful in her bids.  Its believed that in the spirit of revenge, the other bidding Chinese sought revenge by setting fire to her home to drive her out.  But Sunday morning, one of her boys was sent to grease the windmill, and noticed some papers on lying suspiciously on the roof of the building.  But the paper was too tightly bound though soaked with kerosene, and containing matches and a pint bottle containing coal oil nearby.  It was evidently lighted, but by the time the "fuse" burned down to the paper, it went out before lighting the matches.  The firebug had evidently waited until the family was asleep, and then had gone to the top of the building to set the fire device.  They were very lucky.  [ full story ]
 

Shorty the Slop Man, Befriends Mrs Chung and Gives Food and Money to Marry Moy

After Yee Chung's death, Len Fat, alias Lum Hing, alias Shorty the Slop Man, befriended the family and furnished food and money to the widow, who in turn promised to give the "swill gatherer" little Ah Moy for his wife when she was old enough.  Shorty gathered swill to feed and fatten his hogs, and made much money from his hog business.  According to Len Fat, he gave Mrs. Yee Chung $510 over a period of four years.  But as July 1906 came as Ah Moy grew older and pretty, and he showed up to claim his bride, his dreams were dispelled, when he learned that a rich merchant from Coulterville also sought Ah Moy.  This merchant, Sun Kow, had a manner of dress that did not smell, and offered more money.  He soon learned that Mrs Chung was about to double-cross by negotiating the sale of Ah Moy to wealthy Coulterville merchant Sun Kow for $800.  As she "owed" Len Fat $510, she could obtain $800, and Len Fat could stay with his pigs.  When he heard confirmation from Mrs Chung of the story, Shorty demanded his money back.  The widow grabbed a poker stick and started to strike Shorty and "started to tattoo a dragon on his scalp with it", but Shorty's feet saved him, and he escaped danger.   Mrs. Yee Chung denied Len Fat's allegations, and the matter was resolved by Fresno and Madera Tongs.  full story: [part 1 ][part 2 ][part 3 ][part 4 ]
 

Wealthy Merchant from Coulterville Marries Moy

Their oldest daughter Moy, or Leong Ah Mooey, married Sun Kow in Fresno in December, 1907.  They moved 50 miles away to Coulterville to run the family's Sun Sun Wo Store, which is now a national historical site.  Their store open in 1851, selling American groceries.  Sun Kow had four brothers and two sisters in China.  Dorothy Murray believes that Sun Kow was granted Moy's hand in marriage, since his father had loaned Yee Chong to operate his store in Borden, and was indebted to the family.
 

Mrs Yee Chung Accuses Quong You of Threats to Kill Her

In February of 1910, Mrs Yee Chung accuses a Chinese boy, Quong You, of threatening to kill her.  To keep the peace, he was ordered to pay $2000 to keep the peace, but not being able to give bond, Quong You went to jail.  The hearing was held before Judge Barcroft this afternoon.  Mrs. Yee Chung testified that the boy had threatened to kill her.  She was corroborated by her daughter.  L. Flum was called as a witness on behalf of You.  He testified that he knew nothing of the trouble as You and his mother spoke in Chinese.  "Quong You in Cold Storage," Madera Tribune, February 3, 1910.  [full story ]
 

1910 Census Records Lists Mrs Yee Chong Family in Country near Madera

The 1890 census was destroyed in a fire in Washington D.C., so we can gather no information from that source.  The 1900 census is almost indecipherable at the bottom of each page. [1][2]

However, the Madera County Historian, Bill Coate, did find a Chinese family living in the country near Madera in 1910.  They had six children, four boys and two girls.  From the handwritten records, he thinks he can make out the name of Yee Chung as the head of household, but not positive. The two youngest names of the family are Bing and Long (probably was Bing and Leong Ah Sam).  Look was born in July 1902, after the 1900 census, in agreement with six children in 1900.   Because of where these people are living, Coate strongly believes this to be our family.  This damaged report does say that the husband and wife had been married 13 years. This of course mean that they were married in 1887 (in agreement with 1929 testimony).

The 1910 census leaves no doubt that we have found our family.   The Head of Household was then S. Chong (female), who was 40 years of age and came to the United States in 1883. She is a widow. The census shows that she gave birth to seven children, all of whom were living in 1910.  Living with her in Madera are Quan You, Quan Chew, Ah Lin, and Look. Only Ah Moy, Ah Sam, and Ah Bing are missing.  The two younger boys might be up in Coulterville with their sister.  Ron Chong suggests maybe it was during summer vacation when the census was taken; otherwise, Sam and Bing would have been in Madera/Borden.
 
 

School Friends of the Yee Chung Children

Name Age 
1898		 Birth Description Occupation Precinct P.O. Refer. Notes
Return Roberts 55 Wisconson 5-8 3/4, light, gray, light Banker Madera 3 Madera   possible wealthy land owner
William Conner 32 Pennsylvania 5-7 3/4, dark, dark, dark Teacher Eastin Madera Lin, Bing  
Lola May Dodd 7           Lin father Millard Franklin Dyer
mother Mary Lee Dodd;
William Footman 33 England 5-10 dark, blue, dark Farmer Raymond Raymond   Nat.1894. May 3, Madera
(child)  Footman 8       Raymond   Moy father Arthur Edwin Footman;
mother Elizabeth Dovey
Hazel Osborn 5 CA 5-8 light, gray, dark (John) Farmer's daughter Madera 3 Madera   parents John & Sarah Osborn
William Rowe 38 England 5-7 1/2 light, blue, light Butcher Madera 2 Madera   Nat. 1896, Jan 27, Madera, CA.
Willie Rowe Jr 0       Louisa   Bing father William Harris Row;
mother Louie Seal
Ruby Ellen Russell 4  CA         Tai father Allen Jerome;Russell;
mother Floris Belle Briggs
William Whitehead 22 Mississippi 5-6 dark, brown, dark Farmer Madera 2 Madera    

Howard School.    Howard School school is shown at left and founded in 1892, northwest of Borden.   The original Howard School is still standing, on a ranch southwest of Madera.  It has been converted into an apartment.  The original country school was replaced by the second Howard School at Avenue 14 and Road 24¾, which nows serves as a quaint and classy Old School Restaurant.  The present Howard school is  at Avenue 14 and Road 21½.

All the children but Quon You (Lee) attended the one-room Howard School.  The 1904-05 Howard School Register (color) shows the children first attended Howard School in November 1904.   Quon Jue, Ah Lin, Ah Moy and Quon Sam are listed.  The 1904 class picture was taken of the 1903-04 graduating class, explaining why none of the Yee Chung children were in the picture.  If one studies the older children names in the back row, five of the seven are not registered for the 1904-05 class, and thus had moved on to Madera High.   However, some of the children pictured were named in the 1929 testimonies by Ah Lin and Ah Moy.   In fall 1906, Quon Bing is listed for the first time; but Ah Moy is no longer on the rolls, having gotten married.  Each name is suffixed by the name of their father, i.e. "Ah Lin Ye Chung" , "Quon Bing Ye Chung," etc.  Mrs. Ye Chung is listed as the parent.  The Howard School 1907-08 register says they moved to Alpha School on November 7, 1907.

Shown below is the Howard School graduating  class in June, 1907.   Quon Jue (14) is left-most in middle row, Quon Bing (7) at far-right in front row.  There were 29 students registered for the 1906-07 school year, of which 22 were still registered in April, 1907.  Twenty students are shown in the picture.  Ah Lin (12) does not appear, and Ah Moy (16) had already left school to get married.  The teacher is Mrs B H Wren.

Donald Leong remembers hearing a story that after grandpa Chong died, that the undertaker/coroner reported that "there were all these kids that were not in school."  So that's why they started going to school at Howard.  From school registers, it was true that Ah Moy (14), Ah Lin (9), and Quon Sam (6) attended 1st grade at Howard School in Sept 1904, while Quon Jue (11) 2nd grade.  Perhaps in 1904, coroner Jay had encouraged grandma Chong to send all her kids to school, two years after their father's death.  In her 1929 testimony, grandma Chong that ALL her children went to school in Madera, meaning that Quon You must have attended school during the 1890's; his neat handwriting style is indicative of formal school.    And since Quon Jue started Howard School in 2nd grade while his sisters started in 1st in 1904, Quon Jue must have attended 1st grade at another school.

Its interesting to note that Yee Chung's children were the only Chinese children in Borden, in which there were only two Chinese families, Yee Chung and Man Wah.  The census showed a very large number of Chinese laborers and workers in Madera county.  Thus, nearly all the Chinese men were bachelors, and the family was lucky Yee Chung decided to go to San Francisco for wife, or his descendants would not be here today.  Other Chinese women in town served the men.

Howard School covered 1st through 8th grade.  After that, students had to pass a county exam to be promoted to Madera High School.  Note that five of the seven children in the 1904 Howard class picture were not listed in the 1904-05 school register.  Hence, this picture was taken for the 1903-04 Howard class, just prior to the Chong children attending Howard.   Howard School is proud of the fact that the original Howard country school allowed five of the Yee Chung's children to integrate with the white students, rather than discriminating.

Teacher's Public School Register, Howard School District
School year Date Name Age Grade teacher notes







1904-05 Sept 12, 1904 Quon Jue 11 2nd Mr Conner first entry
    " Quon Sam 5 -   "   "
    " Ah Moy 14 1st   "   "
    " Ah Lin 9 1st   "   "
  May 1, 1905 Quon Jue 11 2nd   " Promoted to 3rd
    " Ah Moy 14 1st   " Promoted to 2rd
    " Ah Lin 10 1st   " Promoted to 2rd
    " Quon Sam 6 1st   " (not promoted)
1905-06 June 1, 1906 Quon Jue 12 3rd Ida Bailey Promoted to 4th
    " Ah Moy 15 2nd   " Promoted to 3rd
    " Ah Lin 11 2nd   " Promoted to 3rd
    " Quon Sam  7 1st   " (not promoted)
1906-07 June 30, 1907 Quon Jue 13 4th BWH conditioned in Reading
    " Ah Lin 12 3rd   " Promoted to 4th
    " Quon Sam 8 dropped   " Left Dec 21, 1906
    " Quon Bing 7 1st   " (not promoted)
    " Ah Moy 16 dropped - (not listed)
1907-08 Oct 15, 1907 Quon Jue 13 5th Maud Bowman added October
  Nov 7, 1907 Quon Bing 8 2nd   " moved to Alpha School
    " Ah Lin 12 4th   " moved to Alpha School

Notes:

- The names of other Howard School teachers and children match up with the names provided in the 1929 testimonies.
- Quon Jue started 2nd grade in Sept 12,, 1904, and 5th in fall 1907
- Ah Lin ahd Ah Moy both started 1st graade on Sept 12, 1904
- Ah Moy was promoted to 3rd grade beforre departing school.
- Ah Lin proceeded to 4th grade at Howarrd.
- Quon Sam did not get promoted to 2nd ttwice; the following December 1906 he left school at 8, not returning in 1907.
- Quon Bing started 1st grade in fall 19906 at just under 7
- The children moved to Alpha School on Nov 7, 1907, before moving to SF in 1910.
- Report off Alpha School, November 1907, Madera Mercury.
Moy testified in 1929 they attended the Howell country school, but the Howell school never existed.  She really meant the Howard School.  They were the only Chinese children in Borden; hence, all their classmates were white, as were their teachers.  Bing attended school for two or three years in Borden, several years in San Francisco, and six years in Sacramento.  Youngest son Look (Leong Quan Look or Leong Ah Look) had attended just one year in Borden before the family moved.  Lin (Tung Lin Leong or Leong Ah Lin) recalls fellow pupils Florence Thomas, Lola Dodd, Helen Footman, and Willie Rowe.  The first teacher she had was Mr. Conner and Miss Bailey and Miss Bowman and Mrs. Rann and Mrs Waters.  Moy's first teachers was a man teacher, Mr. Conner, and next Bailey.  Helen Footman and her sister Bertha, a girl named Helen Whitehead also attend with Moy.  Bing recalled one boy from his school, Willie Rowe.  Bing's teacher were Mrs Wren, a man teacher, and Mr. Conner or Mr. Bailey.  Mrs Chong said a girl named Ruby used to play with her daughters.  On the other hand, Look did not attend Madera schools prior to the family moving to San Francisco in 1910.

9/05/01.  There can now be no doubt that some of the children of Yee Chong and his wife attended the Howard School. In her 1929 testimony, Ah Moy stated that she had only two teachers at the Howell (Howard) School.  Mr. Conner and I. Bailey. The school records indicate that Mr. Conner was the teacher at Howard School during the 1904-05 school year.  Miss Ida Bailey was the teacher there in 1905-06.  Further, Ah Moy states that three of her classmates were Helen Footman, Bertha Footman and Helen Whitehead.  This school record shows that Helen Whitehead, Hilda Footman, and Bertha Footman were indeed students at Howard School during the 1904-05 school year.  Unfortunately, no Chinese students are listed in the 1904-05 records at the County Office of Education.  Bill Coate

9/12/01.  Mr. Chong,  We have complete school registers from 1898 to present.  Yearbooks and pictures are a "hit and miss" proposition, though.  The earliest register in which your ancesters appear is the 1904-05 register.   Both Sam and Jue appear with the last name "Quon"; however, parent listed is last name "Chung".  Also, "Ah Lin" and "Ah Moy" also appear in the same register.  Howard School would be glad to assist you further in any way we can!  Sincerely yours, Darrell Yates, Principal / Howard School.

Prior to the 1904-05 school year, Lee and Jue must have attended another school closer to the Dorn ranches.  The 1891 Great Atlas of Fresno County shows the original Alpha country school located very close to a group Dorn ranch properties near Road 25 and Avenue 10½, so Quon You (Lee) probably attended Alpha School, located about 0.3 to 0.5 miles north of the closest Dorn properties.  One other Dorn property was a few miles NE of these ranches, above Avenue 13, between Road 24 and 25.  However, the original Alpha country school records have not been found.  We know Lee attended school, since both Mrs Chong and Lin testified that all her children attended school in Madera, and Lee had a very neat handwriting style like one would learn from formal schooling.  The original Alpha country school was located at the north-east corner of Avenue 11 and Road 25.

Yee Chung died in 1902 while living on the D. S. Dorn ranch.  The family moved to the Emma Ranch in Madera prior to starting Howard School in September, 1904.  On November 7, 1907. the children transferred to the Alpha School, perhaps when they moved to the Roberts Ranch.  If this was a ranch owned by  Return Roberts , a prominent banker in Madera, who in 1891 is shown owning a ranch just west of Madera.  A more recent revelation in July 2002 discovered there was a farmer with last name Roberts, with a daughter with first name Emma.  Perhaps the Roberts and Emma ranch was the Emma Roberts ranch.  The other school for Borden children was the Arcola School, a country school located 2½ miles further to the east of the Alpha country school. The Alpha school registers were investigated, now the Eastin-Arcola School, but has school registers back to only 1907.   The country schools were generally located about 3 miles apart, so that the children would not have to walk excessive distances to school.  The principal of Madera High, Ron Pisk, informed on 9/17/01 that they have yearbooks, records, or student lists as far back as 1912.   Madera High School opened in 1894.  

Map locating Alpha and Arcola country schools, and Dorn ranches.
1890 Madera-Borden Overview
Madera West_Ranches_1890_map
Borden_SouthWest_1890_map [full]
Borden_South_1890_map   Paper Sons

Although the 1906 earthquake was disastrous for San Francisco, the devastation yielded a positive benefit to the Chinese.  Because the fires destroyed nearly all official  birth records, many Chinese were able to claim citizenship by saying they had been born in San Francisco.  Thus, they were free to send for their children in China, since all children of United States citizens were given automatic citizenship, regardless of their birthplace.  Chinese immigrants would report sons in China, who would request entry to the U.S. as offspring of the citizens.  These requests created "slots" that could be sold through brokers, or to other family members or villagers.  A handbook would be created for these slots, describing the family trees, village layouts, neighbors, schools.  The immigrants would be called "paper sons".

 Continued

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