Below is the latest letter from an Australian lady searching for info on her great grandfather, Charles Jung Kear, born in Amoy. If you have any info, please let me know and I can have her contact you!
Jan. 9, 2015
Dear Bill,
I have just finished photocopying a lot of material that you might
find fun to read on my long search for information on my great
grandfather, Charles Jung Kear born in Amoy. If nothing else, if you
enjoy reading puzzles, it will give you something to think about. Would you please send me your mailing address so I can post?
This
last trip to China seemed to be difficult. Perhaps because I am now 74
and was traveling with energetic daughter J and partner S. Oh,
and fit husband M.! We did a huge amount of walking. We flew into
Shanghai where we have been a few times and always enjoy, then 8 hrs
rail to Xiamen, followed by a flight to HK and home. I now wish we had
spent a week in Xiamen, particularly after the amazing luck of bumping
into A.F. outside the Presbyterian Church. How lucky was that and
that she spoke English! We had been to the Museum and no one could
speak English and we had just about given up on the whole idea. I was
very despondent. And for A. to tell me that she knew you. I had read
all of your blogs and emailed you previously but assumed you were very
busy. (I worked at M. University for some 30 odd years on and
off). What a pity we could not have met.
I was
overwhelmed when we got to Xiamen. I had read about the village of
600,000 people but found a high rise city of perhaps 3 million? I wanted
a village with colonial houses and streets that I could meander around.
Yes, I know. Dreaming.
We first visited
China in 1983 - Beijing and have been back perhaps 25 times and to
different regions. Even as a kid I was fascinated with everything
oriental without knowing anything about my grandmother's parents.
Whilst gran lived with us for some years, she never ever spoke of her
parents and my mother told me that gran had burnt her birth certificate
at some stage. Being Chinese was not highly thought of in Australia in
those days. My own search such as it was, was when I was about 18 years
old and I went to visit Mudgee, NSW (west of Sydney) where my great
grandparents lived to search records. In those days it was all manual
and not well kept.
It has been only over the
last few years when I put an add in the Sydney Morning Herald looking
for family connections that I met HM and M Kear - both
younger than me - 2nd cousins, who have also been researching. So now
we are in touch and every now and again, try researching another angle.
The puzzle is only Xiamen that we cannot "crack".
It would be wonderful if we could find some relatives/information/
Cheers and many thanks
Sincerely
JC, Australia
Dr. Bill's Amazon eBooks
www.amoymagic.com
Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com
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