Chinese Railroad Workers

Researching Chinese Railroad Workers

Upcoming Events
FamilySearch Chinese Genealogy Workshop 9 & 11 May 2019 For more information, see this article.

Transcontinental Railroad
(see also Central Pacific Railroad) An estimated 30,000 Chinese worked outside of California in such trades as mining, common labor, and service trades. Between 1865-1869, 10,000 -12,000 Chinese were involved in the building of the western leg of the Central Pacific Railroad. The work was backbreaking and highly dangerous. Approximately 1,200 died while building the Transcontinental Railroad. Over a thousand Chinese had their bones shipped back to China to be buried. See the article "China Burial Traditions" in this outline.

As time passed, the resentment against the Chinese increased from those who could not compete with them in the workforce. Acts of violence against the Chinese continued for decades, mostly from white urban and agricultural workers. . Mob violence steadily increased against the Chinese until even employers were at risk. Eventually, laws such as the Naturalization Act of 1870 and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 restricted immigration of Chinese immigrants into the United States.

See the article China Emigration and Immigration for more information.

Articles Written in Chinese

 * American Railway Chinese Workers' Tears, the First Transcontinental Railroad (美國鐵路華工血淚第一條橫貫大陸鐵路) - brief summary of Chinese involvement in building the railroad, as well as mention of those buried in the Changquing Cemetery.
 * The Remembered Pacific Railway, the Forgotten Chinese History (被铭记的太平洋铁路，被遗忘的华人历史) - commentary on existing photos of Chinese railway workers.

Articles Written in English

 * Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project at Stanford University (史丹福大學北美鐵路華工研究工程網址) - main site for the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project, giving a voice to those Chinese who worked on building the transcontinental railroad.
 * Chinese immigrants helped build California, but they’ve been written out of its history - commentary of the lack of historical narrative or reference to Chinese railway workers.

Videos

 * Hung Lai Woh - Chinese railroad worker - Russell Low tells how his family discovered the story of his great grandfather Hung Lai Woh, who worked on the US first Transcontinental railroad.
 * Building the Transcontinental Railroad - discusses the Transcontinental Railroad from the perspective of a young girl whose father was a Chinese Laborer.
 * C-SPAN Cities Tour - Ogden: Promontory Summit & the Transcontinental Railroad - offers great history on the railroad focusing on Chinese’ contribution and the impact to the economy.
 * Chinese and the Iron Road: Building the Transcontinental - "The Chinese and the Iron Road: Building the Transcontinental" is a traveling exhibit that was produced by the Chinese Historical Society of America and the Chinese Railroad Workers Project at Stanford University. The exhibit tells the undocumented story of thousands of Chinese migrants, who played an instrumental role in the construction of the nation’s first transcontinental railway in the 1860s. It was on display From January 5 - February 29, 2016 in Geisel Library on the University of California, San Diego campus.
 * Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial - descendants of the railroad workers commented on their ancestors’ contributions and the recent memorial project to be completed in Fall of 2019.
 * Chinese & Nevada Railroads - Part 1 and Part 2 - detailing major contributions made by the Chinese who came to the American West in the 19th century to build the Central Pacific Railroad, emphasizing Verdi, Nevada, the site of a Chinese lumber camp excavation.
 * Transcontinental Railroad and the American West - discusses race to build the world's first transcontinental railroad, paving the way for white settlers at the expense of Native American populations.
 * AP US History Documentary: The First Transcontinental Railroad - overview of the history of the transcontinental railroad.
 * How The Transcontinental Railroad Was Built - discusses the design and process of constructing the transcontinental railroad.
 * Standford University's Railway Exhibition (史丹福華工與鐵路展) - exhibit of photography along the railway, showing the difference between the past and present.
 * Museum of Chinese in America Shows a Little-Known History - highlights a museum dedicated to the story of Chinese in America.
 * VIDEO: Chinese railroad workers and the CPR - examinesthe history of Chinese laborers on Canada’s first megaproject, the Canadian Pacific Railroad, which brought new economic and transportation possibilities to a young nation, but at a severe human cost, including sickness, malnutrition, and shunning by society.
 * Footprint Season 1 07 Railway Chinese workers (足跡 第一季 07 鐵路華工) - includes interviews with the first American Chinese Judge from Utah.

California Gold Rush
Large-scale immigration began in the mid-1800s due to the California Gold Rush. After a much larger group of coolies (unskilled laborers who usually worked for very little pay) migrated to the United States in this time frame, American attitudes became more negative and hostile. By 1851, there were 25,000 Chinese working in California, mostly centered in and out of the "Gold Rush" area and around San Francisco. More than half the Chinese population in the United States lived in that region.

These Chinese clustered into groups, working hard and living frugally. As the populations of these groups increased, they formed large cities of ethnic enclaves called "Chinatowns." The first and most important of the Chinatowns belonged to San Francisco. If researching Chinese who immigrated to the United States in the mid-1850s, this would be a place to begin the search.

Occupations can also direct a search for Chinese immigrants. The Chinese did not only mine for gold, but took on jobs such as cooks, peddlers, and storekeepers. In the first decade after the discovery of gold, many had taken jobs nobody else wanted. By 1880, one fifth of the Chinese immigrants were engaged in mining, another fifth in agriculture, a seventh in manufacturing, another seventh were domestic servants, and a tenth were laundry workers.

Articles Written in Chinese

 * California Gold Rush (加利福尼亞淘金潮) - partial article summarizing different aspects of the California Gold Rush.

See the article China Emigration and Immigration for more information.

Research Information

 * Chinese Railroad Workers
 * Researching Old Railroads and Railway Records - article listing societies, archives, databases, etc. useful in researching in old railroad records

Collections

 * 1848-1855 Chinese and the early settlement of San Francisco at FamilySearch Historical Records — click on the camera icon to access images
 * 1849-1870 Extracts from San Francisco Newspapers, 1849-1870 at FamilySearch Historical Records — click on the camera icon to access images
 * 1852, 1860, 1870, 1880 Censuses of California, 1852, 1860, 1870, 1880 : Chinese names in census rolls at FamilySearch Historical Records — click on the camera icon to access images
 * 1870 1870 census, Tulare County, California : alphabetized, minimal listing with an enumeration of the Chinese population at the FamilySearch Catalog — book and microfilm
 * 1882-1888 Registers of Chinese laborers returning to the U.S. through the port of San Francisco, 1882-1888 : NARA RG85 publication M1413 at FamilySearch Historical Records — click on the camera icon to access images
 * 1883-1924 California, San Francisco, Register of Chinese Immigrant Court Cases and Foreign Seamen Tax Cards, 1883-1924 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images
 * 1893-1907, 1912-1943 Partnership lists of Chinese firms in San Francisco, California, and nationwide, 1893-1907; and index of Chinese departing from San Francisco, California, 1912-1943 at FamilySearch Historical Records — click on the camera icon to access images
 * 1893-1943 California, Chinese Partnerships and Departures from San Francisco, 1893-1943 at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
 * 1905-1923 California, San Diego, Chinese Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905-1923 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images
 * 1908-1943 Chinese immigration certificate of identity, California, 1908-1943 : NARA, RG 85 at FamilySearch Historical Records — click on the camera icon to access images
 * Escola collection : Chinese, microfilm of ms., typescript, and newspaper clippings collection at the Kelly House Museum, Mendocino, California at the FamilySearch Catalog
 * Chinese in San Francisco Ca. 500 leaves. Carl T. Smith Collection at the FamilySearch Catalog — click on the camera icon to access images
 * Records of the American Missionary Association (Congregational) among the Chinese: principally in California. American Missionary Association. At the FamilySearch Catalog — click on the camera icon to access images

Published Sources

 * Chinese American Voices: from the gold rush to the present. Judy Yung, Gordon Chang, Him Lark Lai, eds. Berkeley, California: University of California, 2006. FHL call number: 973 F2cav. At various libraries(WorldCat)
 * Bury my bones in American: the saga of a Chinese family in California, 1852-1996, from san Francisco to the Sierra gold mines. Lani Ah Tye Farkas. Nevada City, California: Carl Mautz Publishing 1998. FHL call number: 979.4 F 2far. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * A history of Chinese Labor. Patricia Mary Ochs. San Luis Obispo, Calif.: San Luis Obispo Historical Society, 1970. FHL Digital images. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * ''Chinese American family history and genealogy: [papers presented at the 1989 conference held in San Francisco, California, 28 October 1989] [San Francisco, California: s.n., 1989?]. FHL call number: 973 F2chi. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * California’s Chinese heritage: a legacy of places. By Thomas A. McDannold. Stockton, California: Heritage West Books, 2000. FHL call number: 979.4 H2mt. At various libraries(WorldCat)
 * The Chinese in California, a brief bibliographic history. BY Gladys C. Hansen, comp. [Portland, Oregon]: Richard Abel, 1970. FHL call number: 979.4 F2ch. At various libraries(WorldCat)
 * Bitter Strength: a history of the Chinese in the United States, 1850-1980. Gunther Paul Barth. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1964. FHL call number: 973 F2cg. At various libraries(WorldCat)
 * A history of the Chinese in Nevada, 1855-1904.  By Gary P. BeDunnah. San Francisco, California: R & E Research Associates, 1973. FHL call number: 979.3 F2b; Film: 940054 item 3; DGS 7943275. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * The Chinese in Northern California. Barbara Price. Quincy, California: Forest Printing, 1996. FHL call number: 979.4 F2pr. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * A History of the Chinese in California a Syllabus. Thomas W. Chinn, Editor, H. Mark Lia, Pyhilip P. Choy, Associate Editors.  April 19, 1969.  FHL call number: 979.4 F2ct. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * The Golden mountain = 加州中國民間故事 : Chinese tales told in California. Jon Lee collected by, Paul Radin ed. Taipei, Taiwan, The Orient Cultural Service, 1971. FHL call number: 950 H6a v. 13. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * On Gold Mountain: the one-hundred year odyssey of my Chinese-American family. Lisa See. New York: New York Vintage Books, 1995. FHL call number: 929. 273 Se31s. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * Chinese gold: the Chinese in the Monterey Bay Region. Sandy Lydon. Capitola, California: Capitola Book Co., 1985. FHL call number: 979.4 F2Ly. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * The Chinses of Kern County, 1857-1960. William Harland Boyd. Bakersfield, California: Kern County Historical Society, 2002. FHL call number: 979.488 F2b. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * 10,000 miles & 100 years: journey from Jishi Village to Gold Mountain. Raymond Tom, M.D. [ 2003?] FHL call number: 929.273 T59t; film number: 1224635 item 5; DGS 7952339 萬里世紀之旅 從奇石村到舊金山 譚士文博士編. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * Nameless Builders of the Transcontinental Railroad: the Chinese Workers of the Central Pacific Railroad. William F. Chew. Victoria, British Columbia: Trafford, 2004. FHL call number: 973 H2cwf. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * The Silent Spikes: Chinese Laborers and the Construction of North American Railroads. rev ed.  Annian Huang. Beijing: China Intercontinental Press, 2017. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * Pacific Crossing. California Gold, Chinese Migration and the Making of Hong Kong. Elizabeth Sinn. Hong Kong : Hong Kong University Press, 2014. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * Ghosts of Gold Mountain. The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad. Gordon Chang. (forthcoming May 2019). Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019. At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * Railroad across the continent : with an account of the Central Pacific railroad of California : a description of the route the progress and character of the work, the organization, resources, and prospects of the company, with the foundation and advantages of the first mortgage bonds. Central Pacific Railroad Company.; Fisk and Hatch (Firm). New York: Brown & Hewitt, printers, 1868. At various libraries(WorldCat).

Occupations
Most Frequently Reported Occupations, 1870 The table below lists the most common occupations among Chinese-Americans as of 1870.

Organizations & Projects
Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project, Stanford University 北美鐵路華工研究工程項目， 史丹福大學 American Studies Program, Stanford University Stanford, California 94305-2022, USA

Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial Project 965 Clay Street San Francisco, CA 94108 Telephone: (415) 391-1188 Email: info@crrwmemorialproject.com

Chinese Railroad Workers Descendants Association 鐵路華工後裔協會 2061 East Rainbow Point Dr. Salt Lake City, Utah 84124 Telephone: *801) 703-3518 Email: mkwan@goldenspike150.org

Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA, in San Francisco) 美國華人歷史學會博物館 965 Clay Street San Francisco, CA 94108 Telephone: (415) 391-1188 x101 Email: info@chsa.org

Chinese American Museum 425 North Los Angeles Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 Telephone: (213) 485-8567 Email: see email list

California State Railroad Museum 125 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814 Telephone: (916) 323-9280 Email: see this link

Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum Email: museum@CPRR.org

History Museum for Overseas Chinese (located in Beijing) 中国华侨历史博物馆 北京 East Gate, Sanqiao, Beixinqiao Dongcheng District, Beijing, China 中国北京东城区北新桥三条东口 Telephone: 86-10-64030790

University of Washington (Professor, Asian American History, Moon-Ho Jung) Department of History University of Washington 318 Smith Box 353560 Seattle, WA 98195-3560 Telephone: (206) 543-5790 Email: histmain@uw.edu

Truckee-Donner Historical Society (Jim Fisher) Mailing Address: P.O. Box 893 Truckee, CA 96160 Telephone: (530) 582-0893 Email: info@truckeehistory.org For additional questions, see this contact list.

Nevada State Railroad Museum Curator (Historian: Wendell Huffman) 2180 S. Carson Street Carson City, NV 89701 Telephone: (775) 687-6953 Email: amichalski@nevadaculture.org


 * Other local communities along the railroad route (see this article for more route information)