Yee Family History
The Yee family were one of the first families to arrive at Ventura's Chinatown, and this brief history will bring us through the first three generations of the family in California.
This digital exhibit will give a preview of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California's rich collection of both digital and physical assets related to the Yee family, including interviews from the Southern California Oral History Project with Nellie Chung and her son Arthur Chung from 1979, and original photographs donated by Marie Louie to the archives.
Charlie Yee Hay & Chan Shee
The story begins with Charlie Yee Hay, who emmigrated to the US from China in approximately 1865, with his wife Chan Shee arriving shortly afterward. Chan Shee spoke no English and Yee Hay very little. In the US, they gave birth to Emily, George, Nellie, and William and adopted a girl named Eva.
The family arrived in Ventura as a trio in 1881 with Emily and are the earliest documented family in Ventura's Chinatown. Since there were no other children in Chinatown at the time, they go to the beach to fish and play in the sand as the family grew. Although they did not attend public school, they were taught English by Alma Bradley from the Congregational Mission.
The children were referred to by their Chinese names: Emily and Nellie were referred to "oldest girl" and "youngest girl" respectively; George was referred to as "Ah Gow" (dog) and William as "Ah Gee" (pig), following the tradition where boys were given insiginficant names to confuse the spirits (Hidden Lives).
Yee Hay's cousin taught him to cook Western dishes and he became a cook for wheat harvesters, but he was also a carpenter and made tables and chairs according to Nellie. At one time, Yee Hay held the keys to the fire truck in Ventura's Chinatown and was responsible for responding to fires, which were extremely dangerous because the buildings were all wooden and burned quickly.
Nellie recalls her mother Chan Shee in her last days as "ill in mind and body" and remembered brewing medicine "for pain of the heart and bones"
"She hurt all over. She lay like that on the bed. Later I remember her saying, 'I've been lying down til my bones ache. Next I'll go outside and sit.' She sat for several days, and then walked back inside." - Nellie, 1979
Chan Shee passed away in 1895. Nellie's daughters Marie and Lillian believe the grave site was lost when a road was widened near the cemetery.
Yee Hay passed away in 1916 and was buried in the potter's cemetery in Los Angeles, where Nellie and William took flowers to his grave every Memorial Day until the cemetery was paved over in the 1960s.
Emily Yee and Joe Lum
Charlie Yee Hay and Chan Shee's eldest daughter Emily married Joe Lum in 1896 and gave birth to Lillian, Gladys, Phillip, and Andrew. Before moving away, Emily and Joe were neighbors of Nellie and her husband Dr. Chung in Los Angeles. The family lived in San Diego in the late 1920s to 1930s. Joe passed away on Christmas Day of 1940.
Nellie Yee and Y.H. Chung
Yee Hay and Chan Shee's daughter Nellie married Yick Hong Chung, known as simply Y.H. They are said to have met through Uncle Gim, who described Y.H. as a good man—didn't smoke or drink, was "educated and take pulses," meaning he was a doctor. After their marriage in 1910, Nellie gave birth to Lillian, Arthur, Mariam, and Marie.
Y.H. Chung had arrived in the United States in 1900. His sons Sam and Elbert from his late wife eventually arrived in the US as well and assisted Y.H. with his Chinese herb company in Los Angeles. Sam Chang [different spelling] may have learned the traditions of Chinese medicine, but became an asparagus farmer in the San Fernando Valley. Elbert studied medicine at Georgetown University before returning to China, and was back in the US by 1975.
The family spoke Chinese at home so their children would not forget their Chinese background, according to Marie. In her Southern California Oral History interview, Marie recalled Y.H. loving Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd movies and regular visits to Chinatown on Sundays for groceries and Chinese herbs.
Y.H. Chung's Chinese Herb Co.
Y.H. could not practice as a medical doctor in California but he was known as a Chinese doctor. Before receiving a license to sell medicine, there were encounters with policeman who searched the buisness, but enver arreseted anyone.
“Father treated patients first by asking questions. There were small drawers. Each drawer was divided into four parts containing different medicines. Mother actually learned how to weigh the herbs. Sometimes they would brew the herbs in the kitchen while the patients were waiting." - Arthur, 1979
The company was located at 917 S. Hill Street circa 1909 inside of a residential structure which is no longer standing. Y.H. and Nellie's son Arthur and daughter Lillian were born in this house, according to his Southern California Oral History Project interview. Lillian said she would entertain clients when they came in.
In the interview, Lillian and Nellie describe the large stove at 917 on which Auntie Yip Pui prepared medicine: "There were 6 burners. If there was a lot, one burner could be used to cook 3 pots of medicine... After it was cooked, [she] would pour it out and pack it. She'd put a few crackers on a plate," which helped with the bitter taste of the tea.
Marie was born in 1927 at 1322 Hill or 13th Street, another location of the Chinese herb company. Lillian described the home:
"There was a living room, a drugstore, and pulses were also taken in that room. The room inside was where we ate our meals. There was a bedroom. You and Father slept there, Marian, and later when Marie was born, she also slept in that room. There was a kitchen. I remember the bathroom was funny, wasn't it." - Lillian, 1979
In 1937–38, the herb company was located at 4925 S. Broadway, a storefront which appears to still be standing. During this time, the Depression affected business as patients could not afford to see the doctor.
Y.H. also made pills, and the process is described in some detail in Nellie's interview in 1979:
"Honey was boiled and the medicine was ground. Then you hit it with that thing and pour out the powder. There was a very fine sieve. You'd pour out the powder and put it in the pan. Some medicine wasn't sifted and had to be reground. After while, you take it out, resift it and put it with the rest. After sifting, all the power would come out. Then you make pills. You can make a lot and it's convenient. You don't have to brew herbal teas."
Dr. Arthur W. Chung
Yee Hay and Chan Shee's son Arthur was encouraged by Y.H. to learn Chinese and visit China, which Arthur described as "exciting and adventuresome." Arthur wrote home to ask permission to study medicine at Nam Kai University, followed by a transfer to Shanghai Medical School in 1936. He met and married his wife in Shanghai in 1941 before returning to the US.
Arthur attended Harvard Medical School after doing rounds at LA County Hospital, and later worked in pediatrics at White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles and Bellevue Hospital in New York in the mid-to-late 1940s.
Athur published a book entitled Bitter Roots: A Gum Saan Odyssey in 2006 narrating the journey of his family.
Marie Louie
Marie and sister Lillian were involved in the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, and Marie donated many of the images featured here to the archive.
Marie worked at USC library for 15 years after majoring in Sociology in 1949. Marie said she did not feel she felt discrimination in the workplace and enjoyed meeting foreign students and learning about their backgrounds.
References:
- Marie L. Chung, Arthur W. Chung, and Nellie Chung interview transcripts from the Southern California Oral History Project
- Courage and Contribution video created by the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMrLPdF4gcg
- Linda Bentz and William Gow's Hidden Lives: A Century of Chinese American History in Ventura County
- Arthur Chung's Bitter Roots: A Gum Saan Odyssey
- Los Angeles Public Library's Shades of L.A. Collection