A-Files Opening Ceremony and Dedication of the Tom Lantos Research Center

As chief blogger for the California Genealogical Society, I've been to many family history events and reported on lots of genealogy achievements, but none have been as moving and significant as today's A-Files Opening Ceremony and Dedication of the Tom Lantos Research Center at The National Archives at San Francisco.

Jeanie W. Chooey Low

For more than a decade, CGS member Jeanie W. Chooey Low has been a tireless advocate for the Alien Case Files. She and her colleague, Jennie Lew, co-chairs of SONA "Save Our National Archives," a coalition of more than thirty community non-profit and academic organizations and interested individuals, worked closely with the late U.S. Representative Tom Lantos to save the files from scheduled destruction. In early 2008 SONA achieved their two goals:

1. Having the A-files re-designated as records of permanent historic value.
2. Keeping local records at the San Francisco NARA.

In June 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS and the National Archives and Records Administration NARA held a formal joint signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. to "designate as permanent the immigration files created on the millions of aliens residing in the United States in 1944, as well as those arriving since then."

Today, three years later, NARA-SF officially opened over 40,000 of the case files and dedicated its research room to the late Tom Lantos.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier

Taking part in the ceremony was U.S. Representative Jackie Speier, who continued the work of Tom Lantos after his death in early 2008 and her election to his seat. Among the other speakers was CGS member and San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society President Jeremy Frankel.

Commemorative plaque presented to the grandchildren of Tom Lantos.

Other CGS members in attendance were Christine DeVillier, Grant Din, Nancy Peterson, Kay Speaks, Laura Spurrier, and Cath Trindle. Cath has written two reports on the day for the San Mateo Genealogical Society Blog and the California State Genealogical Alliance Blog.

 

Three researchers were the first to view their ancestors' A-files.

What are the A-Files?
The immigration files, known as “Alien Files” (commonly referred to as “A-Files”), were transferred from U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). They are among the first of millions of case files that will eventually be opened to the public.


In 1940, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the predecessor of USCIS, started issuing Alien Registration Numbers to resident aliens in the United States.  On April 1, 1944, INS began to assign these numbers to a new series of immigration case files called A-Files. A-Files are a genealogical wealth of information, containing documents such as photographs, personal correspondence, affidavits, vital records, interview transcripts, and visa applications.

A first look at an A-File.

How can one access A-Files for genealogical research?
A-Files may be viewed in person by appointment or copies may be ordered for a fee. Researchers may contact National Archives staff at AFiles.SanBruno@nara.gov to search A-Files holdings for a particular file. Beginning Tuesday, May 29, 2012, an online database will be available through the National Archives at San Francisco website at http://www.archives.gov/pacific/san-francisco.

The National Archives at San Francisco is one of twenty-two facilities open to the public nationwide where the public can access Federal archival records in person. Its holdings total over 60,000 cubic feet of historical records dating from the 1850s to the 1990s, created by more than 100 Federal agencies and courts in northern and central California, Nevada (except for Clark County), Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and the American Territories. The facility is located at 1000 Commodore Drive, San Bruno, CA 94066. The National Archives at San Francisco is open Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (until 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.) Appointments are strongly encouraged.


Photographs by Kathryn Doyle, San Bruno, California, 5/22/2012.


Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

eNews June 2010, volume 4, number 6

The June 2010 issue of the eNews, volume 4, number 6, has been published and emailed to members and friends. As always, the eNews features timely information about the California Genealogical Society and our upcoming events. Each edition also includes Suggested Links From the Blogosphere and a photo feature: California Ancestors.

This month we honor the the paternal grandmother of member volunteer, Jeanie W. Chooey Low – Grandma Fung – who graces the cover of her book, China Connection: Finding Ancestral Roots For Chinese in America.

Grandma Fung

All past issues of the eNews are available for viewing at the eNews ARCHIVE. The July 2010 issue will be emailed on June 30, 2010. To receive a copy, please join our mailing list.

Copyright © 2010 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Wordless Wednesday

Ethnic Genealogy Series: Chinese Ancestry Workshop I

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Christine DeVillier , Marisa Louie,  Jeanie Low and Kay Speaks

Photographs by Tim Cox and Kathryn Doyle, Oakland, California.

Copyright © 2010 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Ethnic Genealogy Series: Chinese Ancestry - A Workshop in Two Sessions

The California Genealogical Society and Library, in partnership with the National Archives and Records Administration - San Francisco, presents a FREE two-part workshop on researching Chinese ancestry. Members Christine DeVillier, Jeanie Low and Kay Speaks will share their experience and the knowledge gained researching their own Chinese ancestors.  The classes are open to all levels of experience – Chinese language skills are not necessary. Attendance at both sessions is required. 

Session I - Saturday April 17, 2010
10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
California Genealogical Society Library, 2201 Broadway, Suite LL2, Oakland, CA.

Program:
10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.  Chinese Research Timeline in the U.S. from 1849 to the present – Jeanie Low presents an examination of immigration laws and migration patterns and their effect on Chinese families.

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.  Resources in the The National Archives and Records Collection Pertaining to Chinese Research – Marisa Louie, NARA Archivist.

12:00 p.m. -   1:00 p.m.  Brown bag lunch and informal discussion.

1:00 p.m. -   2:00 p.m.  Obtaining Records: Your Toolbox – Christine DeVillier reviews: interview and research techniques, using photos and artifacts, online resources, how to use headstones, passengers lists, birth and death records, census records, family associations and more.

2:00 p.m. -   3:30 p.m.  Case Studies and Research – Kay Speaks.


Session II - Saturday, May 8, 2010
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
National Archives, San Francisco Pacific Region, 1000 Commodore Drive, San Bruno, CA.

Research day at NARA with access to the Angel Island Immigration Station case files. Only those who attend the April 17, 2010, workshop will be admitted to the archives.

Please note:

• Workshop is limited to twenty.
• FREE with advanced registration.
• No walk-ins allowed.
• Handouts will be emailed in advance. Please bring your own printed copy and help us cut costs.

Update 3/12/10:

The Chinese Ancestry Workshop is now full. A waiting list has been started for a future class. Add your name at the online registration form. 

Tune In or Call In To Forum KQED 88.5 FM for Genealogy 101

The California Genealogical Society is honored to have three members appear this morning as guests on the popular live radio call-in program, Forum with Michael Krasny on KQED 88.5 FM at 10:00 a.m. Krasny is on vacation so they will be guests of substitute host Scott Shafer for an hour entitled Genealogy 101.

The study of genealogy is increasingly popular, with hundreds of web sites and research organizations devoted to tracing and recording the history of our ancestors. We talk with several local genealogists about the reasons people get involved, and get tips on conducting research.

I'm not sure if the show had a last minute cancellation, but this all transpired in the last forty-eight hours after the library fielded a call from KQED on Tuesday. I had a nice conversation with their intern, Mariah Dickerson, about our favorite subject and I recommended several members who are experts in their gen-area and are excellent speakers. I'm thrilled to announce that Jane Knowles Lindsey, Jeanie Low and Craig Manson will be taking part. Jane and Jeanie will be in the studio and Craig will be calling in during the hour. Judith Berlowitz is another scheduled guest.

You can listen live or a podcast will be available at the website after the broadcast.

Annual Business Meeting - January 9, 2010

The Annual Business Meeting of the California Genealogical Society will be held on Saturday, January 9, 2010, at 1:00 p.m., at the CGS Library, 2201 Broadway at 22nd, Suite LL2, Oakland. Please join Jane Knowles Lindsey who will be making her last report as president of the society.

The agenda includes brief committee reports, approval of the society budget, the annual election of new board members and a brief review of 2009. Jane will present details of the upcoming programs in 2010.

Two members have been asked to make brief presentations about their interesting genealogical projects. Jeanie W. Chooey Low will discuss her advocacy work on the Alien immigration case files known as the "A-Files." Kathy Beals will describe her writing project about the early settlers of several New Hampshire towns.

The annual meeting is always well-attended so arrive early to get a seat. Light refreshments will be served at 12:30 p.m., before the meeting begins.

A-Files Update

On Wednesday, June 3, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS and the National Archives and Records Administration NARA held a formal joint signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. to "designate as permanent the immigration files created on the millions of aliens residing in the United States in 1944, as well as those arriving since then." The NARA press lease described the significance:

These Alien Case Files (commonly referred to as A-Files) document the famous, the infamous, the anonymous and the well-known, and are an historical and genealogical goldmine. The new agreement authorizes the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services/Department of Homeland Security to send A-files to the National Archives when 100 years have passed since the birthdate of the subject of a file. The National Archives expects to receive the first transfer of A-files later this year, and will store the files at National Archives facilities in San Francisco and Kansas City. Researchers will be able to access the files at these two sites, or request copies of files. An index will be available to support research use.

CGS member Jeanie W. Chooey Low has been a tireless advocate for the A-Files and active member of "Save Our National Archives" SONA, an ad hoc group formed in 1998 when the Regional NARA were threatened with closure. Jeanie was concerned that the recent publicity, including the USA Today article, made no mention of SONA's ten years of advocacy nor the major contribution of the late Congressman Tom Lantos, California. She sent this:

After ten years of SONA (Save OUR National Archives) advocating to the USCIS and NARA to schedule the accessioning of the Alien Files (A-Files), those two agencies now have an agreement to transfer custody of these invaluable immigration case files from USCIS to NARA. Then too, a major victory was gained by the NARA agreeing that for all time the Alien-Files in the Pacific Region would be allowed to remain at the NARA Leo Ryan Building in San Bruno, CA.

It is the only part of the A-Files in the nation to have "escaped" consolidation to Missouri, and instead be retained as a permanent collection of the Pacific Region National Archives as a local Bay Area treasure.

ACCESSIONING of the ALIEN FILES
Under the Alien Registration Act of 1940, all aliens in the United States were required to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (now known as the USCIS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service). The Alien Registration Files (A-files) are the detailed evidentiary records collected for each of these registered individuals. The contents within these files may include photographs, birth and marriage certificates, visas, employment records, transcripts of testimony, personal artifacts, and other important biographical and historical information.

Although the A-files were first started in the 1940s, some of the A-files contain much older information that was collected and consolidated from earlier entries back and forth through ports of entry into America. For example, the immigration records (e.g. like those from the Chinese Exclusion Act era) that are currently available for public research and viewing at NARA, San Bruno (known as Record Group 85 case files) go as far back as the late 1800s.

The A-files stored at San Bruno are a valuable collection of historic immigration records from the Port of San Francisco, Honolulu, Nevada and Northwest. These A-files not only include records of Chinese immigrants during the Chinese Exclusion period, but also records of such people as German, Italian, and Japanese WW II alien internees; Holocaust survivors; Filipino Freedom Fighters; WWII “war brides”; immigrants from many different regions of Eastern Europe and the Pacific Islands.

In 1998, USCIS began consolidating all of its A-files at a non-research NARA facility in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. At that time a group of educational institutions, researchers, history and genealogical organizations, non-profit organizations, and individuals got together to form SONA (Save OUR National Archives). Their original goal was to prevent the closure of local NARA facilities but it was transformed into a coalition to make sure that the non-current A-files are transferred from the authority of USCIS to NARA so that they can be permanently preserved and made accessible to the public by database. 

For the past 10 years, SONA, under the leadership of former Congressman Tom Lantos (previously representing San Mateo) and others, were able to demand the A-files be stored at San Bruno and never move to Lee’s Summit. Indeed, USCIS has admitted the Pacific Region A-Files are the “lone exception” being the only A-Files that have not been moved to Missouri. However, since the A-files are still under the authority of USCIS, they are not viewable without submission of a formal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and are subject to possible censure to protect the privacy and/or government sensitivities as determined by USCIS officials.

What is so significant about the accessioning of the A-Files from USCIS to NARA is to make them part of the nation's permanent historic records and guarantee their availability to the public for all time. Government documents are not automatically preserved.

When a government agency such as USCIS normally retires its older documents, NARA must evaluate these records for their historical value before they can be considered for inclusion in NARA’s permanent collection. Approximately 98% of all the records produced by our national government are not preserved by NARA and the A-files were among those originally designated for destruction.

Thus, after 10 years of constant community clamor and support from a wide range of organizations as diverse and far as Australia, the two agencies have finally come to an agreement for the Alien Files to transfer from USCIS to NARA for protection and preservation for future generations of scholars, researchers and family genealogists of many nationalities.

Chinese Research - El Cerrito Library - 1/22/09

CGS member Jeanie Low, author of China Connection: Finding Ancestral Roots for Chinese in America will present a one hour program on Chinese Genealogical Research at the El Cerrito Library on Thursday, January 22 at 7:00 p.m. The library is located at 6510 Stockton Ave, El Cerrito, California, a branch of the Contra Costa County Library system. The telephone number is (510) 526-7512. There will be time at the end of the program for questions and answers.

Ms. Low's research specialty is Chinese American research from the 1850's to the present. She has expertise in such topics as the Chinese Exclusion Acts, confession and amnesty, 20th century Alien A-Files for all ethnic groups, basic genealogical research and finding the ancestral village. Her transparencies encompass a sampling of gravestone translation, immigration and naturalization case files and family artifacts that will inspire anyone to begin, continue, to verify and piece together their family stories.

Since 1992, Jeanie has spoken to audiences at public libraries, the Oakland Museum, Chinese Historical Society of America, and at conferences sponsored by National Genealogical Society, California State Genealogical Alliance and the National Archives and Records Administration.

Born in San Francisco, Ms. Low is the child of immigrants who entered the U.S. through the Angel Island Immigration Station. She is a graduate of San Francisco State University, with a major in Chinese Studies. She engages her audiences with humor and historical context.

Angel Island Foundation Dinner - September 12, 2008

CGS member Jeanie W. Chooey Low sent this announcement:

There's still time to get your tickets to the The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation Annual Fundraising Dinner held next Friday, September 12, 2008 at the Westin San Francisco Market Street, 50 Third Street, San Francisco. Tickets are $200 and proceeds go to continuing the Foundation's efforts to inform the public about the rich history of the Immigration Station and its implications today.

The keynote speaker is Dr. Erika Lee, co-author of Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America with Judy Yung. The book is due out in 2010, but you will get a preview of the new stories emerging from their studies of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian immigrants, who passed through Angel Island between 1910 and 1940.

Pianist/composer Jon Jang will perform Prologue to Angel Voices, a series of musical compositions inspired by new translations of the Chinese poems carved on the Detention Barrack walls, Japanese poems written about the Angel Island experience, and excerpts from a Russian immigrant's letters about his stay on the island.

Come learn about the upcoming reopening of the Immigration Station on February 15, 2009. To buy tickets, email your contact information to info@aiisf.org or call Julie at 415-262-4429.

From the The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation Web site:

The immigration experience is a common thread binding the histories of most Americans. Whether escaping persecution, poverty or lack of economic prospects, immigrants have come to the United States for the ideals it represents — freedom, democracy, and opportunity. Most Americans know the story of Ellis Island, where immigrants crossing the Atlantic Ocean were processed. But the story of its West Coast counterpart, Angel Island, is little-known.

Located in the middle of San Francisco Bay, Angel Island Immigration Station was routinely the first stop for immigrants crossing the Pacific Ocean. The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF) is the nonprofit partner of California State Parks and the National Park Service in the effort to preserve, restore and interpret the historic immigration station.

Chinese-American Research

The January/Februay 2008 issue of Ancestry Magazine is a "special research edition" featuring twelve genealogy "superheroes" who have expertise in ethnic research including: German, French-Canadian, African-American, Italian, Chinese, Polish, Scots-Irish, Native-American, Mexican, Slovak, Scandinavian and Dutch. Each of the specialists had 600 words to answer a case-study research question pertinent to their area. CGS member, Jeanie W. Chooey Low, is the featured author of "From East to West: Researching Chinese Ancestry" on pages 28-29 of the magazine.

Low, a second generation Chinese-American and a native San Franciscan, wrote China Connection: Finding Ancestral Roots for Chinese in America, a compact guide for those interested in doing Chinese family research in the United States. She is bilingual and holds degrees in Library Technology and Chinese Studies and has presented workshops at conferences for the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Genealogical Society, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the Chinese Historical Society of America and San Francisco State University's Asian American Studies Department.

Ms. Low has been an active member of "Save Our National Archives" SONA, an ad hoc group formed in 1998 when the Regional NARA were threatened with closure. The group has spent ten years advocating for the preservation of the California Alien Files (A-Files) and Jeanie reports that their efforts were successful thanks to the support of Congressman Tom Lantos. Approximately one million Alien case files, which can each contain up to 100 pages of precious family documents, will be preserved and become available for research.

In addition to advocacy work, lecturing and research, Jeanie is also an award-winning quilt artist. She has developed her own techniques and finds that quilting allows for another avenue to express her love of family history. Pictured is one of her quilts which contains four generations of family photographs.

Jeanie accepts clients interested in her expertise in Chinese-American genealogy or in 20th century immigration research for any ethnicity. She can be reached by email at wongyen@comcast.net or by snail mail to: J.W.C. Low Company, Post Office Box 472012, San Francisco, California 94147.