Chinese-American Genealogy
Websites for Chinese-American Genealogy and History
Ancestors in the Americas
Companion website to a PBS series focusing on the Chinese immigration experience in the U.S.
The Asians in America Project - Chinese Directory
The goal of the web-based Asians in America Project is "to be a central source of information for all things of interest to people of Asian Pacific descent living in the United States." The Chinese section of the site's online directory includes links to a wide range of organizations encompassing a variety of interests (historical, political, etc.)
Becoming American: The Chinese Experience
Companion website to a Bill Moyers Special on Chinese-Americans. Includes personal stories contributed by individual Americans of Chinese descent.
The Chinese American Experience: 1857-1892
From Harper's Weekly's Explore History site. This page explores Chinese-American history through extracts from Harper's Weekly dating back to 1857.
Chinese American Museum
Based in downtown Los Angeles, the Chinese American Museum recently launched a Family History Scrapbook Program.
Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco
Among its many activities, the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco runs an annual In Search of Roots program, involving a year-long commitment to researching one's Chinese-American family history and genealogy. The program culminates in a root-seeking trip to China.
Chinese Historical and Cultural Project
Based in Santa Clara County, California, the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project is dedicating to promoting and preserving Chinese-American and Chinese history and culture through community outreach activities.
Chinese Historical Society of America
The Society, based in San Francisco, California, is the oldest and largest organization dedicated to the study, documentation and dissemination of Chinese-American history.
Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
The purpose of the Los Angeles-based Society is "to bring together people with an interest in the important history and historical role of Chinese and Chinese Americans in Southern California." Contents of the Society's journal, Gum Saan, are posted on its website. Some articles may contain information about individual Chinese ancestors.
The Chinese in California, 1859-1925
This Library of Congress website illustrates 19th- and early 20th-century immigration to California through thousands of images and pages from primary source materials, including photographs and other illustrations, letters, excerpts from diaries and much more.
Chinese-American Museum of Chicago
The museum is dedicated to promoting exhibitions, education and research relating to Chinese-American culture and history in the midwestern United States.
Chinese-American Contribution to the Transcontinental Railway
This online exhibition developed by the Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum commemorates the vital role of Chinese labourers in constructing the railroad linking the east and west coasts of the United States.
Introduction to the Chinese Exclusion Act Files
Based on a solo show, "Paper Son", written and performed by Chinese-American Byron Yee. Includes examples of immigration documentation relating to two individuals and containing valuable genealogical information.
Museum of Chinese in the Americas
The New York-based Museum, dedicated to reclaiming, preserving, and interpreting the history and culture of the Chinese and their descendants in the Western Hemisphere, is an important repository of archival materials about Chinese life in America.
National Archives and Records Administration
The U.S. federal archives has many records of interest to Chinese-American genealogists. For more information, see Documents & Records for Chinese-American Genealogy.
San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
The Museum's mission is "to collect, preserve and share the Chinese American experience and Chinese history, culture and art to educate the community and visitors."
Photo banner: Detail from VPL Historical Photograph 8838
