Posted by Al Chinn (64.231.79.21) on May 08, 2004 at 23:54:49:
In Reply to: Re: Help w/ surname posted by REXIE AIRES on May 07, 2004 at 12:59:49:
I believe your grandfather came to the US from the former Siyi area of Guangdong Province, probably Taishan (Toi San), and Jew was the transliteration of that dialect's pronunciation. Jew is surname Chiu in Cantonese or Zhao in Mandarin, the surname of the Song Dynasty royal family. It was uncommon for Fujian people to go to North America in the old days.