Posted by Raymond (72.235.251.83) on August 28, 2008 at 20:56:41:
In Reply to: Looking for info on James Appoo / Ah Poo posted by John Thatcher on August 28, 2008 at 19:06:20:
John,
From the very sketchy info provided, your genealogical search seems nearly insurmountable. Do you even know where your ancestor "Ah Poo" is buried? If so, his ancestral village is likely inscribed on his tombstone, most likely in Chinese. When you are unsure of his surname, this makes your search even more challenging. Even if you speculate his surname may be Chen ��, that name is normally Anglicized as Chan or Chin in Cantonese....and because of tonal and dialect variations, Chen could actually be Ching �`/�� or Cheng �A surnames. Not to discourage your search, but take a look at the dozens upon dozens of Toishan villages with Chan/Chin surnames listed on the website: http://www.c-c-c.org/villagedb/search.cgi
You did not specify the source of the information "Huy Sing" and "Tsing Ching"....are these words of your own Anglicization as you heard them or was it written as such on a document or letter? My speculation is whatever relative provided this is intending to pinpoint your ancestor's origin....and even that is speculative. The words could either indicate a market town (heung) and a village, or it could indicate a place and family clan name. Because of tonal and dialect variations, it would be an educated guess to find the village name in the forementioned website especially if you are not certain of the surname. If the words are intended to pinpoint a place and a surname, then "Huy Sing" could be a poor transliteration of Hoiping (versus Toishan), and "Tsing Ching" could mean that the family clan name is Ching because "Tsing Ching" can literally mean "Surname Ching".....and Ching can easily be a transliterated equivalent of Chen.
Anyway, absent of additional information these are just highly speculative thoughts and hopefully you can take it from there and get a lead that will take you closer to your genealogical quest.
Good luck,
Raymond