Posted by Mary Kobialka on March 03, 1998 at 13:34:37:
I am new to this, so please forgive me if I am asking for info that will be impossible to locate! After my mother died, I got a copy of her birth certificate and was surprised to learn that her father, William S. Lee, was born in China! This fact had been hidden by my mother, who had claimed a 100% Polish heritage. The little info I've found on William S. Lee: He was born in China in approximately 1873. His wife was a Polish immigrant. My mother was born Bessie Lee in Chicago in 1919 (although we only knew her as Bernice Lis. Something happened to make her change her name!) Willie Lee worked in Chinese restaurants in the 1920's, although on my mother's school papers from 1930 his occupation was listed as coal worker. Since I don't have his dates of birth or death, or SSN, I don't have much to go on. He is not listed in the Social Security Death Index. Does anyone have any advice? Would my grandparents, being in a mixed race marriage in the first part of this century, been ostrasized (sp)? I am thinking this is why my mother (an only child) never mentioned her Chinese ancestry. I appreciate any help/opinions/etc.