Posted by Meiyu Delfs on January 06, 2003 at 14:25:48:
In Reply to: Re: Ling, Lin. (Woods) posted by Simon Lum on November 17, 2000 at 23:15:04:
Hi. I, too, am interested in learning more. Coincidentally, my chinese family name is "Lin". I believe my grandfather was from somewhere called Hokuro, Osaka, Heitan-Ken, Fukuken-Sho? That's a mouthful, eh? I also have 1st cousins living there. My grandfather was living in Japan and sent his first born son back to China, or perhaps his government took him, I don't really know. I was told that no one ever met him because my grandfather died a year after being taken prisoner for his political involvement and the rest of my family stayed in Japan. He died when my mother was about 13. I was also told that my uncle died in the 70's, but that I have an aunt and two male cousins living, I believe, in that place, Fukuken-sho. My mother has dementia and lives with me now, but cannot remember her father's name. Her registration papers list her father's younger brother, Shoso Lin as her father, and her older brother's name does not appear in the list of her siblings...I'm guessing because of their ties, probably to the communist government. It has been said that my grandfather may have been some kind of agent for the chinese government working against Japan. I would really like to learn more about my chinese ancestry to pass along to my children, now closing in on child-bearing years themselves, if anyone can shed some light on it. I love the story about how we got our name, and will enjoy telling them something new today. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Meiyu