Kenneth Y. Fung papers: Finding Aid mssFung
Brooke M. Black
The Huntington Library
June 2023
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Kenneth Y. Fung papers
Creator:
Fung, Kenneth Y.
Identifier/Call Number: mssFung
Physical Description:
12.73 Linear Feet
(15 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1890-2004
Date (bulk): 1915-1950
Abstract: Papers of San Francisco based Chinese American immigration attorney Kenneth Y. Fung.
Language of Material: Materials are in English and Chinese.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Kenneth Y. Fung papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Louella Fung, December 2017.
Biographical / Historical
Kenneth Y. Fung (1899-1952) was born Yee Kwai Fung, in San Francisco, California, in September 1899. Fung was an immigration
attorney based in San Francisco. He was president of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance from 1947 to 1949. In 1928, he
testified before Congress, about H. R. 6974, and the unequal treatment of Chinese American spouses under the American immigration
system. Fung was a friend and colleague of You Chung (Y. C.) Hong, an immigration attorney in Los Angeles, California. Fung
married Chan Yuen Ying (approximately 1902-1987), in China, in June 1922; they had five children: Robert (born 1923), Sherman
(born 1925), Wellington (1927-1928), Herbert (born 1929), and Phyllis (born 1930). Kenneth Y. Fung died in September 1952
in San Francisco.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of personal and professional papers of Kenneth Y. Fung. These papers include personal and business
correspondence (including letters by immigration lawyer Y. C. Hong and Chinese rights activist, educator, and newspaper editor
Walter U. Lum), documents, notes, immigration case files, notebooks, sympathy cards, newspaper clippings, copies of U.S. Senate
bills, photographs and negatives, books, objects, and art, from 1890 to 2004 and the bulk covering 1915 to Fung's death in
1952. Also included are materials related to the Chinese American Citizens Alliance from 1923 to 1943. The majority of the
collection deals with Fung's immigration work as a lawyer and Chinese Americans' rights advocacy, but a lot of the collection
is personal in nature and provides details about his personal life and the Fung family and their lives in San Francisco, Chinatown,
and the surrounding Bay Area of California.
Processing Information
Processed by Brooke M. Black, June 2023.
Arrangement
Organized in the following series: 1. Correspondence, documents, and notebooks; 2. Photographs; 3. Books, objects, and art.
Appraisal
During processing in May 2023, approximately 1 linear foot of household items were removed from the collection by Brooke M.
Black and Li Wei Yang because they were deemed out of scope and of no research value.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Calligraphy, Chinese
Chinese Americans -- Societies, etc.
Chinese Americans -- California -- San Francisco -- Archives
Emigration and immigration law -- United States
Immigration advocates -- California
California -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
San Francisco (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Documents.
Letters (correspondence)
Notebooks
Personal papers
Photographs
Professional papers.
Fung, Kenneth Y.
Fung, Sherman
Giles, Herbert Allen, 1845-1935
Hong, You Chung, 1898-1977
Lum, Walter U.
Chinese American Citizens Alliance
Correspondence, documents, and notebooks
1890-2004, bulk 1915-1950
Physical Description: 1.66 Linear Feet(4 boxes)
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Scope and Contents
The Correspondence, documents, and notebooks series consists of personal and business correspondence of Kenneth Y. Fung as
well as documents related to Fung and his family including immigration papers, birth certificates, wedding certificates, diplomas,
and sympathy cards on the death of Kenneth Y. Fung, in 1952, and his wife's death in 1987. There is correspondence, telegrams,
and notes about Congress's hearings and Fung's testimony about the treatment of Chinese American spouses in 1928, including
letters by Y. C. Hong and Walter U. Lum and other members of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance (C.A.C.A.). There are
several client files, with photographs, certifying the citizenship status of those clients, as well as notes and clippings
on immigration issues, 1922 to 1936; copies of the Bulletin of C.A.C.A. as well as meeting minutes from 1923 to 1925; several
notebooks that deal with Fung's business, address books, and financial notebooks; and material related to the funeral of prominent
Chinese American businessman Thomas Foon Chew in 1931. Also included are items of ephemera, copies of senate bills, 1927,
a postal map of China, and receipts, invoices, and deeds.
Box 1, Folder 2
Chan Yuen Ying sympathy cards
1987
Box 1, Folder 3
Chinese American Citizens Alliance Bulletin and brochure
1943, undated
Box 1, Folder 4
Chinese American Citizens Alliance meeting proceedings
1923-1925
Box 1, Folder 5
Chinese American Citizens Alliance notebook
undated
Box 1, Folder 6
Chinese war bonds
1937-1941
Box 1, Folder 7
Congressional testimony
1928
Box 2, Folder 1
Ephemera
1929-1943, undated
Box 2, Folder 2
Eulogy
1921-1931
Scope and Contents
Funeral of Tom Foon Chew, San Francisco, California, and others.
Box 2, Folder 4
Fung family documents
1922-1997
Box 2, Folder 5
Kenneth Y. Fung diplomas
1915, undated
Scope and Contents
Items are rolled.
Box 2, Folder 6
Kenneth Fung notes
1943-after 1950
Box 2, Folder 7
Kenneth Y. Fung sympathy cards and funeral guest book
1952
Box 2, Folder 8
Kenneth Y. Fung sympathy cards and telegrams
1952
Box 2, Folder 9
Kenneth Y. Fung's office opening
1947
Box 3, Folder 2
Immigration cases
1915-1930
Scope and Contents
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Ninth Circuit.
Box 3, Folder 3
Immigration cases printed material
1930
Scope and Contents
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Ninth Circuit.
Box 3, Folder 4
Immigration files
1930-1936
Scope and Contents
Files for Lee Yoon Leung, Lee Yew Koon. With photographs.
Box 3, Folder 5
Immigration matters
1922-1930
Box 3, Folder 6
Lectures on Chinese culture syllabus and notes
1928
Box 3, Folder 7
Newspaper clippings
1926-1927
Scope and Contents
Mostly related to immigration issues in the United States.
Box 3, Folder 9
Notebook
1919
Scope and Contents
Belonged to Caroline Fung, Kenneth Y. Fung's sister.
Box 4, Folder 1
Notebook
1922
Scope and Contents
With loose letters and correspondence.
Box 4, Folder 4
Notebook
1924
Scope and Contents
With photograph of the Sing Chong Co. Building, San Francisco, loose in inside front cover.
Box 4, Folder 5
Postal map of China
1917-1918
Box 4, Folder 6
Receipts, invoices, and deeds
1890-1949
Scope and Contents
Some relate to Kenneth Y. Fung, but most of the material deals with Hong Fook Tong and Wong Kee Yup of Temaha County, California.
Box 4, Folder 8
Walter - Sacramento property
1935
Photographs
approximately 1900-1998, bulk 1920-1950
Physical Description: 2.25 Linear Feet(4 boxes)
Arrangement
Organized in the following subseries: 1. Family and friends, 2. Chinese American Citizens Alliance.
Scope and Contents
The photograph series is made up of black and white photographs, color photographs, and negatives, ranging from 1900 to 1998
and the bulk covering 1920 to 1950. The majority of these items are unidentified and undated. There are several folders of
photographs that are organized by year as they were dated; several photographs are identified on the verso, some in English
and others in Chinese. Many of the photographs depict Kenneth Y. Fung and family and friends in candid situations and family
trips (around San Francisco including Alcatraz Island, China, and Hawaii), as well as events such as dinner parties, parades,
and the Golden Gate Fair in 1939. There is one folder of portraits with professional photographs and passport and ID photos.
There is one photograph of the engagement party for Y. C. Hong and Mabel Chin in February 1931. There are also 9 photographs
of receptions and dinners at the Chinese Americans Citizens Alliance's conventions in 1923, 1925, and 1931, depicting the
attendees and guests at dinner tables. There were some photographs grouped, and labeled, when they arrived at the Huntington;
the archivist kept these groups. Some include the filled-in envelopes from the pharmacies where the photographs were developed.
Box 5
Engagement dinner of Mabel Chin and Y. C. Hong
1931 February 14
Scope and Contents
Photograph is rolled.
Box 6, Folder 5
Photographic postcards
undated
Box 6, Folder 8
Photographs
approximately 1931
Box 6, Folder 9
Photographs
approximately 1932
Box 6, Folder 12
Photographs
approximately 1950-1980s
Box 7, Folder 4
Portraits
approximately 1900-1940s
Box 7, Folder 5
San Francisco, Alcatraz Island, and famous people
undated
Box 7, Folder 6
Vancouver, hot house nursery
undated
Chinese American Citizens Alliance
Box 8, Roll 1
C.A.C.A. 9th Biennial Convention
1923 October 15-22
Box 8, Roll 2-8
C.A.C.A. 10th Biennial Convention
1925 September 15-22
Box 8, Roll 9
Reception and dinner C.A.C.A. 13th Biennial Convention
1931 September 12
Books, objects, and art
1912-1946
Physical Description: 8.82 Linear Feet(7 boxes)
Arrangement
Organized in the following series: 1. Books, 2. Objects, 3. Art.
Scope and Contents
This series is made up of books, owned by Kenneth Y. Fung and family members, objects that belonged to the Fung family, and
Chinese calligraphy art, some of which are dedicated to Kenneth Y. Fung. There are two Chinese-English dictionaries, including
Herman A. Giles' English-Chinese dictionary, 2nd edition, 1912, Chinese poetry books, and a copy of The Boy Scout handbook,
1940, that belonged to Herbert Fung, Kenneth Y. Fung's youngest son. The objects include two art brushes and an abacus. The
art includes several Chinese calligraphy items, one still framed. Two are dedicated to Kenneth Y. Fung and dated 1946.
Box 9, Folder 1
The Boy Scout handbook
1940
Scope and Contents
Belonged to Herbert Fung.
Box 9, Folder 2
Chinese poetry books
1945, undated
Scope and Contents
Signed "Kenneth Y. Fung" on cover of one book.
Box 9, Folder 3
Chinese-American calendar
1928
Scope and Contents
Published by U.S. Department of Labor. Bureau of Immigration. Signed "Kenneth Y. Fung" on inside front cover.
Box 10
A Chinese-English dictionary by Herman A. Giles
1912
Physical Description: Signed "Kenneth Y. Fung" on title page. Book is large (34 x 29 x 15 cm) and heavy.
Box 9, Folder 4
The standard elementary English-Chinese dictionary
1928
Scope and Contents
Published by The Commercial Press, Ltd. Shanghai, China.
Box 9, Folder 5
Thomas Brothers street guide to Eastbay
1945
Box 11
Objects
undated
Scope and Contents
Consists of two art brushes and an abacus.
Box 12, Box 13
Calligraphy art
undated
Scope and Contents
Consists of six rolled Chinese calligraphy art (aphorisms, poetry, etc.) and a framed object with Chinese calligraphy and
dedicated to Kenneth Y. Fung.
Box 14, Box 15
Calligraphy art
1946
Physical Description: 1.66 Linear Feet(4 boxes)
Scope and Contents
Two pieces. Both are dedicated to Kenneth Y. Fung.
