Kenneth Y. Fung papers, 1890-2004, bulk 1915-1950

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Summary

Creators:
Fung, Kenneth Y.
Abstract:
Papers of San Francisco based Chinese American immigration attorney Kenneth Y. Fung.
Extent:
12.73 Linear Feet (15 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English and Chinese.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Kenneth Y. Fung papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

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.

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.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Louella Fung, December 2017.
Appraisal information:

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.

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.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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