How now, Foochow? 

My family’s roots in China began in Foochow. 

My great grandfather William Leyland Hunter arrived there from Manchester England on April 16, 1865. He was employed as a tea inspector with the W R Adamson Co. After 1874 when the company became Adamson Bell my great grandfather struck out on his own as an independent merchant.

At least one of his four children, my great aunt May Hunter, is said to have been born there. It’s told that her British passport showed Foochow as her place of birth. It’s possible that some or all the other children were also born there but changed their place of birth so as to obtain the better standing of one born in Hong Kong which was a Crown Colony.

The name “Choy” attributed to my mystery great grandmother (Anne Hunter, alias Goot Choy or Kot Choy) is more common in Fujian Province.

In 1865 the population of Foochow was about 600,000 of which about 200 were European, American or other non-Asians. It was a treaty port that dealt primarily with the export of tea. 

Today, Fuzhou is a thriving metropolis of more than 7 million people with it seems little connection or interest in times gone by. Locating any records there appear to be all but impossible. I’m hoping this blog might stir a memory or uncover a dusty old photo or document.