Looking For Louie - Teaching in China

As related in a previous post, once Louie Love Padgett arrived in China, one of his first duties was to register as an American citizen with the American consul in Amoy, China.  In this registration he stated he would be teaching at the Tan Ka [Kah] Kee School in Chip-Bee, Singapore, China.

Statue of Tan Kah Kee in front of his memorial hall
Source: Wikipedia Commons

Tan Kah Kee was a wealthy Chinese philanthropist "who gave a million dollars, practically all of his fortune, to found the new university [of Amoy] and its preparatory schools".(1)  The Tan Kah Kee Foundation exists today, and  the foundation's web site provides further information about this gentleman's generous support and philanthropic efforts on behalf of education in China.  It was for one of these schools that Louie Padgett was originally hired as a teacher.

In May of 1922, Louie notified the US Consul in Amoy that after 1 July 1922, his local address would be Kulangsu, Amoy where he would be teaching at the Tung Wen Institute.(2)  He continued to teach at Tung Wen until he left China in June, 1924.

Old postcard with picture of the Tung-Wen Institute,
source: www.amoymagic.com

The Tung Wen Institute had an interesting history.  It was founded in 1898 by the American Consul in Amoy and a group of wealthy local businessmen.(3)  This blending of Eastern and Western education was designed to prepare the sons of the wealthy Chinese for roles of leadership in the world economy.

Louie's years in China followed the Boxer Rebellion and were in the days of the rise of the Communist Party.  Politically, it was not always peaceful during these years.  The is no way to verify one family story, but it still must be shared.  One day Louie was taking a break from his teaching responsibilities, fishing in a local stream.  Suddenly two opposing factions began firing at each other across the bridge near where Louie had cast his pole.  Quickly he had to duck under the bridge for safely until the minor skirmish ended.  Just another adventure for Louie

Finally, 25 June 1944, Louie Padgett applied for an emergency passport as he prepared to return home to Oakman, Georgia.  On this application, he indicated his desire to travel to "all countries" on his return trip to the United States.(4)  His adventure was to continue.

(1) Monroe, Paul. A Report on Education in China. New York: The Institute of International Education, 1922. Digital Images. Google Books. http://google.com/books : 2013.
(2) US Passport Applications, 1795-1925, database and images, Ancestry.com. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 May 2013); citing National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington D.C. ; Passport Applications January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925. Collection Number, ARC identifier 583830 / MLR Number A1 534; NARA Series M1490, Roll #1561.
(3) Catalogue of the Collection of Chinese Exhibits at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, 1904. St. Louis: Shallcross Print, 1904. Digital Images. Google Books. http://books.google.com : 2013.
(4) US Passport Applications, 1795-1925, database and images, Ancestry.com. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 May 2013); citing National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington D.C. ; Passport Applications January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925. Collection Number, ARC identifier 1244182 / MLR Number A1 543; Box #4358, vol. #142.

Looking For Louie - Perusing His Passport Files

Louie Love Padgett, passport application photo

Louie Love Padgett, my husband's uncle, was an interesting man.  The facts of his life are simple, born 6 Oct 1893 to John Padgett and Joella Love Padgett, educated at Reinhardt College and Emory University, rose to the rank of major in World War I, taught school in China, and later was a traveling salesman.  Recently I started looking further to learn more about the man behind the facts.

US Passport application

The first document that got my attention was Louie's passport application which he obtained prior to going to China to teach.(1)  Rather than the standard two pages, his application covered five pages due to the accompanying letters.  Continuing to turn pages provided new facts and information to add to what we already know about Louie.

This application included information about his first passport, a military passport issued 1 Jan 1918 by the War Department.  The family had heard that Louie had taught in France following his service in World War I, and the 1918 date seems to support this.  A soldier would not have need for a passport, but an individual remaining in a foreign country in a civilian capacity would need one.  Included on the application is the statement that he resided in France from Jan 1916 to 17 Jul 1919, giving more information related to his military service and possible later time as an American residing in France.

His proposed itinerary for traveling to China is part of the application.  From it we learn that he planned to sail from Vancouver on the Empress of Asia, leaving on 26 April 1921.  His travel would take him from Vancouver to Japan, finally arriving in China for his teaching position.  His application for a late April journey is stamped 9 April 1921; apparently paperwork moved more rapidly in those days.

Also included in his application are letters pertaining to his employment at the school in China.  His two-year teaching contact was with the International Committee of the Young Men's Christian Association for teaching in one of the private school in China.

Letter from YMCA accompanying the passport application

The final document in Louie's passport application was another letter from the YMCA detailing the passport application process and information concerning the payment of taxes.  perusing

Registration as US citizen with US consul in China

By 22 June 1921, Louis was in China where he had to register as an American citizen with the United States Consul in Amoy, China.(2)  This document provides additional dates for Louie's travel, indicating he left the United States on 28 April 1921, arriving at Amoy in the province of Fukien on 21 May 1921.  He states that he would be teaching at the Tan Ka Kee School in Chip-Bee and that his annual income during his three year teaching contract would be $1800 silver, somewhat higher than the average salary of $1678 reported for high school teachers by the University of Chicago Press.(3)

I ended up being pleasantly surprised by how much more we now know about Louie just by turning the pages of some standard government documents. 

(1) US Passport Applications, 1795-1925, database and images; Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 May 2013); citing National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925; Collection Number: ARC Identifier 583830 / MLR Number A1 534; NARA Series: M1490; Roll #: 1561.
(2) US Consular Registration Applications, 1916-1925, database and images; Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 May 2013); citing US Department of State, Division of Passport Control, Consular Registration Applications, Roll #: 32734_620305173_0275.
(3) Bonner, H R. "Salary Outlook for High-School Teachers." The School Review vol. 30, no. 6 (June 1922). Online archives. JSTOR.org. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1078017 : 2013.

Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing

Megan Smolenyak2 had written an interesting book, filled with tidbits of celebrity genealogy and solid research techniques.  The cover grabbed my attention as I was at the library recently, and I found myself looking for small blocks of time in which I could read a chapter of two.

Each chapter focuses on a different genealogical question.  I ended up with two favorite chapters, ones I continue to think about.  The book's first chapter deals with Smolenyak2's work as a forensic genealogist with the US Army.  CSI fan that I am, I remembered an episode in which a genealogist provided helpful information in the solving of a case, but Smolenyak2's work was different.  In the book she related her experiences locating the probable next of kin for soldiers whose remains had been returned to our country.  Her accounts were both thorough and touching as she wrote of this final service to our military and covered an aspect of genealogical research of which I was unaware.

What if George Washington had been crowned King of America rather than elected President?  This was the topic of my other favorite chapter.  Apparently there were those in revolutionary times who wanted to retain a monarchy in America with Washington was our king.  Smolenyak2 explores this idea, referencing the various successors named by other genealogists.  After briefly documenting her research, Smolenyak2 named her candidate for Washington's present day descendant as our "king".  It was a fascinating area of speculation about our country's history.

Through all her interesting chapters, several key points continued to come through.

• Think outside the box when you are faced with a brick wall.
• Everything is not answered on the internet.
• DNA testing is an important tool in genealogy research.
• Sometimes we find information in the most surprising places.
• Have solid research to back up your conclusions. 

When you read Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing I'm sure you'll have your own favorite chapters.  In addition, you'll also learn the reason behind the "2" in her name.

Life With Louise* - The Car

*Mary Louise Vaughan Dallis kept several photo albums and scrapbooks.  They were filled with family pictures and scenes of life in LaGrange, Georgia, between 1900-1935.

Out for a ride in Wallace's car, about 1917-1918

Louise included this picture of three of her sisters and her younger brother riding in a car identified as belonging to Wallace Clark.  Left to right, the group includes Charlotte Vaughan, unknown woman, Sue Brown Vaughan Clark (at the wheel), Clara Vaughan, unknown woman, and Calder Vaughan.

I've dated the photograph as between 1917-1918.  Sue Brown Vaughan had married Wallace Clark in 1917, the approximate date of the photo.  When this picture is enlarged, a ring is visible on Sue's left hand, probably either her engagement ring or her wedding bad.  Another help in estimating the date of the picture were the apparent ages of Charlotte and Calder.  Included in my Vaughan Family Archives is a letter Albert Thomas Vaughan, the older brother of the siblings, had written to his family at about this same time.  He was asking them to be very careful whenever they were riding in Wallace's car.  Heartfelt wishes to all from their big brother.

I'd spent time searching online trying to identify the make and model of the car but without much success.  Two web sites, John's Old Car Pictures and Early American Automobiles, both have hundreds of photographs of vintage automobiles, but I couldn't find one that seemed to match Wallace's car.  Finally, through facebook, I contacted a high school friend who restores vintage cars, asking for help in identifing the car the family was driving.  Within a few minutes my friend got back to me, identifying the car as a T Model Ford.  Going back to the two automobile web sites, I finally found several photographs of other T Model Fords that looked very much like Wallace's car.  Great how the Internet lets us span 95 years in just a few minutes.  

Now I've started wondering if Sue actually drove the car or if this was just a posed picture with friends and family seated in her husband's car.  Wonder if DMV records are available for searching for genealogical information?  As usual, an answer to one question brings more questions to be answered.  Why am I not surprised?