Historically Speaking: Chinese families in Exeter

“Probably for the first time in the history of Exeter a child of Chinese parentage has been born in Exeter.” 

So wrote a notice in the Exeter News-Letter announcing the birth of Priscilla Ung in 1937. Her family lived on Water Street above their laundry business in a building that no longer exists. Her parents, Hung Yum and Hom Ung, arrived in the United States in the 1920s when it was difficult for Chinese immigrants to gain entry into the country, particularly for women. 

The Chinese Exclusion Act, passed in 1882, effectively shut down immigration for Chinese nationals. Men had to prove that they were merchants, or sons of merchants, and not unskilled laborers. Single women were presumed to be sex workers unless they could somehow prove that they were daughters of merchants or wives of merchants. Chinese immigrants were not allowed to become naturalized citizens, having been deemed “unassimilable” to the general population.

Despite these restrictions, there was a Chinese presence in Exeter since the late 1870s. A small group of boys from China attended Phillips Exeter Academy from 1879 to 1881 sponsored by the Chinese government. Called the Chinese Educational Mission, it was called to a halt over concerns the boys were becoming too westernized.

After that experiment, the only Chinese in town were single men who ran laundry businesses. Beginning in 1888, Exeter, like most New England towns, would always have at least one hand laundry run by one or two men of Chinese ancestry. Immigration laws being as strict as they were, none of the men ever had a family with them. American women who married a Chinese man (who was barred from citizenship) would lose her own citizenship. Most Americans had never encountered a Chinese family. This is why Priscilla’s birth was announced with a bit of fanfare.

Her parent’s laundry was called “Charlie Lew hand laundry” and was located at 203 Water Street. The building was removed later to erect the Phillips Exeter Academy boathouse. The family name, Ung, doesn’t appear in the town directories, rather the name “Charlie Lew” is listed along with his wife, Hom Hon. Priscilla was the fifth child of an eventual ten children born to the couple. Her two older sisters and two older brothers ranged in age from 7 to 3 and another brother would be born in Exeter in 1939. The older kids attended Exeter’s public schools, which explains why some older Exeter residents remember the family.

But there were other Asian children in Exeter a few decades earlier. John Thistle, a mariner from Eastport, Maine of European ancestry, had spent time in Japan where he married Mary Ah Say, who was of Chinese ancestry. The couple moved to Shanghai, China and they had four children. The family moved to the United States where, due to their father’s citizenship and race, they were able to live without any fear of deportation. The U.S. Census wasn’t quite sure how to classify the family. Mary was Chinese but her mixed-race children are all listed as “white.” Two of her three sons listed themselves as “Caucasian” when registering for the World War I draft. Charles, who was working as a nurse in Boston, listed his race as “half Caucasian, half Mongolian” and explained “mother was Japanese” in the comments. Charles and his brother Harry were the only members of the family born in the United States – in Portsmouth. Although their birthright citizenship was never questioned due to their father, the Ung children probably weren’t quite sure.

Hom and Hung Ung were barred from citizenship due to their race. The question of whether the American-born children of resident Chinese (and later other Asians) had citizenship rights wasn’t settled until after the 1898 Supreme Court case United States v. Wong Kim Ark. Even then it could be difficult to prove to local officials. The extensions of the Chinese Exclusion Act were repealed in 1943 and naturalization laws were gradually opened through 1952. By that time, the Ung family had moved to Providence, Rhode Island. Priscilla graduated from Central High School in 1955. She later became a postal employee in Connecticut, married and raised a family. Her footprint in Exeter will not be forgotten. 

Barbara Rimkunas is the curator of the Exeter Historical Society. Support the Exeter Historical Society by becoming a member. Join online at www.exeterhistory.org.