Hong Kong

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Also see

Information about ProQuest Historical Newspapers: South China Morning Post—1903-1998 (published in Hong Kong) and other databases containing Chinese and Japanese English language newspapers.

Records

  • See General Register Office, UK
  • There was Civil Registration in Hong Kong, refer External links below. There are no records before 1873.
  • "Hong Kong Cemetery" Searchable and browsable database created by Ms Patricia Lim, with images. From Hong Kong Memory. Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Hong Kong Government.
    • Details of some of the inscriptions from the Ossuary[1]
For expanded cemetery details, see Forgotten Souls : a Social History of the Hong Kong Cemetery by Patricia Lim c 2011. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01015724284 . Sample pages Google Books.
Also see the book available online below, Garrison Memorials in Hong Kong: Some Graves and Monuments at Happy Valley by Solomon Bard 1997.
This cemetery is located on the western side of Happy Valley and was previously known as the Protestant Cemetery or the Colonial Cemetery.
  • See External links below for the Searchable databases on the website China Families.
  • See External links below for the Searchable database The Carl Smith Collection at the Government Records Service/Public Records Office. Note, some or all of this collection is available as images on FamilySearch.
  • The Government Records Service/Public Records Office holds some original church registers for baptisms and marriages from St John's Cathedral. See External links below for the website Gwulo: Old Hong Kong which holds some brief records, also including deaths, for the period 1897- April 1931 from the Cathedral magazine.
  • FamilySearch Research page Hong Kong for Historical Records. However, some records are classified as China records and it may be clearer to find records directly from the Catalog specifically for Hong Kong, see following item.
  • FamilySearch Catalog for microfilm/digitised microfilm records includes
"Births, deaths, marriages from Canton and Hong Kong newspapers, arranged chronologically, 1828-1862" catalogue entry microfilm 1208508, item 13, which has been digitised and may be viewed on your home computer.
"Europeans - China Coast : [card file]" Carl T. Smith collection. “Individual cards for Europeans residing in Hong Kong and China during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries”. Digitised microfilm which may be viewed on your home computer.
Search the FamilySearch Catalog for additional catalogue entries, for example by using keywords Hong Kong, and filtering by English language, and selecting Availability Online. There are many databases available, including Church Registers for Birth, Marriage and Death, Cemetery Inscriptions catalogue entry, Will extracts, Card Files and other data from the Carl T. Smith collection etc, most of which are viewable on home computers. Also see FamilySearch Centres for changes involving microfilms.
  • Refer online Hong Kong newspapers, see below, for birth, marriage and death notices.
  • See Historical books online below, including
    • Hong Kong Government Reports Online. A researcher advised that he found details of a relative who worked for the Hong Kong lighthouse service in these online government publications.[2] The information was found in an official publication know as the Blue Book in a section "Civil Establishments of Hongkong" which lists information about Civil Servants.
    • Directories and related publications, including The Colonial Office List.
  • See Cemeteries for websites such as Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and The War Graves Photographic Project, which include pages titled Stanley Military Cemetery and Sai Wan (China) Memorial, in addition to other pages.
  • The BACSA Archive at the British Library holds information on both Happy Valley and Stanley cemeteries under file reference Mss Eur F370/81
  • The book Garrison Memorials in Hong Kong: Some Graves and Monuments at Happy Valley by Solomon Bard 1997 is available online, see below. It is also available at the British Library in the BACSA Archive, catalogue reference Mss Eur F370/1242. By the same author, but not held in the BACSA Archive, Report on survey and study of old service graves at Stanley Military Cemetery 1984 and Study of Military Graves and Monuments: Hong Kong Cemetery 1991, (Hong Kong Antiquities and Monuments Office), the latter may possibly include information about Stanley Cemetery.[3] The 1984 and 1991 publications are available at the Government Records Service Hong Kong, also known as the Public Record Office, Hong Kong in the Library, DDC Call Number 929.5095125 BAR and 929.5 BAR respectively.
  • The book British and Indian Armies on the China Coast 1785-1985 by Alan Harfield 1990 is available at the British Library, UIN: BLL01009472436 . Includes lists such as “List of Known Recipients of the Hong Kong Plague Medal 1894” and “List of Officers who served with the Hong Kong Regiment 1892-1902”. This link lists some “Military Commanders of Hong Kong and China” from the book (pages 483-484).
  • The book Traders of Hong Kong: Some Foreign Merchant Houses, 1841-1899 by Solomon Bard Hong Kong: Urban Council, 1993 is available at the British Library UIN: BLL01012493829 . Searchable but not viewable Google Books. "A very useful summary of the wide range of foreigners, from Germans and Americans to Armenians, Parsees and Jews"[4]
  • The National Archives, Kew record series CO 1070 index cards in respect of Second World War Hong Kong civilian internees and some prisoners of war are now searchable by name. See TNA blog "Life and death in Hong Kong during the Second World War" 8 February 2024.

Hong Kong Volunteers

Regimental history

  • Second to None : the Story of the Hong Kong Volunteers by Phillip Bruce 1991. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01012596174

External links

  • “Major Genealogical Record Sources in Hong Kong” by the Genealogical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Series J, No. 4 1975. lib.byu.edu. Refers to Civil Registration. "Records prior to 1873 no longer exist". "All pre-war marriage records have been lost". Note however, there appear to be some surviving church records.
    • Immigration Department contact details. This Department is responsible for Civil Registration but the website does not include information about certificates for family history purposes for persons not resident in Hong Kong, so you would need to contact the Department.
  • Hong Kong Government Records Service grs.gov.hk. Archives and Library with an online catalogue. Also known as the Public Records Office (PRO), Hong Kong.
    • Hong Kong: Public Records Office Fact sheet dated November 2019. gov.hk
    • Search the Carl Smith Collection of 140,000 index cards. In respect of these records, the website China Families advises "The cards contain information about residents not only in the former British colony, but across China. The catalogue does now allow you to view cards, but they are small in size, and the search results are often very numerous".
    Some or all of these records are available on FamilySearch on your home computers, refer Records above.
    • Government Records Service, in the Archives section, holds some original church registers from St John's Anglican Church/Cathedral. Use the Archives Search to find the catalogue entries, with more details. Note, the actual records are not available online. The records include
      • Record ID HKMS37 Indexes to Registers of Baptism. The indexes relate to baptisms recorded in the relevant registers of the British Chapel Macao, 1838-1887, and of St John's Cathedral, 1887-1928.
      • Record ID HKMS36 Registers of Baptisms 1838-1973. The records prior to 1842 are for Macao.
      • Record ID HKMS38 Registers of Baptisms, St Peter's Seaman's Church 1873 – 1932
      • Record ID HKMS40 Registers of Marriage 1838 – 1975. The series relates to the registration of marriages solemnised at the British Chapel, Macao (1838-1841) and the Anglican Church/Cathedral, Hong Kong (1843-1975).
      • For some brief records from St John's Cathedral, see the Gwulo: Old Hong Kong website below.
  • Newspapers, including online
    • Hong Kong Public Libraries
      • Information about Old Newspapers and microforms available, now an archived page (details at 2013/03, it is not clear whether this information is also available on the current website.)
      • Newspapers and Periodicals Services, now an archived page (details at 2013/05, it is not clear whether this information is also available on the current website.)
      • To access online historical newspapers, from the link, Multimedia Information System (MMIS) select Collection then “Old HK Newspapers” to view these online. Previously the website advised the online newspapers are in TIFF format. If you cannot see the newspaper images, you may need to download a TIFF plug-in. The Newspapers available in English are
        • China Mail (1866/01/04 – 1961/12/29),
        • Hong Kong Daily Press (1864/01/04 – 1941/09/30),
        • Hong Kong Sunday Herald (1929/01/06 – 1950/10/29),
        • Hong Kong Telegraph (1881/06/16 – 1951/03/30)
        • Hong Kong Weekly Press (1895/01/03 – 1909/12/24)
Note some issues and pages may be omitted
  • The China Mail collection at Archive.org Issues from 1866 to 1961, broken range. Note this collection also includes some editions of Hong Kong Daily Press 1864- 1941 September, Hong Kong Telegraph 1881 June - 1951 March, Hong Kong Sunday Herald 1929 January-1950 October. (Dates as at 2023/12/30. Additional files are being added regularly.) Note there is a "Search text contents" specific to this collection, or browse particular years or issues.
  • Overland China Mail was the weekly edition of China Mail, also containing articles from Evening Mail and Sunday Herald, and was published 1848 to 1941.[5]
Overland China Mail is available on Findmypast, category "Newspapers & periodicals/British Newspapers ", with 'County' classified as Hong Kong China, with the same contents also available on the British Newspaper Archive, both pay websites, added Feb 9, 2021. The date range when added was January 11, 1853 to December 30, 1915 being 1853-1861, 1863-1894, 1897-1915; 1848-1852, 1895-1896 added May 2, 2022; 1916 added Feb 22, 2024; (with 1848–1916 planned), with details on a BNA page. For BNA, the 'Region' is classified as South Central China, and the 'County' is classified as Hong Kong, China. It is possible to browse individual editions on BNA, in addition to searching. To browse the Findmypast editions, use the filters under "Narrow your search results" (left hand side of the webpage) "By Newspaper" and "By Date".
  • The London and China Express, published in London, with target readership those outside the Indian Empire, is available on Findmypast, category "Newspapers & periodicals"/"British newspapers", with the same contents also available on the British Newspaper Archive, both pay websites. The date range is from November 25, 1858 to July 2, 1931. For more details see Newspapers and journals online.

Second World War

Maps

Historical photographs online

Historical books online

DigitalRepository@HKUL This appears to be a more recent website from the same source The University of Hong Kong Libraries, which includes the collections as above, and perhaps additional collections/material. The digital files appear to be in a more modern format, compared with the "older" website.
The Hongkong almanack, and directory for the year 1848 with names
The Hongkong almanack, and directory for the year of our Lord 1850 with names. All digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk
"Hongkong Section" digital page 592 Rosenstock's Business Directory of China 1933 Archive.org.
A directory for the navigation of the Indian Archipelago, China, and Japan, from the straits of Malacca and Sunda, and the passages east of Java. To Canton, Shanghai, the Yellow Sea, and Japan, with descriptions of the winds, monsoons, and currents, and general instructions for the various channels, harbours, etc by Alexander George Findlay 2nd edition 1878 Archive.org
1892 edition; 2nd edtion, revised and enlarged 1893; 3rd edition revised and enlarged 1900; 4th edition 1904 with title Things Chinese: Or, Notes Connected with China. All Archive.org.
Historical and Statistical Abstract of the Colony of Hong Kong 1841-1920 published 1922. Archive.org version, Google Books version.
Historical and Statistical Abstract of the Colony of Hong Kong 1841-1930 published 1932. Third edition. Archive.org version, Google Books version, digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk version.
  • Hong Kong: A short history of the colony and an outline of the present political situation in China by A G M. 3rd edition revised 1929 (catalogued as 1900) Archive.org
  • Armaments Year-Book : General and Statistical Information published by League of Nations. "Asia and Islands in the Indian Ocean" includes Hong-Kong, page 176 First Year 1924, 2nd Edition HathiTrust Digital Library; "Asia" page 193 1937 edition. Google Books. See the Indian Army page for additional editions of this publication.
  • British Rule In Eastern Asia: A Study of Contemporary Government and Economic development in British Malaya and Hong Kong by Lennox A Mills 1941. Issued under the auspices of the Secretariat, Institute of Pacific Relations International Research Series. File 1 some missing pages noted; File 2 Archive.org. Public Library of India Collection.
  • A Traveler's Tale : Memories of India by Enid Saunders Candlin 1974. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library. The initial pages indicate the situation in Hong Kong to 1941 when the author’s husband a metallurgist/chemical engineer was transferred to India to work for the Inspectorate of Armaments in ordnance factories. By the same author (born in Shanghai, daughter of a tea merchant) The Breach in the Wall: A Memoir of Old China 1973. (Searchable but not viewable Google Books, 1987 edition.). Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01000594031 A review kirkusreviews.com.
  • Shanghai Lawyer by Norwood F. Allman 1943 HathiTrust Digital Library. Includes some chapters on internment by the Japanese in Hong Kong during WW2.
  • Prisoner of the Japs by Gwen Drew 1943. HathiTrust Digital Library, Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection. The author was an American journalist who was taken prisoner at the fall of Hong Kong.
  • China to Me : a Partial Autobiography by Emily Hahn 1944. 2nd file, 3rd file 1944 Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library. Hahn became a New Yorker magazine writer. The latter half of the book covers her experiences in Hong Kong under Japanese control. About the book librarything.com. "classic memoir of her years in China remains remarkable for her insights into a tumultuous period and her frankness about her personal exploits. A proud feminist and fearless traveler, she set out for China in 1935 and stayed through the early years of the Second Sino-Japanese War..."
Hong Kong Holiday by Emily Hahn 1946. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.
  • Hong Kong by Harold Ingrams 1952 Archive.org. A volume in the Colonial Office's series The Corona Library published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Archive.org.
  • A History of Hong Kong by G B Endacott 1964, first published 1958. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.
An Eastern Entrepôt. A Collection of Documents Illustrating the History of Hong Kong by G B Endacott 1964 HMSO. Archive.org
At the Going Down of the Sun : Hong Kong and South-East Asia, 1941-1945 by Oliver Lindsay 1981. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.

Fiction

Journals online

  • Notes and Queries on China and Japan, four volumes 1867 to 1870. Published in Hong Kong. HathiTrust Digital Library. Archive.org editions 1867, which also contains 1868 (from digital page 198), and 1869. Volume 4, Issues 1-8 [1870] Google Books.
  • The China Review, or notes & queries on the Far East. Published in Hong Kong. Multiple volumes from Volume 1, 1872 to Volume 21 1894-5 catalogued full view, but Vols. 22 and 23 also noted, cataloged incorrectly. HathiTrust Digital Library A, B and C. From an individual book file, it is generally possible to click on "Find at Google Books" for the Google Books file. Archive.org volumes.
  • Hong Kong Journals online The University of Hong Kong Libraries. Although previously there were multiple Journal titles it appears currently (2021/05/02) the only title is Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (previously the range was 1961-2007). Includes
Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society is also available JSTOR.org from Volume 1, 1960-1. Register, and read 100 articles per month for free, or perhaps you may be able to login through your library.

References

  1. "The Ossuary". A series of articles by Christine M. Thomas from December 2018. 2019/01, 2019/03. There are biographical articles about the cemetery from June 2010. Hong Kong Cemetery.
  2. Who Do You Think You Are? Forum thread "Lighthouse keeper in the dark", now no longer available http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/forum/topic10068.html
  3. Challenging Dead. A Look into Foreigners’ Cemeteries in Macau, Hong Kong, and Taiwan by Gotelind Müller 2018, page 16, footnote 72 and page 18, footnote 85. See External links, above.
  4. "Annotated Bibliography The Basics" Hong Kong History Project. Refer External links, above.
  5. Hong Kong Public Library page. Also "Hot Off The Press – New Titles This Week" February 15, 2021. The British Newspaper Archive Blog.