Form No. 176, Native, No.7, Ng Ah Tye
7/12/1906
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Ng An Tye was born in Prineville, Oregon, in 1871. By 1901, he had married Ng Lee Ting Tye, and was the father of three children. That year, he and his family left Oregon and traveled to Hong Kong for his job as a merchandise buyer. After living in Hong Kong for five years, Ng went to the American consulate there and filled out an application for an “emergency passport” for himself and his family. Because he claimed to be an American citizen who was also Chinese, Ng had to go through several extraordinary steps. Unlike non-Chinese Americans, he filed not only an application, but submitted copies of depositions from a variety of white witnesses, including the mayor of his home town in Oregon, a county judge, the sheriff, and the postmaster, who all confirmed that Ng had been born in the United States. He also filed depositions by the physician who had delivered his children to prove their U.S. citizenship. Ng secured his U.S. passport, and filed for renewal six times between 1906 and 1921. It is unclear if Ng ever chose to return to the United States. Ng Ah Tye’s passport application includes photographs of him; his wife, Ng Lee Ting Tye; and their three children. Their sons were named after American industrialist Leland Stanford and English biologist and social philosopher Herbert Spencer, and their daughter, Ng Van Gesner Tye, after the physician who delivered her.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
National Archives Identifier: 6403057
Full Citation: Form No. 176, Native, No.7, Ng Ah Tye; 7/12/1906; Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Record Group 85. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/form-no-176-native-no7-ng-ah-tye, April 26, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.