Sen Family Oo Syak Photos
Aloha Ed,
This is the email from my cousin Mike and the info he got when he went back to Oo Sak. I gather we have been in the Oo Sak area for 400 years. We have the genealogy going back to 1328. In every generation since 1328 someone has lived till they were in their 80s, either the husband or wife. So that means if we take care of ourselves we can live a long life.
Wesley Sen
January 26, 2011
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for providing enough information for me to seek our relatives and visit the house that Goong Gong bought. The Sen clan has been living in the district of Dai Boo (or Da Bu) and around Oo Sak for over 400 years. According to the Sen genealogist who is a distant relative, we are the 20th generation recorded in his book. So that goes back about 400 years. I photo copied 66 pages of the genealogy and am having it translated. Interestingly enough, the book mentions Tai Goong's first wife by the name of Fong. Just like you said Wesley. It also mentions Tai Po's name, Au Shee.
I guess Gong Goong had been sending enough money back to Dai Boo over the years for them to buy the compound and the sewing machine.
Tai Goong had a son by his first wife. He had left Oo Sak with his friend, Chang at the age of 14 to come to Hawaii. Unfortunately, he could not get off the boat due to immigration quotas, but his friend did. Chang before Sen I guess. Sen sailed with the boat to Nicaragua which was its destination. He adopted a Spanish name, went by Emilio Seng and eventually opened a restaurant. Years later, Emilio wrote to his friend Chang that his daughter, Lesbia was coming to Hawaii to go to school and if Chang would look after her. Emilio also mentioned that he had a half-brother Sin Ming living in Hawaii. When Lesbia arrived, Chang and his family visited my parents at the Diamond Head home. Chang's son, Larry eventually married Lesbia. They have a son and a daughter and live on Waialae Iki. Emilio eventually left Nicaragua to live with one of his daughters in Texas and he passed away in 1976. The Seng family of eight siblings are scattered across the U.S.
We speak the Sam Heung dialect. Sam Heung is composed of three villages: Oo Sak, Ping Larm (which is where Po Po is from), and Que Tau. Chungsan is like a County which consists of many townships like Sam Heung. Most of the Chinese in Hawaii are from Chungsan.
I had a great time in China, especially meeting with our relatives. Hope you like the pictures.
Mike
Photos from Mike Sen
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