Archives West Finding Aid

Willard G. Jue was born in 1906 in Portland, Oregon, where he became interested in plants while working in his Uncle's herb shop. He came to Seattle to attend the University of Washington in 1925 and graduated with a degree in Pharmacy in 1929. Unable to get work in that field, Jue worked as an accountant and grocer until the early 1950s, when he was hired as a clerk in the UW College of Pharmacy. He later rose to the position of Supervisor for the Drug Plant Garden (1959). Jue finished his career at the University as part of the Washington Park Arboretum gardening staff. He retired in 1970.

Following his retirement Jue served the Chinese community in many capacities. He was president of the Board of Trustees for the Wing Luke Museum during the 1970s. He served at various times as president of the Chinese Historical Society of the Pacific Northwest and the Pioneer Association of the State of Washington. He was a founding member of AKCHO, the Association of King County Historical Organizations.

Jue was a member of the First Baptist Church and served as its Scoutmaster for twenty years. He was a popular speaker and youth leader, teaching classes on Northwest plant lore to the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, and other community organizations.

In the last years of his life Jue gave presentations to local community organizations on topics of Chinese herbal medicine, Northwest plant lore, and the early history of the Seattle Chinese community. He married Priscilla Chong, widow of Seattle artist Fay Chong, in December of 1981. Willard Jue died in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 at the age of 79.

Chin Gee Hee was born in southern China in 1844. He was one of the earliest Chinese sojourners in Seattle. He worked in mines and as a railroad construction laborer until he had saved enough money to buy a partnership in the Wa Chong Store with Chin Ching-hock, Seattle's earliest Chinese resident, in 1868. The store was located at 99 South Third Street. Chin Ching-hock was mainly interested in import and export merchandising, Chin Gee Hee, however became very involved in obtaining jobs for his countrymen. He traveled widely to acquire labor contracts in coal mining, railroad construction, farming and domestic labor. This difference in purpose led to the eventual separation of the partners in 1888. Chin Gee Hee formed his own Quong Tuck Lung Co. He continued his labor contracting business as well as general merchandising. Following the fire of 1889 his was the first new, brick building to be built. The building, called the Canton Building, was at 208-210 Washington Street.

Growing animosity toward the influx of Chinese laborers was marked by the passage of the Chinese exclusion laws of 1882. Harassment of Chinese settlers in the Puget Sound area forced many to seek a safer environment in Seattle. Chin Gee Hee tried to aid those who came to Seattle looking for refuge. The influx of so many Chinese workers into the city during a time of economic depression led to the anti-Chinese riots in late 1885 and early 1886. Chin was active in getting help from the Chinese Consul-General in San Francisco to quell the riots and protect the Chinese. During the riots Chin Gee Hee kept careful record of the damage done to Chinese property and businesses. He later forwarded his account to Viceroy Li Hung-chang. Because of Chin's careful accounts, The U.S. government eventually made reparations to China for much of the loss.

When Chin Gee Hee's son, Chin Lem, finished his education, Chin began to turn the business over to him. At this time Chin began work on his long-time desire to build a railroad to his native Chinese village of Look Tun in the district of Toishan. He began by raising funds throughout the United States and Canada and enlisted the aid of railroad magnate James J. Hill. In 1900 Chin turned the Quong Tuck business over to his son and son-in-law. He returned to China in 1905 to form the Sun Ning Railway Co. The railway to his village was completed in about 1908. Chin continued with various plans for expansion of the railroad and establishment of a free port in Southern China until his death in 1930. He was 85.

Joseck S. Hwang and his wife, Cheng Hiang Chin, were both born in Swatow, China, in 1879. Their families were among the early converts to the Baptist religion, and they both attended mission schools. They were married on January 22, 1900. They had six daughters and a son who died in infancy.

Hwang studied medicine at the Baptist Mission Hospital in Swatow and was both student and teacher at several Baptist Chinese missions in both China and Seattle. He became an ordained minister in 1906 and served his first pastorate in the Chinese Baptist Church of Seattle. The family arrived in Seattle during the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exhibition in 1909. Hwang left the pastorate in 1912 and returned to China alone to complete his studies and receive a medical certificate from the American Baptist Mission Hospital at Swatow in 1913. In 1917 Hwang decided to try out life in New York City. His family followed him in 1918 and stayed until 1922, when they returned to Seattle.

During its time in New York, the family ran a wholesale business, importing embroidery, lace, and other fine handwork from Swatow and selling it to shops and department stores in New York City. Cheng Hiang Chin also began to sell these fine linens at women's clubs and other gatherings. Chin was raised in a merchandising family and was a successful business woman despite her limited English. Upon the family's return to Seattle, she opened a gift shop downtown. The shop's downtown location changed over the years and later moved to Spokane and, for a time, Yakima. Chin also managed a sales booth at the Western Washington State Fair (Puyallup, Wash.) from 1931 until 1961, when her daughter Priscilla took over. Chin died in 1973.

Joseck Hwang was never happy with a settled life. He continued to move from one enterprise to another, although the family chose to remain in Seattle. He spent his final years in Seattle and died on March 31, 1970, at the age of 91.