Sing Family Papers An Inventory of the Collection

Sing Family Papers

An Inventory of the Collection


Overview of the Collection
	Creator:	Sing family
	Title:	Sing Family Papers
	Inclusive Dates:	1894-2010
	Bulk Dates:	1894-1960
	Abstract:	Joe Sing was a Chinese immigrant who settled in Austin, Texas and opened a laundry business. The collection includes correspondence with relatives and business contacts, family photos, business receipts, laundry equipment advertisements, and a book from China.
	Identification:	AR.2008.002
	Quantity:	0.4 linear feet (1 box)
	Language:	The records are in Chinese (Mandarin) and English.
	Repository:	Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, 810 Guadalupe, PO BOX 2287, Austin, TX 78768

Biographical Note

Joe Sing was born “Jo Feng Sheng” in China, possibly in the region of Guangdong Province. He came to the United States as a young man to seek employment and to support his family back in China. He worked in New Orleans in the laundry business and eventually settled in Austin, Texas. Joe Sing owned Hong Lee Laundry initially located on 5th Street. He married Francis Moreno and had four children: Senovia, Joe Jr., Rumalda and Margaret. Joe Sing died on Nov. 30, 1927, at the age of 67 in a car accident.

Following Joe Sing's death, Francis Moreno Sing closed the original Hong Lee Laundry and opened up another location. Her youngest daughter, Margaret, took care of her until she passed away in 1962. As a single woman who was half-Chinese and half-Mexican, Margaret Sing saved up her earnings and purchased the home on 1705 Willow Street.

The family has since expanded with many marriages and births among Joe Sing's descendents. Senovia's daughter, Mary Frances Aguallo, has retained many of the stories and historical information about Joe Sing and his family and donated the items in this collection.

Scope and Contents

Joe Sing was a Chinese immigrant who settled in Austin, Texas in the early 1900’s and opened a laundry business. The collection includes correspondence with relatives and business contacts, family photos, business receipts, laundry equipment advertisements, and a book from China. Many of the letters are appeals from Sing’s family in China asking for financial help. Additional photographs and documents of Joe Sing's descendants as well as photographs from the Sing family historical marker dedication ceremony are also included in the collection.


Arrangement
	Arranged into 6 series:
		I. Documents
		II. Photographs
		III. Correspondence
		IV. Financial Records
		V. Advertisements
		VI. Audio/Visual Materials


Index Terms
	This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
	Persons:
		Aguallo, Ana.
		Aguallo, Mary Frances.
		Aguallo, Raul Hernandez.
		Aguallo, Terry.
		Sing, Joe, 1860-1927.
		Laguna, Roberta.
		Moreno, Frances.
		Sing, Joe, Jr.
		Sing, Margaret.
		Sing, Mauricia.
		Sing, Senovia.
		Sing, Rumalda.
	Places:
		Austin (Tex.)
		Mississippi
		New Orleans (La.)
		Boston (Mass.)
		Hong Kong
		Quebec (Province)
		Guangdong Province (China)
	Subjects:
		Chinese Americans
		Laundry - Equipment and Supplies
		Laundry - Clothing and Dress
		Laundry - Laundry Cleaning
		Laundry Workers
		Immigrants - Employment
		Immigrants - Texas - History
		Alternative Medicine - Medicine, Oriental
		Finance, Personal
		Advertising - Advertising cards
		Automobile - Purchasing
		Mexican American - Families
		Asian American - Families
		Asian Americans in business
		Chinese Americans - Families
		Chinese Americans in business
		Asian American - Texas - History

Related Material


	AF- Biography File – Joe Sing

Detailed Description of the Collection



I. Documents, 1894, undated
		Joe Sing, 1894, undated
Box	Folder
1	1		Item 1: Chinese name, undated
	1		Item 2: Certificate of Residence , 1894 April 09
		Joe Sing, Jr., 1918-1984
Box	Folder
1	20		Item 1: Receipts, 1918
	20		Item 2: Receipts of auto repair, 1938
	20		Item 3: Receipt for car loan, 1933 June 13
	20		Item 4: Receipt for car payments, 1938 August 31
	20		Item 5: Contract for car loan, 1933 June 13
	20		Item 6: Copy of contract for car loan, 1933 June 13
	20		Items 7 and 8: Certificate of honorable discharge, 1945
	20		Item 9 and 10: Certificate of recognition of service and envelope, circa 1980
	20		Prayer card, 1984
		Francis Moreno Sing, 1962
Box	Folder
1	21		Item 1: Obituary, 1962
	21		Item 2 and 3: Memorial record and envelope, 1962
		Assorted Documents, 1922, 1947, unknown
Box	Folder
1	19		Item 1: Unknown, unknown
	19		Item 2: Prescription for Chinese medicine, unknown
	19		Item 3: Address book, unknown
	19		Item 4: Unknown, unknown
	19		Item 5: Book (New Chinese) , 1922
				Translated summary of the book: This book was first printed in 1911. There were a total of 8 volumes of this Chinese textbook for elementary schools. During that period, the government in China tried to unify all the different dialects and use Mandarin as the formal language in China
	19		Item 6: Card, unknown
	19		Item 7: Card, unknown
	19		Item 8: Postcard, circa 1920
	19		Item 9: Postcard, unknown
	19		Item 10: Newsletter, 1947



II. Photographs, circa 1890-1999
Box	Folder
1	2	Joe Sing, circa 1890-1990
	3	Francis Moreno Sing, circa 1930-1962
	4	Joe Sing Jr., circa 1949-1980
	5	Margaret Sing, circa 1940-1999
	6	Mary Francis Aguallo, circa 1940
	7	Aguallo family, circa 1953-1968
	24	Sing family historical marker dedication ceremony, 2010 October 23



III. Correspondence, 1912, 1926-1931, 1968, unknown
		Letters from Grandson, 1926-1927
Box	Folder
1	8		Item 1: Translated Summary of Letter: Yao Yuan (grandson’s name) said that he was working in a grocery store. He wished that his grandfather would take care of himself and not worry about Yao Yuan. Yao Yuan expressed that he hoped his grandfather would come back to his hometown. He also asked that his grandfather send some money to him for his wedding, 1926 March
	8		Item 2: Translated Summary of Letter: Yao Yuan said that he had received the 20 dollars from his grandfather. He also told his grandfather that he was doing well and not to miss him. He still worked in that grocery store. He asked his grandfather to send a photo back home, 1927 July
	8		Item 3: Translated Summary of Letter: This letter is to his Uncle. Yao Yuan told his uncle he was doing well and that he worked in a grocery store. However, the salary was very low. He hoped that he could earn more money. He wished that his uncle could help him and give him some travel money, 1927 March
		Letter from Grand-nephew, circa 1926
Box	Folder
1	9		Item 1: Translated Summary of Letter: Yao * (Sing’s Grand-nephew) went back to China several months ago. He visited the whole family and all of them were doing well. He also asked that he send back two or three hundred dollars to Yao Yuan (Sing’s Grandson) for his wedding, 1926 July or 1927 July
		Letters from Son-In-Law, 1927
Box	Folder
1	10		Item 1: On-Chao Huang’s Address, undated
	10		Item 2: Translated Summary of Letter: On Zhao (Son-In-Law) mentioned that Yao Yuan (Sing’s Grandson) was working in a grocery store and the salary was very low. He hoped that Yao Yuan could go abroad too. However, the Canadian government refused new Chinese immigrants at that time, 1927 June
	10		Item 3: Translated Summary of Letter: On Zhao (Sing’s Son-In-Law) said that he received a letter from his nephew Yao Yuan (Sing’s Grandson). He wished that Sing could send hundreds of dollars back to China for Yao Yuan’s wedding. On Zhao suggested that his father-in-law go back to China whether he was rich or not, 1927 September
	10		Item 4: Translated Summary of Letter: On Zhao (Sing’s Son-In-Law) received a photo from his father-in-law. He thought his father-in-law looked very good. He also received the four hundred dollars which Sing sent back to Yao Yuan for his wedding. However, On Zhao suggested that Sing should send more back home. Because at that period, the cost of living in China was very high, 1927 October
	10		Item 5: Translated Summary of Letter: This letter is to Sing’s wife (Francis Moreno Sing). On Zhao was so sad that his father-in-law was died in a car accident. He felt sorry that he could not come because he was in Canada. He encouraged Mrs. Sing to work hard for the laundry business in order to raise Sing’s children, 1927 December
		Letters from Nephew, 1894, 1926-1927, undated
Box	Folder
1	11		Item 1: Note, undated
	11		Item 2: Translated Summary of Letter: Yi Jin (Nephew) told to his uncle that his business was not doing well because of the winter. He exchanged money every 2 to 3 days at that time. However, the conversion rate was a little low at that moment because it was the end of the year, 1926 December
	11		Item 3: Translated Summary of Letter: Yi Jin told Sing that his family was fine and the city where he lived was fine too. He told Sing that his business was not so good because of the flood. He was in debt over 3,000 dollars at that time, 1927 May
	11		Item 4: Translated Summary of Letter: This letter is to Sing’s wife (Francis Moreno Sing). In this letter, Yi Jin felt very sorry to hear that his uncle died in a car accident. Yi Jin lived far from Austin so he could not come to help them. He suggested that they should ask for compensation from the driver for his uncle’s death, 1927 December
	11		Item 5: Translated Summary of Letter: In this letter, Yi Jin told to Sing that their hometown was not safe at that time. There were some thieves who were committing robbery in the area where their family lived. He also told Sing that his business was doing poor, undated
	11		Item 6: Translated Summary of Letter: Dao Bao (Nephew’s name) thanked Sing for finding a job for him. Unfortunately, he became ill so that he could not continue his job. Some friends donated some money for him to help him go back to his hometown, undated
	11		Item 7: Translated Summary of Letter: Dao Bao told his uncle, Sing, that he had received the money and put it into the bank. He said he did not have a photo of Joe Sing. He hoped Joe Sing would send a photo to him if he had one. He also mentioned how the other three business partners were doing. Although the first two months were not good, the business got better and they had earned some money. Unfortunately, those three partners found the work hard and closed their business. So Yi Jin lost some money. Because of this, he was very sad, unknown
		Letters from Brother, 1915
Box	Folder
1	12		Item 1: Translated Summary of Letter: Sheng Yu (Brother) went back to home for New Year’s holiday. He visited Sing’s Chinese Family. Sheng Yu said the whole family was fine and asked Sing not to worry about them. He also enclosed a letter from Sing’s family member, Shi Bing, 1915 January
		Letters from Mother, undated
Box	Folder
1	13		Item 1: Translated Summary of Letter: Sing’s mother told him that his father died on August 8 (year unknown). His mother said that they were poor. She hoped Sing could send some money home for his father’s funeral, undated
		Letters from a Friend, 1929
Box	Folder
1	14		Item 1: Letter from Dick Lim, 1929 October
		Other Letters, 1927, undated
Box	Folder
1	15		Item 1: Translated Summary of Letter: Dao Chao (name) said that the business was doing very poorly. He was talking about the difficulty about the business. He could not continue the business. He wanted to borrow some money from Sing, undated
	15		Item 2: Translated Summary of Letter: A man named Yuan Hai wrote to his father He said he and his mother missed his father very much. He asked for some money from his father. He told his father they lived a very difficult life. Lastly, he wished his father good health, 1927 October
	15		Item 3: Translated Summary of Letter: Yuan Hai’s mother Lei Chi wrote the letter to Yuan Hai’s father. She stated that Yuan Hai’s father left home over 16 years ago. She told him they had a baby boy named Yuan Hai. After Yuan Hai’s birth, the family was happy and invited some relatives to eat together. She also asked money from her husband to help them live better, 1927 November
	22		Postcards, circa 1920
		Envelopes, 1912, 1926-1931, 1968, undated
Box	Folder
1	16		Item 1, 1912 May
	16		Item 2, 1926 October
	16		Item 3, 1928 February
	16		Item 4, 1929 January
	16		Item 5, undated
	16		Item 6, undated
	16		Item 7, undated
	16		Item 8: Chinese envelope, undated
	16		Item 9, 1968 February
	16		Item 10, 1931 June



IV. Financial Records, 1911, 1922-1928, undated
Box	Folder
1	17	Item 1: Book record for personal debt, undated
	17	Item 2: Receipt for payment, 1928 June 7
	17	Item 3: Receipt for payment , 1922 December 23
	17	Item 4: Receipt for Payment, 1925 November 14, 1927 August 1
	17	Item 5: Bank register, undated
	17	Item 6: Record of debts, undated
	17	Item 7: Record of debts, undated
	17	Item 8: Record of debts, undated
	17	Item 9: Record of debts, undated
	17	Item 10: I.O.U. from supplier, undated
	17	Item 11: I.O.U. from supplier, 1911 November 12
	17	Item 12: I.O.U. from supplier, undated
	17	Item 13: I.O.U. from supplier, undated
	17	Item 14: I.O.U. from supplier, undated
	17	Item 15: I.O.U. from supplier, undated
	17	Item 16: I.O.U. from supplier in New York, 1926 October 08
	17	Item 17: I.O.U. from supplier in New York, 1927 August 18
	17	Item 18: I.O.U. from unknown supplier, undated
	17	Item 19: I.O.U. from unknown supplier, undated
	17	Item 20: Receipt for payment, undated
	17	Item 21: Personal debt, undated



V. Advertisements, 1934, undated
Box	Folder
1	13	Item 1: Advertisement, undated
	18	Item 2: Advertisement, undated
	18	Item 3: Letter, undated
	18	Item 4: Advertisement for Chinese medicine. Translated Summary: The medicine is called “Wan Ying Ru Yi You”. This medicine was developed during the Qing Dynasty. It could treat several ailments such as a cold, stomachache, toothache, heart disease and others. It is suitable for everyone, undated
	18	Item 5: Advertisement, undated
	18	Item 6: Advertisement booklet, undated
	18	Item 7: Envelopes, undated
	18	Item 8: Advertisement, undated
	18	Item 9: Advertisement, undated
	18	Item 10: Ad for Department Store, undated
	18	Item 11: Department Store Catalogue, 1934

VI. Audio/Visual Materials, 2009-2010

Box

Folder

"Five Generations" - documentary DVD about the Sing family by University of Texas students, 2010

Location

TapeNo

Oral History Cabinet

3111

Mary Frances Aguallo oral history, 2009