Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Won Alexander Cumyow fonds
General material designation
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title based on contents of fonds.
Level of description
Fonds
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
Physical description area
Physical description
16 cm of textual records; 82 photographs
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Won Alexander Cumyow is the first Chinese person recorded as being born in Canada, on February 14, 1861 in Port Douglas, B .C., located at the north end of Harrison Lake. Cumyow's parents had immigrated there from Canton (Guangzhou) and his father operated a business outfitting miners on their way to the Cariboo.
In addition to Chinese and English, Cumyow learned to speak Chinook which would prove useful in his future career. The family later moved to New Westminster, where Cumyow was educated in law and appointed court interpreter in 1888. He gained prominence as a merchant, community leader, and official Court Interpreter for the Vancouver City Police (1904-1936), and was involved with several groups, including the Chinese Empire Reform Association.
He married in 1889 and had ten children, including four sons and six daughters. His son, Gordon, succeeded him as Court Interpreter. He was the only Chinese person to have voted both before and after the Chinese were disenfranchised from voting, as recorded in a 1949 photo of an elderly Cumyow casting an election ballot.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The fonds consists of correspondence, journals, scrapbooks, photographs, diplomas, certificates and reference and printed materials relating to Cumyow's activities and interests among the Chinese-Canadian community of Vancouver. The activities of his family are also reflected in the fonds.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
The majority of material in this fonds was donated to the University of British Columbia by Mrs . Hilda Cumyow, daughter-in-law of Won Alexander Cumyow, in 1975 and 1980, with some additional material donated by Aileen Cumyow in 1990 .
Arrangement
The arrangement of the fonds generally follows the arrangement according to material type established by George Brandak in 1975.
Original identifier scheme for photographs (BC1848/XX) has been replaced with current scheme (RBSC-ARC-1153-PH-XX) as part of rehousing work done in July 2019. Original identifiers listed in general note field of associated items.
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script note
Some material in Chinese.
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
No restrictions on access.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Control area
Description record identifier
Rules or conventions
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Items re-housed and finding aid updated in the months of October and November of 2015 by student archivist, Dennis Michailides and in July 2019 by Jacky Lai. One item originally donated with the fonds is missing, presumably due to the disrepair of their original boxes. The missing item is BC1848/64 "Brothers Joe and Frank in front of New Westminster, general store". At any such time that the item is relocated, the finding aid will be updated to include the descriptions.