Person

Lee, John

• Lee, Hong John

1866-1925

John Lee was born in China in October 1866 to Lee Yook Nai and Lee Ing Shee in the [新寧 Sunning / Xinning] county of [廣東 Guangdong] province in a village a few kilometers from the ocean. The area would later be known as [台山 Toisan / Taishan]. John arrived in Victoria, BC in April 1882, before the Chinese Immigration Act was passed in 1885.

Around 1900, he moved to Cranbrook, BC, working as an interpreter and foreman for Kettle Valley CPR Branch Line. This was one of the most dangerous and expensive railway projects in North American history. By at least 1913, John was the proprietor of the Sam Yick and Co. General Store and Boarding House, listed alongside Cranbrook’s other Chinese establishments in the International Chinese Business Directory of the World.

He brought over his 2nd wife, Lee Lum Shee, another Toisanese, in Spring 1913. As a merchant's wife, she was exempt from paying the head tax. By then, John Lee was a joint owner of the Lee Company, partnering with other Lee family members that owned and operated various groceries and restaurants in the vicinity of Cranbrook. Additionally, he was the head of the Chinese Freemasons branch [洪門/致公黨 Hongmen/Cheekungtong], and a member of the Dart Coon Club [達權總社], respected by many across BC.

By 1923, John was living above his business with his wife, his son Lee Look (b.1890), as well as three of his daughters: Alice Mee Wo Lee (b.1920), Annie May Young Lee (b. 1916), Mary May Tew John Lee (b.1914).

Two of his daughters lived in Alberta at the time, one in Pincher Creek, AB and another named Chin Chow Chung (b. 1904, China, nee Lee) in Canmore.

As John arrived in Canada before the 1885 Chinese Immigration Act, he only registered as a Chinese person in Canada upon the passing of the 1923 Chinese Immigration Act. Around this time, he began attending the Chinese Mission in Cranbrook and converted to Christianity.

About 10 months after his C.I.28 certificate was issued, he passed away of pneumonia on May 2, 1925 in Cranbrook BC. His funeral was delayed in order to bring together Freemason and family members from across Western Canada. The funeral was covered in newspapers as far away as Calgary and Lethbridge, AB. Over sixty cars and a full brass band formed the funeral procession, while Chinatown businesses flew flags at half mast. After his death, his wife sailed back to China without the paperwork allowing for her return to Canada.

Lee, Look (1890-1940)

Description supplied by collector/curator