Research Catalog

Finding Samuel Lowe : China, Jamaica, Harlem

Title: Finding Samuel Lowe : China, Jamaica, Harlem / Paula Williams Madison.
Author: Madison, Paula Williams
Publication: New York, NY : Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2015]
Supplementary Content: Contributor biographical information

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Request in advance	E185.615 .M23 2015	Off-site

Details

Description

x, 275 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color); 24 cm

Summary

"This powerful debut tells the story of Paula Williams Madison's Chinese grandfather, Samuel Lowe. He became romantically involved with a Jamaican woman, Paula's grandmother, and they lived together modestly with their daughter in his Kingston dry goods store, Chiney Shop. In 1920 his Chinese soon-to-be wife arrived to set up a "proper" family. When he requested to take his three-year-old daughter with him, Paula's jealous grandmother made sure that Lowe never saw his child again. That began an almost one-hundred-year break in their family. Years later, the arrival of her only grandchild raising questions about family and legacy, Paula decided to search for Samuel Lowe's descendants in China. With the support of her brothers and the help of encouraging strangers, a determined Paula eventually pieced together her grandfather's life, following his story from China to Jamaica and back."--Publisher description.

Subject

Genre/Form

Narrative non-fiction.
Autobiographies.
Biographies.

Note

"龍崗鶴湖羅氏定朝公."--- From cover.
"Longgang Hehu Luo shi Dingchao gong."--- From cover.

Contents

Dreams of my grandfather -- Mothers and daughters. Beijing, 2008 ; The outside child -- Where love begins. Kingston, Jamaica, 1918 ; Usury and death ; My daddy Elrick ; This is where Sarah came from ; Elrick grows up ; Two outside children meet ; Lies and marraige -- Growing up Williams. Scenes from a marriage ; Growing up Williams : scene one ; Nocturne in Nell minor ; Finding my own space ; Umbilical cords ; Custody matters ; Growing up Williams : scene two ; Breaking my daddy's heart after he broke mine ; I meet my grandma Sarah ; The year of my discontent -- Searching for Samuel Lowe. The year of the dragon ; The Hakka people ; Chee gah ngin : many places, one people ; The capitalist class and the servant class ; Samuel Lowe was my father ; Do you know that you are black? -- Prosperity, family, education. The point of no return ; Adassa takes charge ; Gilbert's journey ; My heart was somewhat disturbed and I found it very strange ; Lowe Shui Hap -- Samuel Lowe's twentieth century. A journey of ten thousand miles ; Secondary migration ; Fire! Fire! ; The returning wave ; You den, you choy : have children, have wealth ; The ravages of war ; The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution ; And the family grows and prospers -- My three-thousand-year-old family : reunited at last. Visiting Jamaica ; Samuel's shop ; The December reunion in China ; Roosevelt finds his own China ; Where my ancestors are laid to rest ; Aunt Adassa turns ninety-four ; The return of the jia pu ; Chinese names -- Dreams of my grandfather.

ISBN

9780062331632
0062331639

LCCN

2015487211

OCLC

ocn883146092
883146092

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries