Matching Items (110)
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- Member of: Chinese Immigrants in Cuba: Documents From the James and Ana Melikian Collection
Created1858-11-27
Description
This group of documents pertain to the disappearance of 14 Chinese settlers and their cedulas, and the search that ensued to locate them and return them to their owners. A claim was made by the owners of the cedulas- D. Antonio and Eduardo Betancourt, on November 27, 1858. Various authority figures in several of the Cuban towns responded to the report and promised to keep an active search, and to remain in constant communication regarding the missing 14 settlers. However, it was later established within the reports that D. Antonio Betancourt had provided fraudulent contracts about the 14 settlers, and he was therefore arrested and held in prison. After appealing for his freedom, D. Antonio Betancourt was released from the prison, el Castillo de la Punta, on February, 15, 1859.
Created1858-01-08
Description
This was a formal request to import more Chinese settlers for labor that was sent to the governor and captain of Cuba. The request was written by Carlos de Laldo, who was the director of a bank and insurance company on the island of Cuba. Carlos stated that quality ships with good hygienic standards, and a crew that could provide adequate care to the settlers were needed to improve the established system of importing Chinese settlers. He also specified that ships designed for efficiency and speed should be selected for transporting the settlers to Cuba. Finally, he requested permission for his company to import up to 15,000 Chinese settlers. 1858.
Created1855
Description
Letter from the Captain General, stating what should be filled on the identity cards of Chinese settlers. 1855.
Created1865
DescriptionDeath record of Bartolome, a Chinese settler who died from pulmonary consumption. 1865.
Created1864
Description
The cedula or an identity record for a Chinese settler, Francisco. He was brought from Soltero, China to Cuba to work for M. B. Pereda for eight years. Then, his contract was transferred to R. A. Leull for an additional eight years. 1864.
Created1865
DescriptionAn identity card, or cedula, for Capruto, originally from Soltero. Capruto worked for Josefa Carbonell.
Created1871-04-15
Description
This is a request for a certificate of naturalization that was made by a Chinese settler named Agustin Cisneros. According to the handwritten request form (which begins on page six), Agustin had already been granted his carta de domicilio, or permanent residence card, five years prior to this request. The document also reveals that Agustin was married to a woman named Lorenza Pastor, had four children with his wife, had been baptized, and worked as a cook. The document proceeding the official request for naturalization is the death certificate of Lorenza Pastor, which was signed on September 14, 1871. The next document is the marriage certificate that belonged to Agustin and Lorenza that was signed on June 18, 1870. The consecutive documents in this selection consist of supporting materials and documents that were used in his application for naturalization. Interviews with two of Agustin's past owners were conducted to gather evidence of Agustin's good conduct, work ethic, and intentions, and the transcribed interviews were included in the application. The landlords who were interviewed were Francisco Angela and Ramon Cueto. A cedula and the carta de domicilio that belonged to Agustin were presented in the packet, but caused some controversy because they contained the name Ricardo Cisneros as opposed to Agustin Cisneros. He was interviewed by officials so that they could understand why the documents had a different name other than his own, and to verify that he was not stealing some other person's documents to support his case. Agustin informed them that before he was baptized with the name Agustin Cisneros, he was called Ricardo by every person that he ever knew since arriving in Cuba. His request was subsequently accepted, and his carta de naturalizacion, or naturalization certificate, was signed on January 5, 1872.
Created1866-02-22
Description
These official documents formed an application/request for a carta de domicilio, or permanent residence documents, that belonged to a Chinese settler named Salvador. The documents included in this selection are the official written request for Salvador's carta de domicilio that was signed on February 22, 1866, two letters that were written by two of his past landlords expressing their satisfaction with his good conduct and dedication to his work, his baptism certificate, and an official acceptance of his request for his carta de domicilio with an instruction to expedite his card that was signed on April 18, 1866.
Created1868-04-01
Description
These compiled records formed the application for permanent residence on the island of Cuba that belonged to a Chinese settler named Feliciano. Included in this collection are the formal written request for Feliciano's permanent residence card, his baptism certificate, several documents written by his past owners attesting to his good conduct during the completion of his labor contracts, and two copies of two of his second labor contracts. The last document in this collection is the written acceptance of his request for permanent residence that was signed in 1868.
Created1868-04-06
Description
This collection of official documents formed the application for a carta de domicilio, or permanent residence card, that belonged to a Chinese settler named Fermin. The documents included in the application packet include two of Fermin's second labor contracts from 1860 and 1867, his baptism certificate that was signed in 1867, a rehire request signed in 1867, a certificate written by one of his past owners that certified that Fermin had completed two labor contracts with satisfactory conduct, and a written request for his carta de domicilio that was signed on April 6, 1868.