Lew Hing (formal married name was Lew Yu-ling; Chinese: 劉興; May 1858–March 7, 1934) was a Chinese-born American industrialist and banker. He was the founding father of Chinatown in San Francisco, as well as Chinatown in Oakland, California and eventually one of the wealthiest Chinese immigrants in America.
After immigrating to the United States from China in 1871, Lew became a pioneer in the canning industry. He owned four canneries in California, in the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Monterey, and Antioch. His canneries supplied Herbert Hoover’s American Relief program following World War I.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, Lew also owned a shipping company, two hotels, and an import-export business. In Mexico, he owned a cotton plantation. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors for the China Mail Steamship Company, and President of the Canton Bank of San Francisco. He was also a real estate developer.
Today, his legacy is being carried on in the Pacific Cannery Lofts in Oakland by Holliday Development, where dedications are made in his honor in one of his original buildings for the Pacific Coast Canning Company.
Early life
Lew Hing was born May 1858 in Canton, China. He was the second of three children born to his father's third wife (after the first two wives died). Lew had an older sister and a younger brother, as well as half brothers and sisters. His birthplace and ancestral roots were in the village-cluster of Li’ao (裡坳鄉) in Sunning (新寧) (the former name of the district), in the "Four Districts" (四邑) region in the Pearl River Delta Region of the province of Guangdong, China. He received his formal education in Hong Kong.
Before Lew Hing was born, his father had journeyed to San Francisco to find prosperity and he didn’t find it. Rejecting conscription as a laborer, as well as the debauchery of San Francisco's Barbary Coast lifestyle, he camped along the shores of San Francisco Bay until the frustration of disappointment and loneliness caused him to return to China after two months.
In San Francisco
In 1868 an older half brother of Lew Hing ventured to San Francisco to start a small metal shop on Commercial Street. By 1869, with the success of his half brothers shop and at the suggestion, Lew Hing, immigrated to America. He arrived one year after the Burlingame Treaty, which made immigration between the countries easier. In 1872, his half-brother planned a brief vacation back to Canton to visit his family. His square rigged sailing vessel was off the coast of Japan when it caught fire and sank, causing all aboard to perish at sea. This left the young Lew Hing, at age 13, alone in San Francisco, without family or money.
He attended educational classes a missionary school and learned English, in exchange he worked with translating for shipments from China for U.S. Customs. Hing met P. W. Bellingall, a successful businessman in the importing and exporting field through this experience.
The growing Chinese community that would later become known as San Francisco's Chinatown was beginning to form familial associations that provided leadership and social opportunities among the Chinese immigrants to America. Men with the same surnames would help each other as brothers. This was the beginning of family association in Chinatown, and it was through such association that the young Lew Hing was able to survive. It was with such family association guidance that Lew continued working at his deceased brother's metal shop, while attending a local church mission to learn to read and write English. In doing so, he also learned to do his own bookkeeping and accounting. Never afraid to work long hours, he also accepted odd jobs for extra money. His industrious and entrepreneurial spirit carried him through these difficult years.
Marriage and children
In 1877, Lew Hing married Chin Shee (July 1860 – July 1947) in San Francisco. They had three sons and four daughters, each born in San Francisco. Lew Yuet-yung, aka Mrs. Quan Yick-sun (1879–1967) Lew Gin-gow (1885–1943) Lew Yuen-hing, aka Mrs. Ho Chou-won (1889–1978) Lew Wai-hing, aka Mrs. Ng Min-hing (1890–1969) Thomas Gunn-sing Lew, also known as Tom Lowe (1894–1974) Lew Soon-hing Rose, aka Rose Lew Moon (1898–1993) Ralph Ginn Lew (1903–1987)