The Luke Shaw Story

The Luke Shaw Story

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My grandpa’s father’s name was Luke Shaw. His Chinese name was Wong King Sing. He moved here from Taishan City in Guangdong in the 1800’s to escape war and seek a fortune in gold.

He was the lowest of the four Social Dialects in Southern China called Say Yup. Say Yup were laborers which helped him get to America, where he briefly stayed in San Francisco and Oakland with Relatives until he got situated.

Wong King Sing moved to the most northern region of California called Indian Creek to mine gold. He settled in a small Chinese community called Hoopersville, which consisted of a store, restaurant, living quarters and a gambling hall. There he married Louie Len Gew and had seven children, including my grandpa James T. Wong.

A horrible cave-in occurred and my great grandfather spent several days and nights tp save the land owner’s life. Wong King Sing was from then on called Luke Shaw by the locals of Fort Jones Indian Creek area.

After my great grandma died around 1920, gold became hard to find and no Chinese lived in the community, Wong King Sing and his family left their home, with no running water or electricity, headed for Oakland California to retire until his passing in 1936.

Directed by Christopher Stephen James Wong (USA)

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