Chapter 1 : Introduction

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Goal of this Study

The goal of this genealogical project is to research and document the family history of the Yong family of Sabah and Sarawak, who were descended from Yong Nyat Lin, a Hakka who lived in British North Borneo (now Sabah) in the late 19th and early 20th century.

It is hoped that such documentation will allow current and future generations belonging to this family to better understand their ancestry and current familial relationships.

This writeup will form part of a hopefully ongoing study which other members of the Yong family will continue in future.

Scope of Study

This project is the first part of a trilogy of genealogical investigations led by a father-and-son team, Joseph Yong and James Yong.

There are three surnames that will be explored, namely: Lau, Yong, and Lim. The first surname “Lau” is the maiden surname of the first co-author’s spouse and the second co-author’s mother. The authors are both surnamed “Yong”, so that second part is obvious. “Lim” is the maiden name of the first co-author’s mother, and the second co-author’s grandmother.

Research Approach

The research will be carried out through fact-finding approaches, including:

• A literature survey (i.e. books, papers and articles pertaining to Sarawak and Sabah history and Chinese migration to the region)
• Web searches (including perusing genealogical websites)
• Official registers (e.g. government and church records), and
• Interviews with current members, friends and acquaintances of the families.

Further Information

If any of the readers of this monograph have further information on the Yong family, which could be added to make the next edition of this document more accurate, we would appreciate it very much if you could send the information by email to James Yong (jslyong@hotmail.com).