Family Information

Kim Sheong Ching

"There were a few Chinese recalled as having worked in the capacity of a luna or supervisor directly connected with the canefields. Two Chinese luna frequently mentioned were Ching Sai, also known as Ching Shui, and Ching Sheong, labor supervisor or luna since the old-timers always remember him riding around on a big white horse, a privilege of the 'boss man' in the cane fields. His home was located on the mill side of the upper road, a place reserved only for labor supervisors.

"Ching Sheong was a "water luna," whose function was to supervise the irrigation of the fields, inspecting the flumes, pumps and watering system on horseback from Waikele up to Kipapa. Ching, born in China in 1870, first worked for O`ahu Sugar as a field laborer in 1901 and married a local girl, sixteen-year-old Ching Chai Shee, in 1903. After having two sons, the couple left Waipahu for Dowsett in Nuuanu Valley to plant vegetables and strawberries before an O`ahu Sugar foreman he had befriended took Ching and his family to Kukuihaele, Hawaii, to help operate the sugar plantation. After several years there, Ching returned to Waipahu as a luna where his family lived in a spacious manager's home close to the mill where his children picked kiawe beans to feed his horse lodged back of the mill tracks. In 1918 Ching bought a house on Kuakini Street, Honolulu, so his children could attend school while Ching continued with his prominent position in Waipahu until his retirement around 1940."

"Ancestral Reflections: Hawaii's Early Chinese Of Waipahu - An Ethnic Community Experience, 1885-1935," Douglas D.L. Chong, Waipahu Tsoong Nyee Society, c. 1998, pp.72-73

Ching Sheong and family. Ching was a water engineer and supervisor at O‘ahu Sugar Company. Photo: Mrs. Sandra Liu

Kim Sheong Ching Family Portrait

Portrait taken before the birth of Ellen Ching. l. to r. Henry, William, Kim Fung Chai, Merlyn (held by Kim Fung), George, Andrew, Eunice, Edward, Kim Sheong, Anna, Harry.

Information restricted to Ching Cousins access

Access to the following Family Information is restricted to the Ching Cousins.

The Kim Sheong Ching Family Story

Family Status - Where We Are

Abbreviated Genealogy

Birth and Death Information

Contact Information [Revised 02/25/21]