Celebration of the HENRY LEVY CHIN Family

Henry Levy Chin began life as the son of Den Luen Chin of Niu Fu (Chin) Village near Hong Kong. He learned of struggles and hardship at an early age. This was followed by the death of his father whom he had to bury in his teenage years, then the passing of his mother about a year or two after. Afterward a cruel “step-mother” in Niu Fu became the prime reason for him to seek opportunities elsewhere. His uncle, Den Len or William Chin See (the younger brother of Den Luen Chin) who had previously immigrated to Jamaica, contracted Henry Levy Chin as an indentured worker for his business in Falmouth. Young Henry took a leap of faith with no money and very little education to join his uncle in 1910 at age 16. What followed was very hard work under a strict uncle who mentored him in operating a small business. Henry Levy did not speak English and taught himself by asking many questions and reading the newspapers.
For Henry Levy Chin, a strong will to succeed and perseverance to match paid off from his brief time with his father Den Luen and years of tutelage under William Chin See, who was his father’s brother Den Len. This early training prepared Henry Levy Chin for life. With three wives in succession whom he outlived, and twelve children, the rest is an inspiring narrative of the human spirit and an unparalleled family succession that is the basis of this book. Henry Levy Chin’s family as of 2018 numbers 100. The amazing statistics are: from his first-generation children only 2 went to university. Most of his other children were educated by the University of Hard-knocks. The next two generations all attained formal higher education and their professions span the spectrum from A to Z. They have had or are having very successful careers.
To put this in perspective, Henry Levy Chin (HLC) came from humble beginnings and he dealt with strife from an early age. His first lessons from a rich Chinese family culture and hard work provided the foundation he needed to face insurmountable odds from which he eventually reaped bountiful wealth–not in terms of riches, but the progression of the family’s character, skills, and knowledge. Life in those times is best summarized by excerpts from the books Chinese in Jamaica (1963) and Jamaican Chinese Worldwide (2004).

Falmouth Jamaica was the center of the Henry Levy Chin Family’s Universe. Henry Levy Chin left his home in Niuhu (New Foo) China as a teenager (~16 yr.), arriving in Falmouth where his life started from humble beginnings as an indentured worker in his uncle’s Willian Chin See’s business. It may not have felt like that at the time, but it was a significant period in his life. For he learned about small business ownership and operation under his strict and demanding uncle, “Pa” William Chin See. He did earn his uncle’s respect, and after 10 years of no pay, his uncle gave him a huge lump sum of money to go start his own life. With that, Henry Levy Chin began his life story with his three wives in succession & 12 children. All Henry Levy Chin’s children were born and raised in Falmouth. They attended their first school, the Barracks School. The Family business grew from a small grocery shop to a major Wholesale Store and Supermarket with a Bar on the side. In turn the wholesale store became a major supplier to many small businesses around the parish of Trelawny. It was in Falmouth that Henry Levy Chin saw his family grow up and spin off with families of their own, some leaving to live across Jamaica, USA, and England.
This section covers the History of Falmouth, the Architecture and notable buildings, and most important, the other Chinese Families that lived there.

To understand what it means to be Chinese, it is necessary that we know the roots of our heritage. The roots we unfold in this book are those of a Chinese gentleman who rose from a very humble beginning and became a model citizen, father and head of household, and Justice of the Peace. It is with great pride that we detail his life as an inspiration to the generations of Chins that follow. The book starts with the forefathers of Henry Levy Chin. They came from one of the oldest cultures in the world, in a land called China. China is a huge country in eastern Asia with the highest population and the third largest area. The ancient Chinese called their country Chung-kuo or Middle Country, because they thought of their country as both the geographic center of the world and the only cultured civilization. The name China was given to the country by foreigners, and thought to come from Ch’in, the name of an early Chinese dynasty (series of rulers from the same family). China has the world’s oldest living civilization. Its written history goes back about 3,500 years, a fact the Chinese people take much pride in. They were the first to develop the compass, gunpowder, paper, porcelain, and silk cloth. Over the centuries, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other Asian lands have borrowed from Chinese art, language, literature, religion, and technology.

In early times, the Chinese people were divided into many small states. In 221 BC., Ch’in dynasty under the first emperor, Shih Huang Ti, abolished the local states and established an empire with a strong central government. His government standardized weights and measures, the currency, and the Chinese writing system. To keep out invaders, Shih Huang Ti ordered the building of the Great Wall of China, which stretches 4,000 miles from near the coast to the province of Kansu in north-central China. Shih Huang Ti taxed the Chinese people heavily to support his military campaigns and vast building projects. These taxes and harsh enforcement of laws led to civil war soon after his death in 210 BC. The Ch’in dynasty quickly collapsed and the Han dynasty took control of China. During the Han dynasty, Confucianism became the philosophical basis of government. It influenced Chinese education, government, and attitudes toward personal behavior and the individual’s duty to society. Confucianism can be described as a guide to morality and good government. Confucius’s philosophy emphasized sincerity in personal and public conduct. The key to orderly social life was the gentleman, which he defined as a person, not of noble birth, but one of good moral character. A gentleman was truly reverent in worship and sincerely respected his father and his ruler. He was expected to think for himself and was guided by definite rules of conduct. Confucius believed that when gentlemen were rulers, their moral examples would inspire those beneath them to lead good lives. Virtuous behavior by rulers and heads of families, he declared, had a greater effect in governing than did laws and codes of punishment. Aristocrats held most of the important state offices, but under Confucianism, qualification also played a role in the selection and placement of officials. Confucius died about 479 BC, and his followers spread his ideas. A significant Confucian philosopher was Hsun-tzu (mid-200 BC), who believed people could be good and live peacefully together only if their minds could be shaped by education and clear rules of conduct. In 124 BC, the government established the Imperial University to educate future government officials in Confucian ideals. The university based its teachings on five books of Confucian thought called the Five Classics. Mastery of the Classics was proof of moral character and the chief sign of a gentlemen. In summary, the Chinese empire (strong central government) created by the Ch’in dynasty lasted in some form for more than 2000 years, during which, Chinese society survived wars, rebellions, and the rise and fall of numerous dynasties. With time, the Chinese developed an increasingly powerful and efficient system of government, built great cities, and created magnificent works of art and literature. From time to time, nomadic invaders conquered all or part of China, however, those invaders had little effect on Chinese civilization.

Karma is Karma (fate is fate), the crossing of two paths in time, a business agreement of convenience, the unfolding of the Henry Levy Chin saga; that is the message of this chapter. The first in the sequence of events that significantly affected the course of history was the bold move of Uncle William Chin See to Falmouth, Jamaica, at about the time Henry Levy Chin’s father went to Vietnam. He started as an indentured laborer in a Sugar Cane estate in Trelawny. After seven years of hard work he successfully settled his contract with the wealthy landlord, and subsequently opened a small general store. At that point in time, he was getting on in years (about 50 years old) and needed good trustworthy workers to operate his small business. Who could he turn to? This created “the need.” Second, Henry Levy Chin’s passionate desire to get away from his oppressive stepsister-in-law in Niuhu, China created “the want,” Thus, as fate would have it, the “need” and the “want” found common ground, and in 1906, Henry Levy Chin requested to join Uncle William Chin See. The request was accepted and resulted in the fateful trip of Henry Levy Chin to Jamaica, at the ripe old age of 18 years. Little did he know of his future in the Chin See business, his education in the University of Hard knocks, his field of endeavor (business), and his teacher (life experiences). His only strengths were his Chinese heritage, his code of ethics, his sense of duty, his lack of fear for hard work, his pragmatic approach to life, and a strong back. The rest is history. This chapter is a narrative of how Uncle William Chin See migrated to Jamaica and ultimately set up his small wholesale business in Falmouth.

Uncle William Chin See, like his older brother Chin Father Den Luen, decided to leave his home in the Chin village of Niuhu, China, to seek other opportunities and fortune. The time period was somewhere between 1885 and 1890. It is thought that the Chin family could not sustain the expansion of the family members, and so the male offspring had to go seek opportunities elsewhere. Henry Levy Chin’s Father Den Luen chose Saigon in Vietnam. Uncle William Chin See chose Jamaica. That island appealed to him, as he had heard of the prosperity of the Sugar Industry in Jamaica and its need for indentured workers. Both Hong Kong and Jamaica were British colonies, so travel without immigration requirements was relatively easy. Other Chinese workers had earlier traveled to Jamaica to work and were now sending home money to their families. This seemed like a good opportunity. Nothing tried, nothing gained. Uncle William decided to take a fateful chance in that moderate sized island in the tropics halfway across the world. Others had done it before, so there was a good number of Chinese there for him to seek shelter and comradeship. So, he signed a contract with the Sugar Industry representatives in Hong Kong and boarded the infamous Blue Funnel cargo ship to Jamaica. It was a long 6-month trip on a slow boat. They sailed south to Singapore, across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal, across the Mediterranean Sea, across the Straits of Gibraltar, up to London, England for a stop, then sailed west across the vast Atlantic Ocean to the USA for multiple stops at Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Miami. From there they set sail to Kingston, Jamaica after several months of travel.

The year was 1912. The decision had been made by Henry Levy Chin to leave Niuhu, China. He had had enough of his stepsister’s oppressive care. Now it was time to take a leap of faith, faith that there must be a better life in Jamaica. It certainly could not be worse than what he wished to leave behind. He had the courage to step forward to a land he knew little about. With few precious material possessions, Henry Levy Chin took that fateful step on the Blue Funnel Liner. The “slow boat” that would take him from the only life he had known, to an island that offered nothing more than a promise. He said his farewell to those that bid him good-bye. There was some permanence to those good-byes, as he knew he would not see his family in China for a long time. There was no turning back now, not to the stepsister that made his life miserable. Ironically, it was through her cruelty that Henry Levy Chin took the fateful trip to Jamaica where, with time, his legacy would unfold. Though he had little money, he did take with him his Chinese heritage, his family values, his knowledge of peasant life, and his basic skills as a merchant. He was not afraid of work, for he had worked in Singapore and in Niuhu under the relentless eye of his stepsister, and he had seen the Chinese peasants hard at work in the rice paddies. But most of all, he had his health, he had the drive to better himself, and he had the confidence of his Uncle William.

The trip from Hong Kong to Jamaica on the Blue Funnel liner followed the same route as did Uncle William’s. He had strangers for company, and the living quarters were basic and crowded. There was a shift in language from Chinese to English. The food was strange. Oh, for a bowl of rice with a little soy sauce! The seas had been rough, especially around the southern tip of South America. Everything rocked back and forth, back and forth. Why is my stomach in knots? Why am I dizzy? When will it ever end? He prayed to his God, and to his forefathers dead and gone. Finally, the trip came to an end. Never was he so glad to see land again. He had arrived in Kingston, Jamaica, in February of 1913. His first step on solid ground felt good. He looked around to get his first impressions. He saw the greenery of the tropical foliage, the temperate climate. This was almost like Niuhu, China. But that was the end of the similarities. The people were different. Some were white, some were brown, and some were black. This was not China, where all people were Chinese. They all wore very different style of clothing and spoke a “strange” kind of English. What did that man say? He had listen harder. He had arrived just in time for the Chinese New Year celebration. Henry Levy Chin found refuge with the other Chinese laborers in Kingston and celebrated the New Year there. As many Chinese immigrants did, Henry Levy Chin went to the Chinese Benevolent Association on Barry Street, the center of “Chinatown, Jamaica” to meet with other Chinese-Jamaicans who had arrived years before, and there he received his first orientation to this new land, yet to be called “home.”

In this chapter, Henry Levy Chin rose from the apprentice in Pa William’s store to the business advisor and eventually department manager. It was also a time when Henry Levy Chin was no longer a boy, but a young man who started a family. It is a tale of joy and sadness. The joy of his own family, and the pain that he was denied the opportunity to marry his first love, Albertha Warner, a non-Chinese Jamaican young lady, who bore Henry Levy Chin two daughters and a son. Instead, under the directive of his Uncle William Chin See, his first marriage was “arranged” according to proper Chinese custom and etiquette. Henry Levy Chin followed his Uncle’s directive and married Marian Wong from Canton, China, in 1926, and started his second family. Wife Marian, after bearing Henry Levy Chin seven children (four boys and three daughters), passed away at an early age. Henry Levy Chin was alone with all his children. Edith Mae Chang, from Kingston, Jamaica, agreed to marry Henry Levy Chin and raise his children as her own. She later bore him two sons. This chapter is a narrative of the series of events that took them though two divisions of the Chin See Business; the second division being the spring board for Henry Levy Chin to establish his own business.
For ten years (1913 – 1923) Henry Levy Chin, matured under the tutelage of his Uncle William Chin See. He advanced from the lowly apprentice. He was now Uncle William’s business advisor at about 1918, and later to be his department manager. He worked long days and spent much time following his Uncle’s instructions. He had learned how to weigh and bag sugar and flour, cut salted fish, wrap and sell. He had learned how to bake, how to mix drinks, how to wash bottles, how to mix vinegar and bottle it. He learned efficiency and scheduling. He learned about purchase price, selling price, and competitive sales. He learned about Profit, Human Relations, and Work Ethics. There was no formal training. He learnt by example, by experience, and yes, sometimes by his mistakes, but he learned his lessons, and learned them well. Skills of a businessman that, one day, he himself would use in his own business and pass on to his children.
The time period was about 1918 when Henry Levy Chin rose to the level of business advisor and “assistant” department manager; there were no formal business titles in those days. And as he rose in stature, his Uncle William would demand more of him. For this, he never flinched, but gave more. More that made Chin See brothers grow and be more profitable. He fondly recalls two of his most significant accomplishments that separated Uncle William’s business from the other general stores in Falmouth, Jamaica.
First. During the early years of the Chin See general store business, goods were purchased from the only local wholesale supplier, Delgado Brothers, and retailed in their general store. Profit margin was very small due to the competition from the other Delgado supplied stores. Young Henry Levy Chin recognized that, to become more profitable, it was necessary to deal with another, more cost-effective wholesale supplier, even if it meant going outside the bounds of Trelawny Parish. Thus, armed with the gained literacy from the tutoring by Mas Fred, he felt that he could sally forth and navigate deeper waters. He felt confident enough to go and approach the big agents in the capital Kingston. This would widen the Profit margin, a subject dear to Uncle William’s heart. Henry Levy Chin went to his Uncle with that proposal. Although dubious, Uncle William nevertheless gave his consent, and a large sum of £4 to finance the expedition to Kingston. So Henry Levy Chin traveled to Kingston. The first company he approached was Adolph Levy and Brothers, who, like Pa William, had misgivings at first, but after listening to Henry Levy Chin’s proposal and projected business volume and earnings, Adolph Levy & Brothers gave Chin See Brothers store a credit of £400. He then went to Cecil deCordova, H. M. Brandon, and Vassel & Nephew, and obtained a total credit of £2,000.00. With this injection of life blood, Chin See Brothers began to grow significantly. Before long, they added a Bakery, baking around 10 bags (196 pounds each) of flour per week. A nice volume for a “small” growing business. The venture was highly successful. The Chin See business became profitable and separated Uncle William’s store for his competitors. the Chin See general store was the place to buy supplies. It grew in size over its competitors and supported Uncle William and his growing family.
Second. A major shipment of flour (over 300 bags) got wet, due to heavy seas during its transit to Falmouth. The Jamaica government officials therefore held an auction at the Falmouth wharves (a landing pier where ships tie up and load and/or unload). This created a significant shortage of flour and wheat products such as bread. Young Henry Levy Chin got wind of this and seized upon an opportunity. He went to his Uncle William Chin See and convinced him to purchase the wet flour at a fraction of the original cost. He knew that the water damage covered only the outer region of the bagged flour; there was good dry flour in the center region of the bag. The proposal was accepted and Young Henry attended the auction and purchased the whole shipment at a fraction of the original price. He then hired a few women, and each night after the shop was closed, he would work alongside them, sifting and sifting. Thus, they separated the dry flour from the wet parts. They sieved for a whole week at night, with little or no sleep. The net result was that the Chin See Bakery was the only bakery with bread to sell. People were knocking on their door. Business was swift, and the reward was good. Henry Levy Chin admitted that sometimes the bread did not taste “so good,” but it was in the days of non-sophistication and basics, so the bread sold as fast as it could be baked. In recollection, young Henry estimated the wet flour purchase earned Chin See Bros. about £1000. Uncle William was very pleased – 10 points for Henry Levy Chin.

Henry Levy Chin was now 58 years old. He had paid his dues in Singapore when his father passed away and they were destitute. He had paid his dues in Niuhu under the vengeful shrew of a sister-in-law. He was thankful to his three Aunts who had faith in him and paid his passage to Jamaica. He had paid his dues, and was most thankful to Uncle William Chin See for the opportunity in the Chin See Brothers business. He was grateful for the habits of diligence and thrift he learned from his uncle, habits which he considered the cornerstones of his future fortune. His uncle’s teachings were certainly hard to take, but the fruits of such teachings were to be bountiful. He had successfully completed the University of Hard-knocks and demonstrated his acquired skills in the Chin See business.

The year was now 1952. Henry Levy Chin had sold his share of the Chin See business to cousin Rupert Chin See, and was now on his own. He was at last in complete control of his destiny. Was he scared? Probably. But he had faced the odds before and came out a winner; he had every confidence that he could do it again. Yes, there would be difficult times ahead; life would not be easy; sacrifices would have to be made. Regardless, he knew that if his family all pulled together on the same piece of rope, they would succeed, and as history will show, succeed they did.

They started by first, opening a business that he and his family had all the skills for, a Retail Grocery Store at 4 Water Square. To meet the terms and conditions of his departure from Chin See brothers, Henry Levy Chin opened the business in his second wife’s name–Edith M. Chin trading as “Sweeties Thrift Shop”. The business was initially but a small competitor of the “big” Chin See Wholesale, Hardware, and Bakery business. They also rented #3 and #5 Water Square buildings to a businessman whose name no one can recollect, and William HoSue, for much needed supplemental income. The first Sweeties Thrift Shop “employees” were Henry Levy Chin, wife Edith Mae, and children Leslie, May, Maud, and Mabel. Harold, Harry, Herbert and Anthony were young and still in school. Hector had left to go work in the road construction business, where, in 1950-1951 he worked on the construction of the Montego Bay Airfield, in 1952 – 1953 he worked in Grand Cayman Island Airfield, and in 1954 he worked on the Queens Highway between Discovery Bay and Runaway Bay. Work cycle in the newly formed Sweeties Thrift Shop involved “Miss Mae” (nickname of wife Edith Mae) taking a market truck to Kingston each Sunday. There she would purchase supplies for the family store, then return late Monday night or early Tuesday morning. This was not an easy task, for Sweeties had very little capital, and no credit history with the bankers nor the big wholesalers of Kingston. So Miss Mae went to Kingston with little in hand, and initially had to purchase supplies by cash. This brought but little supplies that Sweeties could barely survive on. Week after week, Miss Mae went to Kingston and pleaded with the big wholesalers to extend Sweeties some credit. There were many rejections, which hurt her deeply, for her family depended on increased supplies. She was known to break down in tears in the wholesalers lobby as she pleaded for help. Persistence paid off, for one, then two, then more of the wholesalers extended a small credit with 30-day payment, exclusively on her word. She gratefully accepted those credits and brought the much-needed increased suppliers for Sweeties. Sales at Sweeties improved and in turn, Miss Mae religiously paid the wholesalers 30 days later. Trust was developing between the wholesalers and Edith Mae Chang Chin, and so, credit was increased a little at a time, for which Sweeties promptly made payment 30 days thereafter. That relationship was good for both the wholesalers and Sweeties, for both enjoyed increased sales of supplies purchased on Miss Mae’s word, nothing more, nothing less. Miss Mae had now firmly laid the path to Kingston and made Sweeties known to the business community there. The rest of the Sweeties “employees,” joined by Miss Mae, worked in the store 6 days a week, Tuesdays through Saturdays. Sweeties had become self sufficient, not rich, just able to stand on its own. This continued until 1953 when sister Mabel assumed the role of purchasing supplies in Kingston from Miss Mae. Then in early 1954, sister May left the business to go to Kingston to pursue a career in Sewing. She was followed shortly thereafter by sister Maud, also in 1954. Coincident with those departures, in 1954, Henry Levy Chin decided to expand the business to further support his growing family. The decision was made to open a Wholesale business. He needed more help to cover that expansion and the departure of May and Maud, if the business were to survive and be profitable. So he asked brother Hector to give up his job in the construction business and return to work in the Sweeties business. Dutiful Hector returned to his father’s business. The personnel organization in the expanded business was as follows: Henry Levy Chin – Managing Director and chief purchaser, Miss Mae – sales and manager of the Chin household, and Leslie – wholesale manager. Hector assumed the job of pick-up and delivery of goods from sister Mabel. For Mabel had met Owen Monroe in Kingston, married, and moved to Kingston with her husband. Hector started his trips to Kingston with his stepmother Edith Mae Chang Chin so as to make the proper introductions to the Sweeties suppliers. There, Hector learned the business skills of interacting with business managers, salesmen, dock managers, and the like, from his stepmother. He also learned the important lessons of personal relationships, trust, and business ethics. For the suppliers did business with Sweeties on Miss Mae’s word, for her word was her bond. Thereafter, Miss Mae phased out of the Kingston travel and Hector was on his own. Young Hector soon recognized that a significant cost factor that cut into Sweeties profit was transportation from Kingston to Falmouth by the private truckers. The solution was Sweeties own transportation, a truck, to provide cost effective transportation of their goods. Hector discussed the idea with his father Henry Levy Chin and got approval, then put his money where his mouth is, by using his personal money (from his construction work) to purchase a truck in 1954. From there costs went down and Sweeties slowly became more profitable. Then, with the weekly trips to Kingston, Hector followed in his stepmother’s footsteps by practicing good business ethics and established business relationships of his own. Eventually, the business suppliers did business with Sweeties on Hector’s word, not Miss Mae’s word. This was a major accomplishment for Hector and Sweeties, for they both were growing in stature in the Kingston community. Such relationship grew with time as the volume of Sweeties sales slowly increased. In 1956, Hector got married to the beautiful Daisy Chen of Duncans. This was followed by Leslie’s marriage to the equally beautiful Lynette Chen, also of Duncans (Daisy’s cousin). Both wives joined their husbands in the Sweeties business and managed sales in the Wholesale and Retail Stores. The routine on the business now looked like this: Hector took the truck to Kingston on Sundays, purchased goods and loaded the truck on Monday, and returned late evening Monday or early Tuesday. Tuesday AM, the truck was unloaded and reloaded with wholesale supplies for delivery to the small retail store in the Perth Town, Duanvale, and Clark’s Town areas. On Wednesday, Hector would return to Kingston for more goods. While Hector went to Kingston for suppliers, older brother Leslie worked as marketer, traveling around the local retail stores selling goods and taking orders on Mondays and Wednesdays. Then there was the local deliveries on Tuesdays and Fridays. Such deliveries had expanded to cover a larger route and necessitated two trucks. The purchase of the second truck involved bank finance that Daisy’s father, Henry George Chen of Duncans guaranteed by co-signature. The expanded route covered Granville, Wakefield, Friendship, Sherwood Content, Duanvale, Clark’s Town, and Perth Town. Last but by no means least, Miss Mae, Daisy, and Lynette ran the wholesale and retail stores.

Justice of the Peace is an officer of a township, Parish, or other small unit of government. They are sanctioned with specific judicial powers comprising of civil cases involving small sums of money. They may have the power to punish persons for breaking criminal laws, such as traffic laws and petty theft. In larger cases, sometimes they decide whether an accused person should be held for a grand jury, which then will decide whether the accused person should stand trial. Justices are empowered to perform marriage services and the duties of a Notary Public (certification of documents and the taking of oaths. Many documents must be notarized before they become legally effective). Justice of the Peace must be appointed by either the governor, local official, or elected by the people.

Henry Levy Chin was recognized as an honorable citizen who was knowledgeable of the Jamaican system of government and understood the multi-cultural people of that medium-sized island, since he interacted with them from the day he stepped foot on Jamaican soil. He was well respected by the people of Trelawny, and known across the length and breadth of Jamaica. His business skills and those of his family were renown throughout Jamaica, for the Chin family had established itself and made its mark on Jamaica. And so it was time to use those skills and respect in a valued community service to Jamaican society. Custos Gray recognized the high regard Jamaican society had for Henry Levy Chin, and invited him to society’s distinction of community service to his parish of Trelawny, a Justice of Peace. Henry Levy Chin graciously accepted the position, for it was his way of giving back to society. It was also an opportunity to maintain the peace and uprightness of Jamaican society. So Henry Levy Chin willingly served his duties week after week, month after month, year after year, until his departure to Miami, Florida. He walked to Falmouth court house every Wednesday, where he presided over the small civil and criminal cases. No, there were no famous cases to report in this book, but Henry Levy Chin’s decisions in the court were accepted as just. Outside the courthouse, as Henry Levy Chin sometimes walked the streets of Falmouth, he would give a friendly but stern pointed finger to those he saw straying from the law, then gave a gentle warning with an almost boyish smile, “Don’t let me catch you in my court.” “No, Sir,” would be the response, and so life went on peacefully in the town of Falmouth. For life was simple then. The majority of cases were small, so there was rarely the need for a. Civil law was handled by the Justice of the Peace and the local police.

For those that faced Henry Levy Chin in court, their cases were heard, and leniency given when deserved. Those clearly in the wrong eventually heard Henry Levy Chin say, “Pass the black cap,” which he would don, and then pass the dreaded sentence. Fines ranged from one shilling to many shillings according to the severity of the infraction. Some of the violators thought Henry Levy Chin was merciful, some thought he was harsh. Regardless, upon leaving court, the violators would visit the Sweeties bar to celebrate their light fines or drown their sorrows.

The job of Justice of the Peace was voluntary, a service to the community. The reward, satisfaction in the peaceful co-existence of neighbors, friends, relatives, welcomed visitors, and tourists. For it was a community Henry Levy Chin lived in with his family, a community he liked and was proud of. The respect of the Sweeties family in Trelawny passed on to sons Leslie, Hector, and their wives. For several years later, Custos Parnell also appointed Hector Levi Chin to Justice of the Peace. And so Hector served the community as did his father Henry Levy Chin.

The last ten years of Henry Levy Chin’s life was spent in retirement. He had relocated to the United States of America, another land of opportunity. Except, the opportunity was not his to pursue, but that of his children, grand children, and great grandchildren. He had relocated with Hector and Daisy and lived at their home in Miami, Florida. There he reflected on his stupendous life:
the peasant life of poverty in Niuhu, China.
the suffering in Singapore and the loss of his father.
the pain inflicted by his abusive step-sister in Niuhu.
his apprenticeship under Uncle William Chin See’s stern tutelage in Falmouth, Jamaica.
his rise to middle management in Uncle William’s business.
his success as business owner in Falmouth, after years of strife.
his children coming of age, marrying, and establishing themselves as respectable citizens.
the renown and respect he had earned in Jamaica.
his attainment of the title – Justice of the Peace.
He looked back with pleasure, then wondered how his children and grandchildren would do. He did note how fast the grandchildren were growing, some much taller than he was. Life was indeed good, for his grandchildren were benefiting from all his hard work. Many of them were now College and University graduates, a possibility he could only dream of but never attain. The long days, the pain and suffering, it was all worth it. No, he did not like their modern more liberal ways for raising children, but he was flexible, as he was all his life. He had to have been flexible and to learn from his experiences, to survive all those years. Bend like a bamboo, but do not break. For things do change. He saw the marvels of the technological revolution in his time – the wide spread use of electricity, the availability of city water, the evolution and growth of the automobile, mass production, calculators, airplanes, refrigerators, air conditioning, hot and cold water, gas stoves, the electric iron, modern medicine, open heart surgery, the telephone, the television, the video cam recorder, methods of child rearing, methods of schooling, the western influence. It is a new world, man had made life easier, and it created different opportunities for his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and those yet to come. But still, there was nothing like the good old days. The days of his long-lost wives and friends who had passed on. He had been heard to say, he had much company in his retirement years, for all his children and grandchildren were around him constantly. But he missed the companionship of a wife and friends from his generation, for which there was a certain loneliness. And so he relaxed and enjoyed his children and grandchildren in his retirement. He tended to “his” garden at Hector and Daisy’s home. He walked and visited neighbors, reflecting on old times. He read the newspaper as he had done all his life, for it was a wonderful source of current affairs. Then he was quick to have a glass of his favorite drinks with his visitors, whisky, or, if you could handle it, Ng Ga Pi – a powerful rice wine made for the strong at heart; for lesser men have tried and failed.

The fruits of the seeds we sow, the soil in which they are planted, and the care with which they are nurtured, defines who we are. Thus, two quotations that typify the spirit of the Chin family and its history, history to grow from and not to repeat, are:

To own a bit of ground,

to scratch it with a hoe,

to plant seeds,

and watch the renewal of life.

This is the commonest delight

of the race,

the most satisfactory thing

a man can do.

C. D. Warner, 1829-1900.

The little world of childhood

with its familiar surroundings

is a model of the greater world.

The more intensively

the family stampeth

its character upon the child,

the more it tendeth

to feel and see

its earlier miniature world again

in the bigger world

of its adult life.

C. G. Jung, 1875-1961.

This chapter introduces of the Coming of Age and Branching of Henry Levy Chin’s children. It covers the connections of several of the Chin descendants with the CHEN family, with whom their lives are indelibly interwoven for the betterment of the Chin family. For the Chen spouses brought with them their own family character that further strengthened the Chin family values. This is followed by twelve chapters on the biographies of each of Henry Levy Chin’s children. Each of them are like facets on a diamond, each with their own character, but nonetheless, are but part of the gem, and as a group, gives sparkle and brilliance to the gem. Two examples are brother Leslie, a quiet compassionate man with overwhelming kindness to a fault. In contrast, brother Hector, is a leader and visionary who was not afraid to take a bold step. Together, they and their wives complimented each other to build the Sweeties establishment. The family connections start with the Henry Levy Chin family tree, and leads into their marriages to Chen descendants from a neighboring village in Canton province in China.

Five of Sweetie’s descendants that married descendants of the Chen family were sons H. Leslie Chin, Hector Chin, Harry Chin, and Herbert Chin, and granddaughter Alorna Chin Chen. Why the Chen family? They were from Falmouth or the neighboring town Duncans. They had daughters and sons in the same age range, social class, educational background, similar cultures, and most important, there was a certain chemistry between the future spouses. For they were not arranged marriages of the past, but followed the westernized practice of mutual attraction, dating, and falling in love. Needless to say, the parents of the couples were overjoyed with their children’s selections. For old traditions die hard, and they dearly wanted their children to marry “Chinese;” for their culture was as important as life itself.

Veronica being the first child of Henry Levy Chin (HLC) and his common-law-wife Albertha Warner, discovered that life came with the experience of many “firsts”.• First to experience life in a less than perfect mother-father relationship.• First to experience the limiting financial hardships of an un-wed mother with three children. This was clearly tempered by the commitment and sustained financial support of Henry levy Chin.• First to experience the social biases of a mixed ethnicity.• First to undertake chores to help the family with her younger siblings, including the first few of HLC and wife Marian.• First to go to Falmouth Barracks School for basic education.• First not to have completed schooling in order to help meet the needs of the family.Despite all that, Veronica was the first to learn the example of the second-generation Chin Family, “if hardship does not destroy you, it makes you stronger”.And stronger she grew, for Veronica stepped up to be the big sister and “matriarch of the HLC First Family”. She herself was not blessed with children.Veronica immigrated to the USA for better opportunities where she worked hard and paid for her own education in clothes designing to become an accomplished seamstress. She first lived in the San Francisco area and then in Los Angeles where she met Prince Cobbs. They were married for many years and later moved to Las Vegas for health reasons. Soon after, Prince passed away. Veronica then married Ralph Turner of the famed US Air Force Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. In February 2020 Veronica will be 100 years old.

Cosmore was given his father’s middle name, Levy. He was the restless one, who had a child with a girl-friend, then children with first and second wives. He was not always there for his children, but they learned from their Chin family heritage the values of true grit, purpose in life and the benefit of hard-work to become educated and accomplished professionals in their own right: Beverly the seamstress extraordinaire, Veronica a bank accountant, Pat the activist, and Richard the New York city accountant.

The single mother of three wonderful daughters.  Maysie grew up in the Henry Levy Chin business and learned her lessons well to become self-sufficient and resilient. She applied those lessons to life and started her own small successful business in Martha Brae near Falmouth. She later moved to Los Angeles to be near her daughters who had immigrated earlier. She was a loving and caring grandmother till her passing in 2017.

The first son of Henry Levy Chin and wife Marian, Leslie was and is a most loving and caring person, who is always there for others. He was a good soccer player who left high school before graduation and sacrificed a career in order to go to work for Henry Levy Chin (HLC), first in his grand-uncle’s Chin See Brothers business where HLC was General Manger, then in HLC’s own start-up business in Water Square, Falmouth. With hard-work and resilience, the HLC Sweetie’s business became successful and Leslie and brother Hector and their wives became the successors and cornerstone of the HLC business till its closing in the 1970s. Leslie and other family members immigrated to Miami, USA to start a new life followed by retirement. Leslie and wife Linette were not blessed with biological children of their own.  However, they played a major role in helping to raise Lincoln, the third son of Hector and Daisy, who called them Daddy Les and Mommy Lin. Leslie is an excellent chef in his own right and no one ever leaves his home hungry. At age 90, his daily routine is to go jogging for several miles in the Miami heat and humidity. In 2019, Leslie will be 91 years old. Leslie lives with son Lincoln in Miami.

May was the first of Henry Levy Chin and wife Marian’s three daughters. Like brother Leslie, she did not finish school as she returned home to assist her father in the Chin See Brothers business started by her father’s uncle William Chin See. She was needed for its survival. She developed a love for sewing and became an accomplished self-taught seamstress in her own right. May remained single and directed her energy in helping raise the younger children of the HLC family and later nieces, nephews and grand-nephews. She immigrated to the USA and eventually retired in Miami, where she dedicated her golden years to family and the church. May passed in 2011 at the age of 81.

The second of Henry Levy Chin and wife Marian’s three daughters. She too worked in the Chin See Brothers business in her earlier years before completing high school. She was bound and determined to get her high school diploma and later did so on her own initiative. As a young adult, she moved to Kingston, Jamaica to work at Captain Morgan (rum manufacturers) and later at Peat Marwick Mitchell. It was during that time that she met the love of her life, Owen Munro, a non-Chinese whom she married despite HLC’s refusal to give his blessing. After a few years, they founded the Butterkist Company, maker of world-famous Ovaltine biscuits, that grew into a large successful business. They were very active in the Roman Catholic Church, taking care of the poor, making generous donations to the church, created a sewing school for young girls in the Kingston area while personally ministering to the poor. For their accomplishments and community service work, Owen was awarded Jamaica’s highest civilian honor, the Order of Distinction. Owen and Mabel traveled the world, especially in Europe and flew on the supersonic Concorde airplane. They had the good fortune to meet the Queen of England and Pope John Paul. Owen passed away in 2015 and was laid to rest in Jamaica. Mabel is now retired in Miami, USA. In 2019, Mabel will be 91 years old.

Maud was the third of Henry Levy Chin and wife Marian’s three daughters. She too worked in the Chin See Brothers business in her earlier years. As a young adult, she moved to Kingston, Jamaica where she met her love and lifelong husband, Leslie McPherson. Leslie was a Pharmacist, educated in Kingston Public Hospital. They opened their own Pharmacy in the Half Way tree area called “Mac’s Pharmacy”, which became very successful. Maud and Leslie had two children, Marie and John. Maud and Leslie hosted many family events with brothers Harold’s and Harry’s growing families including Saturday dinners and Sundays on the family boat going to the beach and spear-fishing in the Kingston area. Later Leslie and Maud immigrated to Miami, where they retired.

Hector was the fourth child of Henry Levy Chin and wife Marian. Like the other Chin children before him, he did not finish high school. Instead, he grew up in the HLC family business then branched out to work in major construction sites around Jamaica and Cayman Islands, operating heavy equipment vehicles while still a teenager, helping to build Queens Highway in Jamaica and the Cayman Airport on Cayman Island. Later he came back to the family business under the wing of his loving step-mother Edith Mae Chin. She introduced him to the business world of Kingston and her father William Chang Sang. In Kingston, he learned Chinese culture and the Chinese Hakka dialect which he spoke fluently. These experiences built and defined his character: character tempered with compassion and integrity. He was a man firm in his convictions, a shrewd businessman yet generous to a fault. He was an extraordinary realist and pragmatist, quick witted, with a will second to none. Hector married his love Daisy Chen of Duncans and had four children whom they adored. Later, when Henry Levy Chin retired from the family business, Hector along his step-mother Edith Mae and older brother Leslie were the successors that took the business from a struggling medium sized store to two large successful businesses, Sweeties Wholesale and Sweeties Supermarket.  In the late 1970s, they closed the business due to declining social and political conditions and immigrated to Miami. There, Hector tried several opportunities, and with help and support from brother, Harry, settled on a plant nursery in Homestead, Florida. He poured his heart and soul into it with his sons Bobby and Lincoln, only for the nursery to be destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. With true grit and to everyone’s amazement, Hector and his sons rebuilt the business to become a larger more successful operation. Unfortunately, only after a few short years of retirement, Hector was diagnosed with cancer and fight as he did, he passed away in 1998. Before his death, he inspired younger brother Herbert to be the focal point in the writing of this book. Hector’s legacy continues in his wife, children and grand-children.

Harold was the first HLC child to finish high school, the prestigious Cornwall College in Montego Bay. With his high school and Senior Cambridge certificates, he got a job at the Reynolds Aluminum bauxite mining plant in Mandeville. He was an analytical chemist who followed the concentration and quality of the aluminum ore that was shipped to the USA. It was a nice job but lacking in social amenities. And so, Harold decided to move to Kingston, the capital city where there were more opportunities to meet people of his age group. There he met, Valerie Lee, daughter of the Chinese Writer/Editor/Publisher, Lee Tom Yin and wife Teresa. They were married in 1963 and had three sons, Derrick, Paul and Timothy. Their sons grew up along with their cousins from Harry and sister Maud. It was a good time with lots of fun get-togethers on the week-ends. Harold and his family immigrated to Miami in 1976, although Harold stayed in Jamaica to work till his retirement in 2000 then moved permanently to Miami where Harold and Valerie are enjoying their golden years with their grand-children both in person and on the web. Their children have achieved much success in their chosen professions.

Harry was the second HLC son to finish high school at Cornwall College, Montego Bay, Jamaica. There he excelled in the sciences and earned a scholarship to go to McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He successfully completed his education with a BSc in Civil Engineering. HLC was so proud of his son that he had a smile from ear to ear. It was during this time that Harry married his love, Doris Chen of Falmouth, who accompanied him to Canada where they had their first of 3 sons, Harry Jr. The other two sons, Herman and Horace were born after he returned home to Jamaica. On completion of his studies, Harry returned home to work for his scholarship sponsors, the Trelawny Parish Council. There he applied his engineering skills from the get-go to the benefit of the town of Falmouth. He also designed the HLC Sweeties Supermarket building that he and brother Hector then built in record time with approvals from the Trelawny Parish Council. Harry was restless for more challenges and moved to the neighboring larger town of Montego Bay. There he worked for the St. James Parish Council and rose to become the superintendent of Roads and Works. He then spun off to open his own engineering firm, Chin and Watson, but that did not last long for the Lai Corporation of Kingston made him an offer he could not refuse. And so he and his family relocated to Kingston where they “reunited” with sister Maud and brother Harold and their families. It was just about perfect, for the work was good and the families bonded in their heritage and relationship.Like the rest of the Chin Families, Harry and his family immigrated to Miami to get away from the social and political unrest in Jamaica. Life in Miami was good and the fishing trips got even better. It was in that time that Harry discovered he had cancer – a huge blow to him and his family. The first HLC engineer passed away within months, but not before he passed on his family values to his sons. He is sadly missed. His sons followed true to his mantle. They are college educated and are successful professionals in life.  They have started families of their own. Mom Doris is a proud grandmother with the only sadness that Harry is not here with her.

Herbert was the first child of Henry Levy Chin and second wife Edith Mae. He was a very energetic boy with an inquisitive mind who wanted to travel with his brother Hector in the Chin truck across Jamaica. There were times his mother was heard to say, “Herbert will come to nothing, for all he wants to do is drive around in a truck”. Nonetheless HLC and Miss Mae made sure Herbert went to school, first at Knox College in the St. Elizabeth hills for both an education and to relieve his allergies. Later Herbert followed in his brothers’ foot steps to Cornwall College in Montego Bay and graduated well in the sciences with much tutoring from older brother Harry, the engineer. In his final year, Miss Mae thru her contacts secured one of the British scholarships for Jamaican high school graduates. In 1965, Herbert was sent off to study Metallurgy in England, first at Aston University (BSc) then the prestigious Birmingham University (MSc. Industrial Metallurgy). He returned home, and the Jamaican Government assigned him to a job in the Bureau of (Bauxite) Mines. During that time, older brother Hector introduced him to his future lifelong partner and wife, Lily Chen. The Jamaican Government job was not a good fit and Herbert requested a scholarship to further his studies in the USA. He ended up with renowned metallurgy and materials science professors at the University of Florida, where he graduated with a PhD in 1978. He then joined the aerospace giant Pratt & Whitney in West Palm Beach, Florida where he enjoyed a very challenging career in aerospace and rocket propulsion for the US Military Fighter Jets and the NASA Space Shuttle Engines. Many awards and patents came from that career as he rose to the level of Senior Technical Fellow of Structural Alloys and Processes. During that time, Herbert & Lily had two children, Karen and Nicholas. Karen became a corporate banker in Bank of America and Nick a Senior Nuclear Reactor Operator for Duke Energy in the Carolinas.
Herbert & Lily are now retired and enjoying life and they help raise their grandchildren. 

Tony was the second child of Henry Levy Chin and second wife Edith Mae. He was the meek and gentle giant of the family who always had a smile. We believe he got his size from his maternal grandfather William Chang Sang. He graduated from Cornwall College high school and returned to the Henry Levy Chin family business for his adult life through to its closing in the late 1970s. Most of the family immigrated to the USA but Tony decided to stay in Jamaica. There he worked as a book-keeper & financial analyst for several hotels in the Falmouth and Montego Bay area. He was a deeply religious person who stayed true to the Catholic Church. In his later years, he moved to Kingston and continued his community service in the St. Richard Catholic Church till his passing from complications of diabetes in 2007. Many of the congregation in the church gave moving testimonials of the person he was and the service he provided. 

“Success means doing the best we can with what we have.
Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph.
Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.” Zig Ziglar American author, historian, and educator.

Henry Levy Chin’s life and experiences were epitomized by Ziglar’s quotation. For he had a life of struggle with purpose. Commitment to life, family and soul. His struggles, at times seemed unbearable never ending. But he persevered and life challenges however dire eventually yielded fruit and valued lessons learned. Fruit not for himself, but for his family and friends. His determination can only be described as extra-ordinary. Such determination is best described by the writings of the Chinese Philosopher Mencius:

When heaven is about to confer an important office upon man, it first embitters his heart in its purpose; it causes him to exert his bones and sinews; it makes his body suffer hunger; it inflicts upon him want and poverty and confronts his undertakings. in this way it stimulates his will, steals his nature and thus makes him capable of accomplishing what he would otherwise could not have accomplished.

Success can also be measured in the progression of the family generations.

First was Henry Levy Chin. He started with a leap of faith as a grateful indentured worker to his Uncle William Chin See in Falmouth, Jamaica. There blood sweat and tears, but he never wavered. He learned his lessons on how to run a small business and eventually rose to be General Manager of Chin See Brother when his uncle retired and returned to Niu Fu, China.

Henry Levy Chin started a family, first with his common-law wife Albertha. It was a challenge as his uncle refused to let him marry Albertha, a non-Chinese lady. Yet he remained true to his first family.

Henry Levy Chin married Marian Wong from China and started their own small business in Falmouth and had 8 children, the first passed shortly after birth. It was a struggle and they lived-in austere conditions. But they survived. Then wife Marian passed at an early age of 38 years leaving Henry with all the children.

Henry Levy Chin (HLC) married the child-less widow Edith Mae Chang of Kingston within a year of Marian’s passing. Is was a major turn for Henry Levy Chin’s family. Edith bore HLC two sons. Life was a struggle and only the four younger Chins finished high school, the rest were called by HLC to work in the family business for its survival, and survive they did by the grace of God, bolstered by his Chinese culture, and hard work with sound business decisions. In the end, only two sons went to University for higher education, the rest gave their young adult lives to the family business.

Fast forward to the next generation, HLC’s Children. They ALL made something of their lives. Some were self-taught in the University of Hard-knocks specialty of life experiences and rose to be successful in their chosen professions. Others married spouses and they opened small business that became very successful. For the two that went to University, they were very successful in their professions and made their mark on their communities and advanced aerospace technology.

HLC’s Second Generation. A simple powerful statement of success – they all went to colleges and universities and earned degrees that spanned from alpha to omega. Some then worked in industry and commerce, others opened their own successful business. For they were given the family treasures of their rich Chinese Heritage, a good moral compass with purpose and direction in life.

HLC’s Third Generation. They too, all went or to colleges and universities and have meaningful lives and professions ahead of them. The common thread is, they too were given their rich Chinese Heritage, a good moral compass with purpose and direction in life

HLC’s Future Generations: They too will be given the Family Treasures and will go to colleges and universities to grow and expand their minds and bodies

That is the measure of success that HLC and his wives, and their forefathers, can beam with pride from the here-after life. LIFE IS GOOD for the Henry Levy Chin Family.