Around the year 1730, six brothers ventured to the south of China with the Hakka people. Of the 6 brothers, Chin Zhen Kui, Zhen Zun and Zhen Hua migrated to Sichuan Province. Zhen Zhu moved to Lao Wei and Zhen Shen moved to the Shenzhen river area in Southern China. The eldest brother, Zhen Kuen moved to Niu Fu village in Guangdong province where he became the progenitor of the Chin Clan there. Each of the brothers were given a scroll by their father Yu Ying, containing a generation poem, wishing them 50 generations (1000 years) of health and happiness.
Six generations later, one of Zhen Kuen’s great grandsons (fourth great grandson) left Niu Fu Village in southern China in search of better fortune. Around 1884, this great grandson left his country, village, family and all that he knew to travel halfway across the world in search of work and a better life for his family. Chin Den Len (陳 登能) arrived on the island of Jamaica with nothing to his name but a dream of a better future for his family in China. He toiled for a number of years as an indentured laborer in the harsh Jamaican sugar cane fields despite the huge language and cultural barrier. Through determination and hard work, he saved up enough money to establish a small business in the coastal town of Falmouth. Chin Den Len later became better known as William Chinsee, founder of Chin See Bros. of Falmouth, Jamaica.
In 1912, at age 18, Henry Levy Chin immigrated from Indo China (modern day Vietnam) to Falmouth, Jamaica. Henry Levy Chin (Chin Fah Hing, 陳 華興) was William Chinsee’s nephew and the son of his older brother, Chin Den Luen (陳 登纶). Under William’s mentorship, both men built Chin See Bros. into one of the most successful and influential businesses in the town of Falmouth. After William returned to Niu Fu to enjoy his retirement, Henry Levy remained in Falmouth’s Water Square town center as a businessman, operating Sweetie’s Thrift Shop. It is due to the hard work and sacrifice of these two men that current generations of the Chin families are able to enjoy the lifestyles to which they are accustomed.
Origin of the surname “Chinsee”
It has been popularly believed the name “Chinsee” was a reference to the fact that William Chinsee was the #4 son in his family, hence the appending of the word “See” to the “Chin” family name. If this was correct, the literal translation of “Chinsee” to Chinese would be “陳四”. However, this assumption was brought into question by two facts:
- In the Chin Family History book or Jiapu on page 174, William’s father was recorded as having 5 sons, of which William was the youngest (#5).
- The written Chinese script for the name “Chin See Brother” from the publication “Chinese in Jamaica, pub. 1957” shows the “See” character as 泗, not 四. Although pronounced the same, these 2 characters have entirely different meanings. Whereas 四 means “number four”, 泗 is literally translated as the name of a river in Shandong province in eastern China (the Si River). Both characters are pronounced the same (“See”) but the meaning is different. We may never know the reason for which William chose to write his English name as “Chinsee” vs. “Chin”, but “Chinsee” does not mean “number four Chin”.
