Marisa Louie Lee

I'm eager to connect people with historical records that matter to them. I specialize in working with records relating to 20th century immigration and naturalization history, Asian American history, and records created by the federal government. I'm available for workshops and presentations on how to research your Asian American family and how to use federal records for genealogical research. 

Questions? Don't hesitate to contact me: marisalouielee@gmail.com

RESOURCES

Crosswalk between records available at the Hawaii State Archives and digitized indexes on FamilySearch for Chinese immigration research (PDF) - Many thanks to Cindy Thomson for creating the waypoint markers for FamilySearch. 

List of Chinese Exclusion Act case files series at National Archives regional facilities nationwide

ARTICLES

"Family History With Young Kids... While Sheltering in Place", California Genealogical Society blog, June 9, 2020.

"The A-Files: A Rich Source of Information", California Genealogical Society blog, May 20, 2020.

MEDIA

"Your Family Is Her Business" by Janice Lee. shades Magazine, May 5, 2020.

"Finding Asian American Family Histories: Genealogist Marisa Louie Lee" by Darryl Mori. Discover Nikkei, July 17, 2017.

EVENTS

June 2025 - Instructor for the virtual "Chinese American Genealogy: Silver Linings" course. Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh

PAST EVENTS (2020-2023)

November 9, 2023 - Eastside Genealogical Society (Seattle, WA) - "What’s Online at the National Archives" 

November 8, 2023 - Seminar on finding War Brides records for the Bay Area Chinese Genealogy Group at the Oakland FamilySearch Center 

November 5, 2023 - "Finding Time for Family History - Activities and Ideas for Busy Families" for the "Leaving a Legacy" virtual series

October 10, 2023 - Grants Pass Genealogical Society (Oregon), “Exploring Genealogical Research on the National Archives Website” 

July 2023 - Santa Clara County Historical & Genealogical Society, “Exploring Genealogical Research on the National Archives Website” 

June 2023 - Instructor for the virtual "Beyond the Golden Door: Immigrants to the U.S.A. after 1890" course, covering "Chinese Exclusion Era Records." Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh

June 23, 2022 - California Historical Society, Celebrating Chinese American Family History panel (in-person) (YouTube recording)

May 24-28, 2022 - National Genealogical Society 2022 Family History Conference, "What's Online at the National Archives?" and "Researching Chinese American Family History Using Chinese Exclusion Records" (in-person -- recap on Trish Hackett Nicola's blog)

May 5, 2022 - Columbus Metropolitan Library, "Researching Chinese American Genealogy" (virtual)

April 22, 2022 - Chinese Family History Group, "Share Your Findings on the 1950 Census" (virtual)

September 23, 2021 - Instructor for the virtual "Chinese Ancestry: Research and Methods" course, covering "Immigration and Exclusion in the United States" and "Records Relating to the Chinese American Experience and Other Records Relating to the Chinese Diaspora." Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) Fall Virtual 2021

August 28, 2021 - Family Ties 2.0: A Virtual Workshop with the Chinese Family History Group of Southern California and the Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles 

June 13, 2021 - Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon, "20th Century Immigration and Naturalization Records" (virtual) 

April 13, 2021 - Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles with the Chinese Family History Group of Southern California,  "Family Ties: Adventures in Finding My Family Stories" panelist (recording)

March 20, 2021 - Chinese Family History Group of Southern California, "Who is Shee 氏 ? U.S. History and Chinese American Women" (virtual) 

December 12, 2020 - Japanese American National Museum with the Nikkei Genealogical Society, "Family History for All Ages" (virtual) 

September 26, 2020 - Chinese Family History Group of Southern California, "Chinese Immigration Records in Australia, Canada, and The Kingdom of Hawaii" (virtual) 

September 13, 2020 - San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, "20th Century Immigration and Naturalization Records" (virtual) 

May 30, 2020 - California Genealogical Society, "20th Century Immigration and Naturalization Records" (virtual) 

July 9, 2020 - Special guest for the Densho Digital Genealogy Series session on U.S. immigration records (virtual) 

January 2020 - Instructor for the "Chinese Genealogy" Course, Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (in-person)