Embedded Files
Purpose
Purpose
The original purpose of this site was to provide a space where descendants of POON Man Syun and Nellie CHIN could share pictures, primary documents, excerpts, or other artifacts of interest pertaining to our Poon ancestors, whether they were known as Poon, Pan, Allum, Ramsay and/or some combination thereof. It now also encompasses my interest in researching all Poon descendants from Qiaotou Village in Kaiping, Guangdong that migrated abroad and/or that are documented in a Poon Clan Genealogy Book.
Please see Ancestry.com for family relationship data as this site isn't intended to reproduce that data, just house artifacts that support or otherwise augment that information.
These artifacts are primarily organized by Poon Ancestor, beginning with POON Man Syun, the third generation, on back to our original Poon immigrant to Trinidad, POON Lum, with their spouses, (when known), indented thereunder.
A complete, browsable list of all files and images currently uploaded can also be accessed here, including many items for our ancestors' siblings or step-siblings.
China Roots Trip - 2026
China Roots Trip - 2026
In April 2026, I was able to visit our ancestors' suspected ancestral village, Qiaotou, Yueshan, Kaiping, Jiangmen, Guangdong, China, as part of a Chinese Genealogy Tour group organized by Henry Tom. I qualify the village as "suspected" since my supposition is based on this location being inscribed on the tombstone of my grandfather's younger sibling, Eric ALLUM POON, rather than any supporting evidence found for my direct ancestors.
As part of a "roots" tour, this included researchers investigating each participant's lineage based on the data they submitted as part of their application, mine being based on data accumulated for them in route to and while living in Trinidad, in particular, their Chinese names as inscribed on their tombstones there. Unfortunately, despite reportedly devoting more time to my request than any other in our tour group, my researchers were unable to identify an established lineage incorporating our ancestors or uncover any definitive record or artifact linking them to a specific neighborhood (Li) within Qiaotou Village. Mine was one of only five unsuccessful cases out of 27 requests.
The primary obstacle was the apparent absence of a comprehensive Poon clan genealogy book for the village. In addition, even after canvassing the entire village, the researchers were unable to locate any mention of our ancestors among the numerous donor plaques, privately held ancestral tablets, or surviving family genealogy manuscripts. It is unclear whether these records were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, as occurred elsewhere in China, or whether this particular clan simply maintained fewer ancestral records than others. In any event, no one currently living there remembers them.
Even though I was unable to locate a Poon clan genealogy book or manuscript containing our direct ancestors, I would still consider the trip worthwhile if only for the experience of walking where they once lived. I also greatly enjoyed meeting my “cousin” there, Desmond, (in quotation marks since our exact relationship remains to be determined although we know for certain that our Poon ancestors interacted with each other in Trinidad). Beyond the genealogical research, I also gained a much deeper appreciation for aspects of Cantonese culture that were previously unfamiliar to me. In particular, I would highlight my visits to Candong Living Heritage Village and Zili Village as especially memorable cultural experiences.
For anyone interested in knowing more about Qiaotou including its specific neighborhoods or my experience on this tour, I have compiled a report on my trip at the following URL:
Please note that the documents, photos and videos are hierarchically organized in folders such that it requires driving down multiple levels of folders in some cases to view these deliverables.
Poon Clan Family Tree
Poon Clan Family Tree
The “FAN” genealogy strategy holds that researchers should study not only their direct ancestors, but also the broader community in which those ancestors lived. FAN—an acronym for Family, Associates, and Neighbors—encourages the investigation of relatives, friends, business partners, witnesses, traveling companions, and other members of an ancestor’s social network. The underlying premise is that understanding the whole network often provides insights that would be impossible to obtain by examining an individual in isolation.
This approach is particularly valuable in the Chinese context. Many villages were historically settled by surname-based clans, creating dense webs of kinship and association. Migration was likewise often chain-based: early emigrants established themselves abroad and were subsequently followed by fellow clan members. As a result, the records of one individual frequently illuminate the origins, movements, and relationships of many others.
The practical challenge, however, is determining where to record all of these interconnected people. Conventional family trees are generally limited to individuals linked through a common ancestor. Yet among members of the Poon clan in Trinidad, while many regard one another as kin, few can explain precisely how they are related.
To address this problem, I created a separate tree on Ancestry.com that I eventually named the “Poon Clan” family tree. Rather than focusing solely on my direct lineage, I began adding every individual bearing the Poon surname—or one of its variant spellings—whom I could document as having immigrated to, lived in, or died in Trinidad and who appeared to originate from the same village in China, Qiaotou. I have also included their descendants when this information was shared with me or could be otherwise ascertained from other sources, such as obituaries. Over time, the project expanded further to encompass migrants from Qiaotou who settled in Canada and Mexico, particularly when they appeared along the same migration pathways and records were detailed enough for me to recognize that they came from the same village.
For anyone interested in viewing the contents of this repository that also happens to be a subscriber to ancestry.com, you can access it at the following URL:
For anyone else, I can invite you to have free access if you email me at the contact listed below explaining who you are and why you are interested in gaining access. Please note that accepting my invitation will require you to create an account on ancestry.com if you haven't already done so. If you have, please be certain to share the email address that you used to register there. Once again, this access won't cost you anything.
Please note that when initially accessing the family tree view you will only find 17 of the more than 500 people displayed. This is because the common ancestors that might connect them are largely unknown to me. As a result, you must use the "Find in Tree" function to either search for the person that you are interested in or otherwise click on the link to "list all people" to reveal the contents of the entire family tree. Please also note that data about living individuals will appear as "private" in keeping with ancestry.com's privacy policy.
For guidance on how to use ancestry.com's family tree, please see Navigating an Ancestry Family Tree. Please note that some of the functionality described there may be limited to paid subscribers or family tree owners.
Generally speaking, you will want to view a person's profile to find their full details as the data revealed in the family tree view is quite limited. I would encourage you to check it out as you might be surprised by the records that I have located for your ancestor.
While you are viewing this website, please also see the obituaries for my grandfather, POON Man Syun, and great-grandfather, POON Gam Cyun. There's a good chance that you may find your ancestor's name listed among those attending their funerals.
Poon Clan Genealogy Book - 潘氏族譜/家譜
Poon Clan Genealogy Book - 潘氏族譜/家譜
As described in my trip report above, my researchers were unable to find a comprehensive genealogy book, (Zupu/Jiapu), for Qiaotou. They were however able to provide me with scanned copies of two manuscripts, one containing 64 pages in the possession of the Qiaotou Village Committee and another containing 26 pages shared by a resident of the Yuqing Li neighborhood. Although I am informed that neither manuscript mentions my ancestors, I plan on transcribing both to see if I can match up any of the individuals named in them with the migrants recorded in the Poon Clan Family Tree. If so, their descendants might be able to trace their lineage going back for hundreds of years.
As it happens, I have already practiced this exercise on two pages of a similar manuscript that I discovered on Kate Bagnall's blog, "The Tiger's Mouth", in an article describing her visit to Qiaotou. The first time, I did it the hard way, manually, looking up every character that I didn't recognize, and then a second time with the assistance of A.I. In the context of the latter, I was even able to generate a GEDCOM file and upload the resulting data to ancestry.com.
This practice exercise involved first transcribing the image into Chinese Characters, and then transliterating the proper names into roman characters while converting the dates into the Gregorian calendar. While A.I. can assist with transcribing Chinese characters from images, it tends to make a lot of OCR errors. So I found it essential to perform this step separately and validate or correct the results as needed before performing the subsequent steps.
Transliterating proper names is necessary since the names in Chinese characters for most migrants are unknown by me unless they appeared on their immigration paperwork or were engraved on their tombstones. However, due to the inconsistencies in how Chinese names were romanized, this matching process could prove to be quite challenging. As it happened, the two page sample that I found was for a period preceding these migrants' lives by about 100 years. Consequently, I have yet to practice the matching part of this planned undertaking.
Should it be of interest, more information about my practice exercise can be found at the following URL:
DNA Testing
DNA Testing
Although many people associate DNA testing primarily with ethnicity estimates, it can play a significant role in genealogical research by uncovering relationships and connections that cannot be established through surviving paper records alone. In the case of Poon Clan descendants, DNA testing could help determine whether individuals who refer to one another as "cousins" are in fact related and, in some cases, provide biological evidence supporting descent from ancestors documented in the clan genealogies and other manuscripts discussed above.
Achieving this, however, requires participation from Poon Clan descendants. At a minimum, it would be beneficial to have at least one representative from each major Poon family line tested, although the value of the project increases substantially as more individuals participate. Ideally, participants should be drawn from the oldest living generation in each family, as they are genetically closer to the common ancestors we are attempting to identify.
Three types of DNA tests are commonly used in genealogy: autosomal DNA, Y-DNA, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).
Autosomal DNA examines the DNA inherited from both parents. It is the most common form of DNA testing today and is the type most frequently advertised by commercial testing companies. Because it draws upon all ancestral lines, it can be taken by any descendant, male or female. Its principal limitation is that inherited DNA becomes diluted with each generation, making it increasingly difficult to identify relationships beyond roughly five to seven generations. In a clan study, another challenge is determining whether a DNA match reflects a shared Poon ancestor or a connection through another family line created by generations of intermarriage.
Y-DNA testing examines the Y chromosome, which is passed almost unchanged from father to son. As a result, it can only be taken by males and is relevant only to the direct paternal line. For a surname study such as this one, however, Y-DNA is especially valuable because it closely parallels the traditional transmission of the Poon surname. Men who share a common paternal ancestor often exhibit closely matching Y-DNA profiles, even when documentary evidence is incomplete or missing. Depending on the level of testing performed, Y-DNA can often identify relationships extending ten or more generations into the past. To date, three direct male descendants of my second great-grandfather, POON Lum, have undergone Y-DNA testing, allowing us to confirm that they share a common paternal lineage, (results of which can be viewed here).
The third type of test, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), examines DNA found in the mitochondria, which is passed from mothers to all of their children. In this respect, it is analogous to Y-DNA, except that it traces the direct maternal line and can be taken by both males and females. While mtDNA can be useful for investigating maternal ancestry, it is the least relevant of the three tests in the context of a traditional Chinese clan study. Chinese genealogies (族譜) are overwhelmingly patrilineal, typically recording only a woman's maiden surname and often omitting daughters altogether. Consequently, mtDNA is unlikely to contribute as much to the reconstruction of relationships among Poon Clan descendants as either autosomal DNA or Y-DNA.
The success of this project ultimately depends upon participation from Poon Clan descendants. For direct male-line descendants of Poon ancestors, I encourage you to join the Allum Poon DNA Project through FamilyTreeDNA and take a Y-DNA37 test or higher-level Y-DNA test. Because the Y chromosome is passed from father to son in much the same way that the Poon surname has traditionally been inherited, these tests offer the greatest potential for reconstructing relationships between the various Poon family lines.
For all other descendants, an autosomal DNA test through Ancestry.com is recommended. Autosomal testing can be taken by both males and females and provides the broadest opportunity to identify genetic connections among living descendants.
While DNA testing can be expensive, both FamilyTreeDNA and AncestryDNA frequently offer substantial discounts around holidays and gift-giving occasions such as Christmas, Mother's Day, and Father's Day. Those interested in preserving their Poon heritage may wish to consider gifting a test to a parent or grandparent, whose DNA often contains information that cannot be recovered from younger generations. Conversely, older family members may wish to test on behalf of their descendants while they still have the opportunity to do so.
For those who have already tested with AncestryDNA, please ensure that your DNA settings permit matching with other users. If so, you may compare your results with my profile, mathews_ancestry, and those of my four brothers, whose accounts I manage, to determine whether we share any DNA matches. Individuals who have tested with other companies are encouraged to upload their results to GEDmatch, which facilitates comparison between DNA kits from multiple testing services. My GEDmatch kit number is CT5193339.
The opportunity to identify and document our shared ancestry diminishes with each passing year. Family memories fade, records are lost, and elders pass away. By combining traditional genealogical research with DNA evidence, we have an opportunity to preserve a more complete record of our family's history than any previous generation could have achieved. The sooner we begin, the greater the likelihood that this knowledge can be preserved for future generations.
Readers interested in learning more about genealogical DNA testing may wish to consult the Wikipedia article on the subject:
University of Florida Digital Collection
University of Florida Digital Collection
In May 2026, I discovered a trove of articles and notices referencing our ancestors in Trinidad on the University of Florida's Digital Collection website. Rather than try to include the copious material found there in this website, I have instead placed it in a Google Drive Folder organized by individual, and in the case of Aching Allum, as further divided by category. The folder's contents are accessible at the following URL:
In addition, I have also created folders there for "James Ramsey Allum and Anna Watts Descendants" and "Other possibly related Poons". The latter is to store material discovered for "suspected" relations, (Poons from the same ancestral village), that I am researching as part of the Poon Clan Family Tree mentioned above. If you are a descendant of one of the many "POON [something]s" that lived in Trinidad in the early 20th century, you might be surpised to find a sub-folder there for your ancestor, but if not, try searching the University of Florida's website yourself.
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
I wish to thank the following individuals who have assisted me at one time or another in researching our common Allum/Poon ancestry: Desmond Allum, Jean Gonsalves, Aisha Baptiste, Pauline Fung and Stephen Allum Poon.
Contact Information
Contact Information
Please contact me if you have anything you would like to contribute to this site or if you have any concerns over what I have posted here.
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