Mystery of First Batch of Chinese into US

By APD writer Zhao Huiran

The first batch of Chinese into the United States was closely linked to an adventurous Irish merchant, John O'Donnell.

In 1784, China and the United States began the direct trade. Firmly believing a huge market of Chinese good in the US, O'Donnell seized the opportunity and purchased a large quantity of exquisite goods in Canton and recruited 34 Asian crew, of whom three were Chinese named Ah Sing, Ah Chuan, Ah Cun. The Irish captain and his crew aboard the Pallas, the first direct ship from Canton in southern China to the US, set sail in Jan 1785 and embarked on the unknown journey.

Thirteen Hongs of Canton

O’Donnell with his oriental crew sailed into the port of Baltimore in the summer of 1785. An array of Chinese goods on board including tea, china, silks, satins and velvets made people in the eastern US excited. The Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser was the first to make coverage of it. “On Tuesday evening it arrived here, directly from China, the ship Pallas, commanded by its owner captain O’Donnell – She has on board a lot of valuable Cargo… it is thus Commerce binds and unites all the Nations of the globe with a golden chain,” it said on Aug 12,1785.

The crew of the Pallas thought they would return after arriving in the United States, but the captain had no plans to bring them back. Levi Hollingsworth, a Philadelphia merchant, sympathized with the crew, bringing them to Philadelphia and asking for help from the Congress. Assisted by Hollingsworth, the poor crew lived there for one year. Later, Captain O'Donnell felt regretful for his acts, promising to send the crew back to their Asian countries.

The group of crew no longer appeared on the official record since 1786. If without any accidents, they should have returned to Canton with an "old ticket" after more than a year's delay.

John O'Donnell Square

Canton, Baltimore

Thanks to a shipload of "Chinese goods", O'Donnell became an upstart in Baltimore. He purchased large tracts of land in the eastern waterfront of Baltimore and named it Canton. Today, Canton is still a neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland, the United States. This historic old town is considered one of Baltimore’s most popular neighborhoods.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)