Sam Wah Kee: Chinatown’s wealthy merchant turned fugitive
During the late 1880s and 1890s, Sam Wah Kee was the most wealthy Chinese merchant in all of New England, a leader of the Chinese Free Masons, and the uncrowned king of Chinatown. His ultimate fate is unknown, as he fled from federal authorities and apparently was never apprehended. It’s a fascinating tale of the rise and fall of an influential Chinese merchant in Boston’s Chinatown. Sam Wah Kee, whose family name was actually Ah Moy, was born on October 1, 1856, in […]