The Journey
A Story Written Across Continents
From Fujian to Java
The Kwee family ancestors likely emigrated from Fujian province in southern China, part of the great wave of Hokkien Chinese migration to Southeast Asia. These migrants, known as Peranakan Chinese, established themselves as merchants and traders throughout the Dutch East Indies.
The Chinese Community of Malang
Malang, a highland city in East Java, was home to a vibrant Peranakan Chinese community. The Tiong Hoa Hwee Kwan (THHK) was established around 1904, and the Eng An Kiong Temple (built 1825) served as a spiritual center. The community was known for the Ang Hien Hoo wayang orang club, where Chinese Peranakans performed traditional Javanese dance drama.
The Dutch Connection
The Van den Hoonaard family came from Dordrecht, one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. Hendrik van den Hoonaard, a shipbuilder and brewery worker with one brother and eleven sisters, married Johanna Arends — a fortune teller and cocoa processor — in Amsterdam in 1918. Their descendants would eventually connect with the Kwee family.
From Indonesia to the Netherlands
After Indonesian independence in 1945 and the subsequent political upheavals, many Chinese-Indonesian families migrated to the Netherlands. Records show Kwee family members naturalizing in cities like Nijmegen. This migration brought the Chinese-Indonesian and Dutch branches of the family together.
Gaps & Archive Leads
Several dates remain unknown (shown as "0000" in the original chart). Key archives that may hold missing records include: the Kantor Catatan Sipil (Civil Registry) in Malang for birth/marriage records of the Kwee and Phang families; Delpher.nl for colonial newspaper mentions; FamilySearch.org for civil registration records (1806–1997); and the National Archives of the Netherlands for naturalization records.