Dana Tai Soon Burgess Photographs
Washington, D.C. choreographer, dancer and performance artist.
The collection isarranged into two series.
Series 1: Photographs
Series 2: Miscellaneous
The collection documents the life of Dana Tai Soon Burgess, and that of his Korean American family, dating back to 1904. Included are photographs of his family before and after they immigrated to the United States; some photographs taken during a time when they lived and worked at Kunia Camp, Hawaii; and of Burgess throughout his life. Also included are a Hawaii Identity Card of Anna Kang, and a Korean Imperial Office passport, 1904.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The collection is open for research.
Collection donated by Dana Tai Soon Burgess and James Freeman, 2016
Approximately 0.33 cubic feet of archival material consisting of family photographs was donated in 2018 by Dana Tai Soon Burgess.
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Photographs, 1904-2005, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2020.
An abacus, circa 1900 (See Accession #:2016.0006.01) was donated to the Division of Medicine and Science.
This Chinese-style abacus fits in a wooden box with a wooden cross piece. There are nine parallel rods, with beads on each rod. Seven rods are made of bamboo, two of metal. Two beads on each rod are above the cross piece, five below. The beads are rounded, like those on Chinese abacuses. The base of the box slides out to the right. According to the donor, this abacus was the property of Kim Dong Kuen and his wife, early Korean settlers in Hawaii. They were caretakers at a privately owned beachfront home in the country. Burgess and his family would go to the beach in their model A Ford on Sunday afternoons to go swimming. Before Kim Dong Kuen died, he gave Burgess's grandfather this instrument, his prize abacus. The 1930 U.S. Census lists a Kim Dong Kun, a resident of Honolulu born in about 1884 who emigrated from Korea in 1900. His wife also was born in Korea, emigrating in 1906. They had five children, all born in Hawaii. The family name was Kim.
(Top Row Left to Right) Theodore, Chester Lee, [?], Miranda, Nobu Kiyan, Isamu, Biryanim Skiya (Second row from top, left to right) E. Cho, Maile Nakagawa, [?], Victor, Howard Han, Alfred, Antonio (Third Row from the top, left to right) Sylveria, Tamiko, Kimiko Tomisato, Irene, Danford Teruya, Wallace Kawai, Edward Koin (Bottom row) Consado, Anna Kang, Teacher's son, Masanobu Oshiro, Akiko Oshiro, Violet Ariyan, Sylvester, Jakie, Isamu Ishigaki
(Top left) OK Kang, (Top Right) Annie Kang, (Bottom Left) Alice Kang, (Bottom Right) Anna Kang
-The Kang Family top row to bottom row left to right: Hio Voon, Soon Kuen, Anna, Alice Annie, Ok Wayne
Postcard
Grandfather holding baby grandson
[Chai Family portrait], seven family members.
First birthday.
Christmas in New Mexico.
Kindergarten, Carmel Valley, California.
The Imperial Korean Foreign Office [passport] for Soon Kuen Kang, 1904