“I am the first son of the first son of the first son of the first Chinese immigrant in Maine.” — Dickie Cough of Bar Harbor

Story By Colin S. Sargent

You never know what you might find in your neighbor’s attic in Maine.

“My great-great- grandfather was 15 when he stowed away on a ship sailing from Amoy (Xiamen), China to Southwest Harbor.” Daniel “Dickie” Cough isn’t sure if the boy knew where he was landing, except that it was in America. “Apparently, it worked out well. Captain Sylvester Lord took a liking to Kau Fu—later named Daniel Cough by the immigration officer when Fu couldn’t explain the spelling—because he gave him a piece of land in Bass Harbor that was later named ‘Chinaman’s Hill’ by locals.” The house he built was still standing until 2001.

Read the full story in the digital magazine above.