Lue Gim Gong

Lue was born into a wealthy farming family in Canton. An uncle who had already emigrated to the USA returned with stories of the great opportunities there, and at the age of 12 Lue prevailed on his parents to let him emigrate, alone. After a few years in San Francisco he headed east to become a strike-breaker at a shoe factory, and there he met the wealthy Burlingame family, whose greenhouse gardener he became.

He converted to Christianity and was naturalized in 1877, before tuberculosis forced him to return to China. But he could not reintegrate there and returned to America in 1885, this time to Florida, where he began work in orange groves owned by the Burlingame family near DeLand. In 1903 he inherited part of their fortune, but he had no business sense and several times was in financial difficulties. (After he died it was discovered that he had been so naïve that he didn't know what a check was: a trunk full of uncashed checks was found in his room, explaining why he was always so short of money.)

Lue's lasting importance lies in his skill as a citrus breeder, leading to his nickname, the Luther Burbank of Florida. He developed several important new crosses of oranges and grapefruit which revolutionized the industry. In 1911 he won the Wilder Silver Medal of the American Pomological Society for his oranges. He also produced important new apple and raspberry varieties.

References

Dever, Maria, and Dever, Aileen. Relative Origins: Famous Foster and Adopted People. (Portland: National Book Company, 1992)
McCunn, Ruthanne Lum. Wooden Fish Songs. [Historical novel]. (New York: Dutton, 1995)
Irene, Ovy, Annie, Anna and Aaron. "Agriculture: Chinese-Americans and the U.S." Available at: http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch405/IUP/chineseFarming.html
Han, Susan. "Author's Reception." Available at: http://www.aaja.org/Chapters/Seattle/arch96.htm
West Volusia County Tourism Advertising Authority. "DeLand to Honor Citrus Wizard 75 Years after His Death." Available at: http://www.naturalflorida.com/PR-citrus-wizard.html