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Dr. Cheuck “C.K.” Ah Fong had been practicing medicine in Atlanta and Rocky Bar for years before deciding to move to Boise, where his children could get a better education. That was in 1892. Ah Fong, born in Canton, China around 1844 set up shop on Idaho Street, announcing his business with this ad.
After the ad ran for a few days, someone caught the typo and changed it to this.
That crude correction made it clear that this was Dr. Ah Fong. Calling himself a doctor wouldn’t be a problem for many years. Anyone could do that in territorial days, and for several years after Idaho became a state. Here are some ads, including Ah Fong’s, from 1893. Note that Dr. Collister, for whom all things Collister in Boise were named, is at the top of the section.
Dr. Ah Fong ran an ad in the Statesman every day for years. Meanwhile, the Idaho Medical Society formed itself and began lobbying the Legislature to establish the Idaho State Board of Medical Examiners. Lawmakers finally created that board in 1899, giving them the power to examine applicants and issue medical licenses.
Dr. Ah Fong applied for a license that first year. The board turned him down. He asked them why he was turned down, since he had been practicing for years, had attended a Chinese medical college, and had even received national attention for his success in treating patients during an influenza outbreak in 1891.
The medical board refused to provide Ah Fong with notes from their meetings in which his application was discussed. He took the board to court. A district court judge ruled in favor of the medical board, so he appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court. The high court ordered the medical board to rehear the case.
In 1900, the Idaho State Board of Medical Examiners heard his application again. Again, they refused to grant Ah Fong a medical license.
The Idaho Statesman reported that “the Chinese practitioner does not practice any system of medicine within the meaning of our law.”
Testimony was that Dr. Ah Fong used only one method for diagnosing a patient. That was, “entirely by feeling the pulse.” Many people claimed that he treated patients as successfully as any other doctor, though “He asks no questions and makes no examination, relying on the pulse to indicate the nature of the malady.”
Ah Fong asked the district court to review the state board's action.
In February 1902, Judge Stewart reversed the decision of the board, instructing it to give a regular license to Dr. Ah Fong. The Statesman headlined that story with the simple statement “He is a Doctor.”
On the heels of that decision, Dr. Ah Fong found himself in court again, this time as a defendant . He was charged with failing to report a contagious disease. The city court imposed a $96 fine. Ah Fong appealed to district court, where the case was dismissed on a motion from the county attorney. Whether the charge might have been a small retribution for Dr. Ah Fong’s success in obtaining a medical license is unknown.
Dr. C.K. Ah Fong, immediately placed a larger ad in the Statesman, one with a photo, promoting his practice.
Dr. Ah Fong applied for a license that first year. The board turned him down. He asked them why he was turned down, since he had been practicing for years, had attended a Chinese medical college, and had even received national attention for his success in treating patients during an influenza outbreak in 1891.
The medical board refused to provide Ah Fong with notes from their meetings in which his application was discussed. He took the board to court. A district court judge ruled in favor of the medical board, so he appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court. The high court ordered the medical board to rehear the case.
In 1900, the Idaho State Board of Medical Examiners heard his application again. Again, they refused to grant Ah Fong a medical license.
The Idaho Statesman reported that “the Chinese practitioner does not practice any system of medicine within the meaning of our law.”
Testimony was that Dr. Ah Fong used only one method for diagnosing a patient. That was, “entirely by feeling the pulse.” Many people claimed that he treated patients as successfully as any other doctor, though “He asks no questions and makes no examination, relying on the pulse to indicate the nature of the malady.”
Ah Fong asked the district court to review the state board's action.
In February 1902, Judge Stewart reversed the decision of the board, instructing it to give a regular license to Dr. Ah Fong. The Statesman headlined that story with the simple statement “He is a Doctor.”
On the heels of that decision, Dr. Ah Fong found himself in court again, this time as a defendant . He was charged with failing to report a contagious disease. The city court imposed a $96 fine. Ah Fong appealed to district court, where the case was dismissed on a motion from the county attorney. Whether the charge might have been a small retribution for Dr. Ah Fong’s success in obtaining a medical license is unknown.
Dr. C.K. Ah Fong, immediately placed a larger ad in the Statesman, one with a photo, promoting his practice.
Dr. Ah Fong practiced medicine in Boise for years. He passed away in 1927 at age 82. His body was transported back to China. His son, and grandson continued the family medical practice into the 1960s.
Dr. C.K. Ah Fong, courtesy of the Idaho State Historical Society
Dr. Ah Fong’s Wives Made Ripples
Mrs. C.K. Ah Fong died of a stroke at age 62 in March 1904. First names of married women were rarely mentioned, even in obituaries at the time, but census records indicate she was called Sin. That may have been only a variation of her Chinese first name, but it is all we have.
Her sudden death prompted the Statesman to note that she had been a resident of Idaho for 31 years and that “she was probably better and more favorably known to Idaho pioneers than any woman of her race in the state.” That statement startled me a little, since today, Polly Bemis is often called the most famous Chinese woman in the Northwest. More than a thousand people came to Mrs. Ah Fong’s funeral, so she was an honored member of the community.
Dr. Ah Fong married twice more, each wife preceding him in death, neither leaving any trace of a first name. One, though, caused a few headlines.
The story is difficult to trace in newspaper archives because reporters at the time were sloppy with Chinese names.
A man named Wong Non Gar caused a stir in Boise’s robust Chinese community in 1909 by “alienating the affection” of the second Mrs. Dr. Ah Fong.
Wong Non Gar (or Wang Tun Ker, in the anglicized version he sometimes used) was called a highbinder by the Statesman. That was a new term to me, so I did a little research. Apparently, a highbinder was a member of a Chinese criminal gang or secret society, and perhaps even a professional killer.
The “highbinder” had allegedly convinced Mrs. Ah Fong that her husband had hired someone to kill her. Her only route to safety was to “leave her husband’s roof” and come under his protection. Wong Non Gar was the head of a Tong organization based in Portland and then organizing in Boise.
Boise’s Chinese Free Masons were incensed by this attempt and convinced Mrs. Ah Fong that she should return to her husband.
Wong Non Gar caused enough consternation in the Chinese Quarter that Boise police had to come to his rescue. The story was told in the Statesman under this headline.
Her sudden death prompted the Statesman to note that she had been a resident of Idaho for 31 years and that “she was probably better and more favorably known to Idaho pioneers than any woman of her race in the state.” That statement startled me a little, since today, Polly Bemis is often called the most famous Chinese woman in the Northwest. More than a thousand people came to Mrs. Ah Fong’s funeral, so she was an honored member of the community.
Dr. Ah Fong married twice more, each wife preceding him in death, neither leaving any trace of a first name. One, though, caused a few headlines.
The story is difficult to trace in newspaper archives because reporters at the time were sloppy with Chinese names.
A man named Wong Non Gar caused a stir in Boise’s robust Chinese community in 1909 by “alienating the affection” of the second Mrs. Dr. Ah Fong.
Wong Non Gar (or Wang Tun Ker, in the anglicized version he sometimes used) was called a highbinder by the Statesman. That was a new term to me, so I did a little research. Apparently, a highbinder was a member of a Chinese criminal gang or secret society, and perhaps even a professional killer.
The “highbinder” had allegedly convinced Mrs. Ah Fong that her husband had hired someone to kill her. Her only route to safety was to “leave her husband’s roof” and come under his protection. Wong Non Gar was the head of a Tong organization based in Portland and then organizing in Boise.
Boise’s Chinese Free Masons were incensed by this attempt and convinced Mrs. Ah Fong that she should return to her husband.
Wong Non Gar caused enough consternation in the Chinese Quarter that Boise police had to come to his rescue. The story was told in the Statesman under this headline.
The highbinder had been ordered to attend a meeting to tell his side of the story in front of an angry crowd of Chinese in a room owned by the Masonic Order. He worried for his safety, so he requested a police escort. Police Chief Weber Reeves granted the request. Two additional officers were called in when the crowd turned rowdy. Fearing for Wong’s safety, they tried to escort him out of the hall, only to find the doors had been barred from the outside. One of the officers threw his bulk against the doors and broke through, allowing the police to escort Wong to the city jail, where he was locked up for his own protection.
Chief Reeves said that he believed “the frenzied Chinamen would have undoubtedly killed Wong had he not had the protection of the police.” Wong reluctantly agreed to leave the city.
Chief Reeves said that he believed “the frenzied Chinamen would have undoubtedly killed Wong had he not had the protection of the police.” Wong reluctantly agreed to leave the city.
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