U.S. Navy Seaman. Records show that he went by many different names including: John Ah Heng (surname also shown as Hang; his Chinese name was Tong Kee Hang; for ashort while he also went by the name of William Hang), born Ning Po, China, July 17, 1841 (National Home admission page shows his birthplace as Canton, China); arrived in the United States about 1857, aboard the vessel, the Drednaught; previous occupation, cook; had been a steward on the vessel, Shakespeare, running between Liverpool and New York, just before he enlisted; enlisted at New York, aged 22, for two years, as landsman in the United States Navy, on July 24, 1863; personal description at the time of enlistment shown as black eyes, black hair, dark complexion, and standing at 5 feet 3 ½ inches tall; sent aboard the receiving vessel, North Carolina, and, after about a week, sent by steamer to New Orleans, where he boarded the USS Hartford, aboard which he remained for just a few days, after which he was transferred to the USS Albatross, aboard which he served as cabin steward; after some time on the Albatross, Hang was then sent aboard the USS Penguin, also as cabin steward, at Mobile Bay; remained on her when she was at Pensacola; discharged from the Navy, at Boston, Massachusetts, on September 30, 1864, and then went to New York City; married Jennie Busch at Savannah, Georgia, in the 1870's; after her death, at Staten Island, New York, in 1878, Hang married, a second time, to Maggie Duffy, at Staten Island; naturalized as an American citizen in 1875; his second wife died at Staten Island in April, 1887; filed for a pension in February, 1907; a pension department investigator located Hang, in July, 1917, and mentioned that "Hang is a noted character around Chinatown. He has so Americanized himself that the Chinamen, in general, do not appeal to him. Within the last year or so they fleeced him of something like $5000, which he was able to accumulate by running a cigar and grocery store. I made enquiries as to his general character. He states that when he enlisted he could not write English, and he did not understand enough about English to acquaint himself with names, and therefore he could not give the names of his officers, or ships, except those on which he served. Aside from that, however, he gave a very good account of the movements of the vessels and the description of the vessels"; Hang was admitted to the National Home at Bath, New York, on August 14, 1919, suffering from "card. hyper $ c."; at the time of his admission to the Home his personal description was shown as being aged 80, gray eyes, gray hair, dark complexion, standing at 5 feet 4 inches tall, able to read and write, of the Catholic faith, a cigar maker by occupation, widower, a resident of New York City, and in receipt of a pension at the rate of $35 (pension certificate number 38665); mustered on June 15, 1920, as a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, William F. Barry Post No. 248, of New York; suffered a heart attack while visiting his wife's grave at Staten Island, and died in the Staten Island Hospital, New York, some two weeks later, on December 3, 1923. Sources: National Park Service: Asians and Pacific Islanders in the Civil War, Naval Rendezvous Enlistment Records, United States National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866 – 1931, and Navy Survivors' Pension file no. 38665, for John Hang from Grand Army of the Republic Records, 1866 – 1931.