Tom Com was born about 1875 in China and appeared in the 1930 U.S. Federal Census living in Ticonderoga, Essex County, New York. At fifty-five years old, he was listed as single and the head of his household at 22 South Main Street. The census identified his race as Chinese, with “Black” added in brackets, reflecting inconsistencies and complexities often found in racial classifications within historical records.
Tom rented his home for twenty-five dollars per month and was recorded as not owning a radio or living on a farm. Although he could not read or write, he spoke both Chinese and English, demonstrating his adaptation to life in the United States after immigrating in 1898 at around seventeen years old.
The census recorded Tom’s occupation as an operator working on his “own account,” indicating that he was self-employed. While few details survive about his personal life, his presence in the census offers an important glimpse into the experiences of Chinese immigrants living and working in small North Country communities during the early twentieth century.