By Michelle Quynh Anh Nguyen (6-3-8-3)1

~ As told to Reyna My Linh Nguyen (6-12-3) by her father Nguyen Uy Linh (6-12) and her cousin Nguyen Vinh Long (6-3-8), who designed the family number system; translation was also provided by Reyna My Linh Nguyen

~ Please refer to the footnotes at the bottom of the page.

Prologue

The story of the Nguyen Vinh family begins two generations and two name variations before Nguyen Vinh Xuan with his grandfather, Tran Tu2. Tran Tu and his family originated from Hue, located in central Vietnam. Hue was also known as the “Imperial City,” and was the capital of Vietnam from 1802-1945 during the Nguyen Dynasty. Along with other members of his family, Tran Tu migrated to southern Vietnam to the cities of Long Thanh and Bien Hoa, and later to Bu Cap (Cay Sop) Cu Chi.

Tran Tu and his wife, Than Tuoi, had nine children: Tran Mau, Tran Vang, Tran Tham, Tran Tiet, Tran Suong, Tran Phu, Tran Que, Tran Sang, and Tran Truong. Tran Vang, the second oldest in the family, later had his name changed to Nguyen Van Vang3 and married Le Thi Thao. Le Thi Thao had an interesting family background as well. During the mid-1800s, she and her family escaped the French while the French was in the process of capturing territory in Southeast Vietnam.4 The Le family arrived and settled in Suoi Cut. This occurred concurrently with the French capture of Nam Vang, also known as Phnom Penh, the current capital of Cambodia.

Nguyen Van Vang and Le Thi Thao had eight children altogether5: Nguyen Thi Du (2), Nguyen Van Dua6 (3), Nguyen Van Cho (4), Nguyen Thi Vay (5), Nguyen Vinh Xuan (6), Nguyen Thi Thu (7), Nguyen Thi Tru (8), and Nguyen Thi Yen (9). Nguyen Vinh Xuan (6) is the forefather of the Nguyen Vinh line, and he and his siblings will be referenced as the first generation, which is designated by the single family number that follows their names.

The Forefather

Nguyen Vinh Xuan (who also went by the religious name Khai Minh), was born in 1885 in the village of Phuoc An, Hoc Mon District, Gia Dinh Province. He passed away at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 6, 1965 (mong 4 thang 27; the fourth day of the second month in the lunar calendar), at the age of 81, in the year of At Ti, the year of the snake, in the village of Phuoc Hiep, Gia Dinh Province. Nguyen Vinh Xuan was married to Vo Thi Luc, who was born in 1891 in the village of Phuoc My8, Hoc Mon District, Gia Dinh Province. Vo Thi Luc passed away at 12 a.m. on Tuesday, October 15th (ngay 21 thang 9; the 21st day of the ninth month in the lunar calendar, see sidenote 7) in 1946, the year of Dinh Tuat, the year of the dog in the lunar calendar, in Phuoc Hiep, at the age of 55.

Nguyen Vinh Xuan and Vo Thi Luc had eleven children: Nguyen Van Hanh (6-2) (1909-unknown), Nguyen Vinh Phat (6-3) (1910-1981), Nguyen Vinh Xuong (6-4) (yeu tu, see sidenote 6), Nguyen Vinh Phuoc9 (6-5) (1914-1981), Nguyen Ngoc Tran (6-6) (1917), Nguyen Kim Quy (6-7) (1919), Nguyen Thi Tan (6-8) (yeu tu), Nguyen Kim Khai (6-9) (1923), Nguyen Vinh Hoa (6-10) (1926), Nguyen Vinh Thanh (6-11) (1928), and Nguyen Uy Linh11 (6-12) (1935). They are known as the second generation, as designated by their family numbers (see footnote 1 and 3 for further explanation).

Although unnecessary to mention to many, particularly members of the older Nguyen Vinh generations, the French-Vietnam War, World War II, and the American-Vietnam War disrupted the lives of the Nguyen Vinh family, as well as those of other families who are from Vietnam. As a result, the descendants of the second generation were spread far and wide into the world. The third, fourth, and fifth generations now live in countries that include Japan, Canada, the United States, France, Singapore, Germany, and what we will always remember as our que huong12, Vietnam.

Footnotes

1 The numbering system used in the family tree and family history begins with Nguyen Vinh Xuan, whose family number is 6. The author’s number 6-3-8-3 indicates that she is in the fourth generation. The 6 stands for Nguyen Vinh Xuan, the 3 is for her grandfather whose family number was 3 (meaning he was the second oldest in the family, see footnote 3), the 8 is for her father whose family number is 8 (meaning he was the seventh child in the family), and the 3 is the author’s family number (meaning she is the second oldest in her family).

2 In Vietnam, as in many Asian countries, the family name is stated first, followed by the middle name then the given name. Thus, if written in the western format, the name would actually be written Tu Tran. For the purposes of this oral-turned-written history, the author has elected to adopt the Vietnamese format for the first few generations.

3 Although Nguyen Van Vang is the second oldest in the family, his family number is 3. In South Vietnamese families, the oldest is called number 2, the second oldest number 3, etc. The reasons for this vary, but most agree that it was bad luck to call the oldest number one in case malicious spirits would cause harm to the child.

4 The French later categorized the territory into three areas and renamed the provinces as Cochinchina, Tonkin, and Annam.

5 Like other agrarian societies, Vietnamese families tended to be large because they needed their children to help with the work on the fields.

6 Yeu tu—she passed away at an early age.

7 Mong 4 thang 2—meaning the lunar new year date, not to be confused with the Gregorian calendar date.

8 Later, the village of Phuoc An and Phuoc My would merge to become Phuoc Hiep.

9 Nguyen Vinh Phuoc’s name at birth was Nguyen Vinh Hung.

10 Nguyen Ngoc Tran’s name at birth was Nguyen Vinh Phuoc.

11 Nguyen Uy Linh’s name at birth was Nguyen Vinh Khanh.

12 Que huong—homeland.