Brothers Between Two Lands
Started in 2021, this page muses on some topics that I'm only at the initial phase of exploring.
In 2021 I connected with some little known branches of the family, including a UK branch. In updating information about our ancestral Quon village to share with them, I became interested in the larger narrative of how two generations of the family - Frank, Albert and Nathan's, and that of their father and uncle - moved back and forth between China and the US for many decades. Photos indicate that quite a few cousins and other unidentified young men are also part of the narrative.
When you dig into the details, their mobility and at times immobility can be surprising. And despite a shared arc to their lives, their individual stories often ended up quite differently.
When you dig into the details, their mobility and at times immobility can be surprising. And despite a shared arc to their lives, their individual stories often ended up quite differently.
If you're not clear about who Frank, Albert and Nathan are, please read here first.
So many question marks
Is it pure happenstance that Quon Mane, who we believe was the first Quon in the US, arrived in 1881 or 1882, just before the US Exclusion Act of 1882 went into effect in 1883? Such legislation was restrictive and even punitive, but doesn't seem to have constrained our family's ability to stay in the US or travel back and forth - or not to the point that any stories have filtered down to me.
Why did eldest brother Frank, who arrived earliest and who one would assume was most at home in the US, end up moving back East (we know he died in Hong Kong and may have lived in Canton before that)? Is it correct that 3rd brother Nathan only came to the US at a much later age than his older brothers? If so, why?
And how did marriages with women back in the village affect travel patterns? The intervals between the births of children shed some light on the frequency of such visits. Gung Gung's stories, which were attentive to the lives of the ladies, hint at some of the dynamics. Is there significance in the fact that Albert, unlike his brothers, found his own wife in the US?
And what of various "nephews", "cousins" and "employees"... How many were true relatives? Were any paper sons (I haven't heard of any)? What were the family relationships that determined who came to the US and who did not?
What was the larger historical context of US legislation and attitudes, as well as unrest in China? The 2019 book American Exodus: Second Generation Chinese-Americans in China 1901-1949 brings to the light the fact that as many as half of the Chinese born in the US in the early 20th century ended up moving to China because they felt stymied in the US. How much do we really know about the layered Chinese-American identities of those preceded us?
I will endeavor to find out more and update this site in due course. In the meantime, here is the photo evidence I have to work with.
Why did eldest brother Frank, who arrived earliest and who one would assume was most at home in the US, end up moving back East (we know he died in Hong Kong and may have lived in Canton before that)? Is it correct that 3rd brother Nathan only came to the US at a much later age than his older brothers? If so, why?
And how did marriages with women back in the village affect travel patterns? The intervals between the births of children shed some light on the frequency of such visits. Gung Gung's stories, which were attentive to the lives of the ladies, hint at some of the dynamics. Is there significance in the fact that Albert, unlike his brothers, found his own wife in the US?
And what of various "nephews", "cousins" and "employees"... How many were true relatives? Were any paper sons (I haven't heard of any)? What were the family relationships that determined who came to the US and who did not?
What was the larger historical context of US legislation and attitudes, as well as unrest in China? The 2019 book American Exodus: Second Generation Chinese-Americans in China 1901-1949 brings to the light the fact that as many as half of the Chinese born in the US in the early 20th century ended up moving to China because they felt stymied in the US. How much do we really know about the layered Chinese-American identities of those preceded us?
I will endeavor to find out more and update this site in due course. In the meantime, here is the photo evidence I have to work with.
Cousins, Nephews, Employees
From a 1910 census, we learn that Quon Mane headed a household that included Frank and three other nephews: Chook, James and Henry.
Is it significant that Frank's age, which we estimate to be 15 in 1910, appears to be grossly understated as 12? What does that say about the reliability of the information for everyone else? The names of other alleged Quon nephews are unfamiliar, except for "James", the young cousin who appears on the far left of this photo:
c. 1906, or possibly even earlier
No doubt some of the boys overlap with the young men in the census data or the following three photos, but we currently have no information to go on.
Caption: "Employees & Relatives". 1917 Quon Mane loft. Albert seated left, Frank standing right.
1920, Chinese Mission School, San Diego. Albert seated middle row far right.
For more about the Chinese Mission School and the role it played in educating and assimilating Chinese, please read this article from the Journal of San Diego History. In his narrative, Quon Mane mentions the Marston family who were major San Diego figures and sponsors of this school.
Cross referencing with other photos, we can pick out:
- Quon Mane employee Philip Hom, back row, 2nd from left
- Back row, 2nd from right - young man who is also in picnic photo below (either back row, 2nd from right; or front row, far right)
- Quon Mane employee and possible relative Ronald Quon/Raymond Tong? of San Francisco - standing, middle row, far right. In the picnic photo, he is in the front row with cap.
1921 Quon picnic: Quon Mane's sons King and Ben on the far left; Albert in ROTC uniform; Frank seated back row far right.
"Gentlemen of the Quon Family"
1938: Albert, Nathan and first cousin Ben (Quon Mane's son) front row far right, two unknown men, and future sister-in-law Elsie Young (center).
1938, left to right: unknown, cousin Ben, Albert, Nathan, and cousin King (Ben and King were sons of Quon Mane by different mothers, and so half-brothers).
c. 1939: Albert, Nathan, their cousins Ben and King, the unknown gentlemen, plus Albert's wife Lily and their four children, and King's wife Lenora and their first two children (of of an eventual five).
c. 1941: Here we add Nathan's wife Elaine (hidden in the back), Frank's 2nd wife Ah Chut? (front with baby), and unknown woman on the far left.
JUST THe 3 Brothers with their Families
c. 1941
c. 1942 or 1943.
Captioned "1945", but more likely 1943 or 1944
Captioned "1944", but more likely 1945 or even 1946
c. 1950