My Grandfather, Frank Hong

If you ever wanted some history on my family background, or are keen about Chinese-American history, then you'll be excited to read in the Minnesota Monthly about my grandfather, Frank Hong, who I just discovered was born in San Francisco (all along I thought he was born in China). Hmm... this would make me not 3rd generation, but 3.5 generations (my mom's side - Hong - I am 4th generation and my dad's side - Chow - I am 3rd generation).

Synopsis of the article:

"A prominent leader of the Minneapolis branch of the Hip Sing association during the 1925 raids was the dapper, well-spoken Frank Hong. According to his son Walter, Frank Hong was a charismatic, westernized Chinese American. He organized support in the Midwest for the Chinese revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen and was among the first wave of Chinese to cut off the queue and adopt Western dress. “It was not unusual,” his son remembers, “that as soon as Frank started to express an opinion, all went silent.”Frank Hong was born in San Francisco in 1887. His father was a laborer in a cannery. When Hong was 6 years old, his parents made the return trip to China, leaving young Frank with an uncle. He never saw them again."


"Because Frank Hong had achieved the coveted status of “merchant” under the Exclusion Act, he could travel back to China and re-enter the United States. Technically, Hong should have been considered a citizen, as he had been born on U.S. soil. But immigration officials were reluctant to grant citizenship to Chinese Americans. In Hong’s case, it would have been next to impossible to prove that he had been born in San Francisco. As a merchant, however, he could legally plan a trip to China to find a wife, and shortly after he moved to Minneapolis, Hong took steps to do so."

"“The desire of Mr. Hong to have his citizenship established is based almost entirely upon sentiment,” it continues. “He has lived all of his life in the United States, his children were all born in Minneapolis and are being educated as Americans. He is a prosperous businessman, identified financially and personally with this community. Whether he is adjudicated a citizen or not means nothing whatever to him from a financial point of view. But, he desires to have the record established that he is a citizen of the United States and not a wayfarer in a foreign land.”His appeal was successful. On January 14, 1931, Frank Hong became an American citizen."

As you can see by the picture of my grandfather, he does not look very Chinese. It makes me wonder, was he 100% Chinese? Why do I and other of my Hong relatives look mixed? My Chow relatives look a lot more Chinese (albeit some of them have a dark Hawaiian tan - my grandparents immigrated there in the 1880's).

If you notice, his face structure is fairly similar to mine. He has low cheek bones. He has round eyes like me (we also both have bags under our eyes). His hair looks kind of wavy (mine is too when it's grown out). We're not Chinese-looking... we have a Eurasian thing going on.

I never met my grandfather but I would have liked to. He seems like an intelligent man that has many stories to share.