¹Grandfather : The maternal genealogy's author was one of my maternal granduncles, Mr. Ngô-Đình-Tuấn, so the word "Grandfather" in the paraphrase, as employed from that author's point of view, referred to my generation's maternal great-great-grandfather.

²Mandarin exam : During the late 19th century, Vietnamese government officials were selected from the qualifiers of mandarin (public administrator) exams which were publicly held every four years.  Click here for illustration.

³District chief :  During the French domination and occupation between the mid-19th century and mid-20th century, Vietnam was divided by the French into 3 sections:  the colony of Cochin-China and the 2 protectorates of Annam and Tonkin.  These territories were administratively divided further into 31 provinces (tỉnh), then into prefectures (phủ), then into lowland districts (huyện) or highland districts (châu), then into cantons (tổng), and then into villages (xã).  A district chief is the governor of a district.  See map:

⁴36 streets of Ha-thanh :  Ha-thanh is, now, Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam.  The city was renowned for its 36 streets where, in each one, members of the same guild used to live together, and the streets were named after the guild's trade.  For examples, the Silverware Street, the Silk Street, etc.

⁵Prefecture chief : During the French domination and occupation between the mid-19th century and mid-20th century, Vietnam was divided by the French into 3 sections:  the colony of Cochin-China and the 2 protectorates of Annam and Tonkin.  These territories were administratively divided further into 31 provinces (tỉnh), then into prefectures (phủ), then into lowland districts (huyện) or highland districts (châu), then into cantons (tổng), and then into villages (xã).  The prefecture chief is the governor of a prefecture.  See map.

⁶Nam-thanh : A major city in the north of Vietnam, that is now called Nam-Định.

⁷Grandmother : The maternal genealogy's author was one of my maternal granduncles, Mr. Ngô-Đình-Tuấn, so the word "Grandmother" in the paraphrase, as employed from that author's point of view, referred to my generation's maternal great-great-grandmother.

⁸Gang of outlaws :  The second half of the 19th century was a tumultuous, transitional era of Vietnam in which rebels and criminals were well-organized, influential, violent, and rampant.

⁹Blessing of our ancestors :  This accords with an ancient Vietnamese belief that those who died would become supernatural beings who could aid in their living loved ones' endeavors.

¹⁰Fortune of having the family tomb at the goose's head location :  This accords with an ancient geomancy (feng shui) belief that the burial site of a clan's ancestors could affect its fate and fortune.  Choice locations are topographies that resemble auspicious symbols such as dragons, pearls, money bags, etc.

¹¹Four-parasol ranking :  This implies a top government position because when a high-ranking Vietnamese official traveled during that era, his attendants would carry parasols to shade him, and the number of parasols corresponded to the rank level.  A four-parasol mandarin status was equivalent to province chief (quan Tổng-Ðốc).  Click here for illustration.

¹²Oriental-calendar :  This calendar system is based on the phases of the moon and is different from the western calendar which is based on the earth's revolution around the sun.  The differences between the calendars' time periods causes the first day of the year in the O.C. (oriental calendar) to occur on different dates each year on the western calendar.  For recent examples:

	Vietnamese Year of the Horse will begin on February 12, 2002, then the following
	Vietnamese Year of the Sheep will begin on February 1, 2003, then the following
	Vietnamese Year of the Monkey will begin on January 22, 2004, then the following
	Vietnamese Year of the Rooster will begin on February 9, 2005, then the following
	Vietnamese Year of the Dog will begin on January 29, 2006, then the following
	Vietnamese Year of the Pig will begin on February 18, 2007, and so on ...
	To determine an Oriental Astrological Sign use this calculator.

The oriental-calendar system is complex and hard to calculate so to determine a western calendar time counterpart, most people refer to its commercially-produced book forms which are widely available from oriental merchants around Vietnamese new years.

¹³Death-anniversary :  Called "giỗ" (pronounced as "zô"), this veneration ceremony of an ancestor on the anniversary of his or her demise was among the most ancient and prevalent of Vietnamese traditions.  On the anniversary of an ancestor's decease, the descendants would hold a family gathering, usually at the eldest son's place, to enjoy a nice meal together and to reminisce family history for the benefit of the younger or new members.  Because of its significance with the anniversaries, ancestors' death dates are an essential element of Vietnamese genealogy, even more important than the birthdates. The oriental-calendar was traditionally used to determine the death-anniversary dates but many families are using the Western calendar for simplicity nowadays.

¹⁴Realm of the sages :  An Oriental euphemistic expression for heaven or the other world.