The last prefect of a prestigious family in the western region of Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) - After the August Revolution in 1945, former Quy Chau District Governor Sam Van Vien had a peaceful life. He was the last district governor of the Sam family, the most prestigious family in the Western Nghe An region.

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Portrait of District Governor Sam Van Vien and his wife. Mr. Vien was the last District Governor of the old Quy Chau district, which included the present-day districts of Que Phong, Quy Chau, Quy Hop and Nghia Dan (Nghe An).

The Sam family (also known as Lo Cam) originated in Hoa Tien village, Chau Tien commune, Quy Chau district. This was a prestigious and powerful Thai family in the western part of Nghe An under feudalism. Some documents say that since taking power, the Sam family had 17 people as district chiefs, of which 3 were mentioned by everyone. In particular, the story of the last district chief, Sam Van Vien, is still told by many people. The locals often call him Phu Vien.

Mr. Lo Duc Mau, 60 years old, a retired army lieutenant colonel, recounted: For decades after the August Revolution, Vien Palace lived in peace and quiet. Until 1986, he passed away.

There are no descendants of the Vien family left now. The person who remembers the most about the family history as well as the lives of the Sam family's prefects in Hoa Tien village is only Mr. Sam Van Cam, who calls Vien family "uncle". Mr. Cam's family is currently in charge of worshiping and burning incense for Mr. Sam Van Vien and his wife. Apart from two old portraits, the family has no more documents about the life of the last prefect of the Sam family in Quy Chau.

Mr. Sam Van Cam, nephew of Vien.

According to Mr. Cam, Vien had three sons. Two died young. The second son, Sam Van Dao, joined the French army at the age of 20 and died in battle at Sam To station, Hua Phan province (Laos) in 1946. That is why Mr. Cam naturally became the worshiper of Mr. Vien and his wife.

When he passed away, Mr. Vien was 91 years old. Mr. Vien's wife was the daughter of the previous district governor - Sam Van Nguyen. The district governor before Mr. Nguyen was Mr. Sam Van Phong, who was also Mr. Sam Van Vien's father.

Elders in Hoa Tien village shared that Phu Vien was good at Quoc Ngu and French. "Mr. Sam Van Nguyen succeeded Mr. Sam Van Phong for about 4 or 5 years and was forced to retire because the people no longer trusted him. At that time, Mr. Vien was teaching in Tuong Duong district and was called back to succeed him" - Mr. Sam Van Cam said. Like the Lang Vi family in Tuong Duong district, they were the two biggest powers in the mountainous region of Nghe An at that time. The title was only passed down within the family.

No one in the family remembers what year Mr. Sam Van Phong was born or how long he held the position of district chief. His descendants only remember that he died in 1944 and was buried in a grave in the middle of Hoa Tien village. Long before his death, District Chief Phong had prepared a grave for himself. This place is now the family temple of the Sam family.

Tomb of the prefect Sam Van Phong. According to his family members, he was the first Thai person to be the prefect of Quy Chau.

Mr. Lo Duc Mau said: The Sam Van Phong district governor was a man who won the people's hearts. According to previous generations, after taking office, he surveyed the Nam Hat River and other large and small rivers and streams in the area, then mobilized people to dig canals to bring water to the fields. Currently, many canals in the Chau Tien and Chau Hanh communes (Quy Chau) have existed since the Phong district. They have only been dredged and re-concreted.

According to family legend, the Sam family in Hoa Tien village originated from the Kinh people in present-day Dien Chau district. No one remembers when there was a man named Le Hong Nam who came to present-day Chau Tien to work as a blacksmith. Later, he married a Thai woman and took the surname Sam. The Phong district chief was the grandson of Le Hong Nam.

The Sam family in Hoa Tien village today has 15 households. They are still a prominent clan in economic development in the region.

Huu Vi - Hung Cuong