ONE FAMILY’SHISTORY A NARRATIVE—THEDESCENDENTS OF DR. ELISHA ISHKANIAN

By: EDWARDA. BAGDOYAN Date: OCTOBER 20, 1999 TABLEOF CONTENTS

Prologue ...... 2 Introduction .5 ...... The Ishkanians ...... 6

Life in - ca. Aleppo 1896-1920...... 1l The Solakians ofKilis ..15 ......

A New - ca. 1920-1930 Beginning ...... 17

Dr. Esther Solakian - “Aunt Cissy”...... 2l Rose nee Ishkanian Baghdoian ...... 26

Ishkanian - “Uncle George George” ...... 38

Prince - “Uncle Harry (Ishkanian) Harry”...... 46 AppendixI - The First Christian Nation

AppendixII — An Interview withGrandmother AppendixIII- Map showing Historical and Modern Armenia AppendixIV - Bibliography

AppendixV - From theMists of Time

AppendixVI - There Are Others AppendixVII - Our Destiny is in the Hands of God

AppendixVIII - You Sometimes find Armenians in the Comics!

AppendixD( - FamilyTrees J.-.) ¢_L_) ._);,,,L_) J

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K. 1 /—* \, elsewhere in the text. The reader will note several woodcut depictions used throughout; these were borrowed from “Recipes From Armenia”,by ThomasAzarian.

This Ishkanian family narrative represents the third such endeavor on my part and I hope thatthe reader will find it to be of value and interest and that perhaps it will encourage him to delve further into his lineage and add to thfi story already ld. Edward A. Bagdoyan Danville,Pennsylvania January 30, 2000 2 L>\4VI X -__'_‘a‘,._‘..,_...go-~a$-v-Iifili1uCBUI% W INTRODUCTION

My mother, nee Rose Ishkanian, was born in Aleppo, Syria on October 20, 1901, to Dr. Elisha Ishkanian and his wife, Osanna, nee Solakian. Mom had two brothers, Harry the older brother and George, the younger brother. This narrative will attempt to describe their lives in Aleppo, their travels and immigration to the United States, and their family development in the United States. All of the principals have since passed away and the telling of this family tale must now depend on memories, scraps of papers, documents, and hearsay. It will be written from my mother’s perspective and will be augmented by information furnished by cousins and family members. In order not to stray too far, this familynarrative will deal only with the descendants of Dr. Elisha Ishkanian, with peripheral genealogical information given as required to clarify circumstances. See Appendix Vl. LBJ or...).. 2‘ 2. ._>:.,». ram narrative depends on memories and tales remembered by the present and past generations. There are no written or extant family records which may be referred to as source material. The reasons for this dearth, or lackof availabilityof information,may be due to the following: 1) familyBibles, official documents, etc. were most frequently destroyed during the periods of massacres and dispersions, 2) in many rural areas, official records like births and marriages were not kept so as to keep the information out of the hands of the government, 3) records may have been written in Kirapar which stands in the same relationship to present day Armenian as Chaucer does to modern English; hence, perhaps difficult to detect 4) some Armenians spoke Turkish and wrote Turkish using the Armenian alphabet, 5) prior to 1920, Turkish was written using the Arabic alphabet so that any records prior to ca. 1920, would have to be translated by someone conversant with the old Ottoman speech and language. These few words are interjected at this point to indicate the difficulty ‘which one would encounter if one were seriously trying to trace a family lineage based on the written word.

The Armenians are an ancient people whose origins are lost in the mists of antiquity and which is best summed up by the historian Will Durant, in his book OUR ORIENTAL HERITAGE,

“For many centuries, beginning beforethe dawn of recorded history, the Armenians maintained their independent government, their characteristiccustoms and arts.”

Traditionally, Armenians believe that they are direct descendants of one ofthe sons ofNoah. To the historian, “The Annenians are an ancient race about 3,000 years old. They are descended from the Proto-I11do-Europeans who originated in Anatolia and migrated east and west. The Armenian homeland is the Plains of Ararat, stretching from the Caucasus Mountains in the east to the Euphrates River in the west. The nation itself is the fusion of various tribes of Indo-Europeans who returned to Anatolia about 1,200 B.C., merged withtheremnants of othertribes who inhabitedthe Plains of Ararat, established organic communities, developed concepts of the rise and growth of man’s civilization, and finally formed the Armenian nation about 600 B.C.”, see THE ARMENIANS, John M. Douglas.

According to Lord Byron,

“Ifthe Scriptures are rightly understood, it was in Armenia that Paradise was placed; Armenia, which has paid as dearly as the descendants of Adam for that fleeting participation of its soil in thehappiness ofHim who was created fiom its dust. It was in Armenia that the Flood frst abated and the dove alighted. But with the disappearance of Paradise itself may be dated almost the unhappiness of the country, for though long a powerful kingdom, it was scarcely ever an independent one, and the satraps of Persia and the pashas of Turkeyhave alike desolated the region where God created man in his own image.”

It was in the 1890’s that the first significant massacre of Armeniansby the TurkishOttoman Empire took place and thatlife in the Anatolianhinterland, as well as in Ciliciawas often a touch- and-go affair. The massacres erupted violentby in 1915 and the events of this period are well documented by both statesmen and survivors and will be referred to only as it affects this familytale. The causes of the massacres are diverse and include European geopolitical considerations as well as Christian-Moslem confrontations. A

The Ishkanian family tree relevant to this narrative may be traced back only as far as the end of the eighteenth century to Nerses Ishkanian (ca.1795-) who lived in Aintab. He had five children: Hagop, Eighia, Zuchia, Garabed, and Mardiros (ca. l820~). Mardiros had seven children: Anna, Douskin, Joseph, Moses, Nerses, Rhial, Kevork (ca. 1845-1902). The Ishkanians’ “home” was Aintab, but during the massacreof 1895, many left for Aleppo to start life anew. This immediate familyhistory, narrative or tale begins withKevork Ishkanian, who was born in Aintab and educated to be a doctor. His’ first marriage produced two sons, Elisha (1867-1917) and Alexander (1865-1917). when Elisha was still a baby, his mother died and his father, Kevork, married a widow with one daughter and this second marriage resulted in a new family consisting of two boys and two girls: George, Abraham, Taguhe, and Zaruhe. The aforementioned massacre of 1895 was but a prelude to the holocaust of 1915 and caused many Armenians to flee their homes and to seek safety elsewhere. The Ishkanians escaped to Aleppo where they lived until events and circumstances forced them to again relocate; some to Egypt, some to Lebanon and others to the United States. Both Elisha and Alexander trained as doctors at Constantinople College and upon returning to Aleppo, went to work in Dr. Altunian’s clinic; both becamewell known and respected membersofthe community.

Dr. Alexander Ishkanian married Esther Matossian and raised a familyof five: Vahida, Nouri, Jacob, Harry, and Nazar. Dr. Elisha Ishkanian married Osarma Solakian (1881-1952) in ca. 1896 when he was 29 years old and she was 15. They had a familyof three: Harry (1898-1982),Rose (1901-1992),and George (1904-1987). LIFE IN ALEPPO ca. 1896-1920

The following reminiscence of my mother is based on notes prepared by my sister, Helen, when she interviewed Mom in the mid-1980’s:

“We lived in a rented house in a quiet neighborhood. The rent was a nominal $10.00 per month with the option to live there as long as we wanted and withthe understandingthatwe would get our money back when we left (sic!). The house was fair sized; made of stone, had a flat roof, and all of the necessary accommodations for the family. The flat roof served several functions: 1) in hot weather, we would take our blankets and sleep on the roof to take advantage of night breezes, 2) rain runoff was collected, filtered and put into a cistern for drinking and cooking purposes. The cistern was also used as a food cooler; the food would be put into copper buckets and suspended in the top portion of the cistern. There was also a special dipping bucket for getting water for home use. To supplement the cistern and to supply water for washing and cleaning purposes, we also had a well. In cool weather, the house would be heated with portable charcoal fire places which were prepared outside and then carried into the largest room or, elsewhere, as required.”

“My father, Elisha Ishkanian, was a medical doctor who had a private practice and who also worked in Dr. A1tunian’s clinic. He also treated inmates in the Aleppo prison(s) and I rememberon several occasions when Father would come home with artifacts, which the prisoners had made and given to him, one such item was a hand embroidered tobacco pouch and another was a chain link watchcase. I brought both items with me to America and I believe thatmy son, Edward, has them. (Note: EAB had the tobacco pouch framed and displayed in his house for many years. In 1996, he 11 gave it to cousin Peter Prince as a familyheirloom. The watchcase has been set aside as an heirloom for EAB’s grandson, Eddie.) Fatherwas a successful doctor and aside from his medical work, he was also active in the community serving on the Board of Directors of the Armenian School.”

“Before going to the clinic or his office, Fatherwould do all of the needed daily food shopping. Fruits, vegetables, and similar items were available in the local market. At these markets, there would be porters with baskets on their backs who, for a fee, would carry your purchases home for you. Fresh meat was delivered to the house on a dailybasis by the butcher and his helper who would Ij bring that day’s order and take the order for the morrow - lamb was the most commonly used meat. We would also get fresh goat milk every day. The farmer would come down the street with his little herd of goats and as soon as we saw him, someone from the house would quickly run outside with the milk buckets. The farmer would then milkhis goat and fill our buckets; before using the milk,it would be boiled.”

“My mother, Osanna, managed the household, which included herself, Father, my brothers Harry and George, and me. She was always neatly and tastefully groomed; a very pretty lady who was gentle in her habits and manners. During the first few years of her marriage, Mother had someone come in to do the laundry and housekeeping, but after awhile, she had live-in help. Mother did all of the ..i cooking. She would do needlework and embroidery finish work but no dressmaking. One day a week was set aside to receive guests. Mother was a Hadji, one who has visited Jerusalem, and this visit was commemorated by a small tattoo placed on the left hand betweenthe thumb and forefinger.” “My parents were married in 1896, when Mother was 15 years old and Father was 29 years old. At the time, Father had already completed his medical studies at Constantinople College and was working in Dr. Altunian’s clinic in Aleppo. Mother was a student at Aintab College and one day, Father’s Aunt Esther, who was visiting the Solakians in Kilis saw her and recommended her to my father - knowing that he was interested in finding a bride. Mother wanted to finish college or finishing school but was overruled; one did not turn down a proposal from an eligible bachelor doctor! They met for the first time on the day before their wedding.”

“My parents then took up housekeeping as has already been described. My brother, Harry, was born in 1898; I followed in 1901; and brother George, was born in 1904. We attended an Armenian Protestant Church. Although Armenians, as a rule, belonged to the Armenian Orthodox Church, our family had at some point in the late nineteenth century joined a Protestant group. I thinkthatthiswas probably due to the influenceof American and European missionaries who had established hospitals, orphanages, and colleges like Roberts College, American University, etc.” See Appendix I.

“My brothers and I went to school and I remember studying French, Arabic,Turkish,and Armenian among other subjects. The political situation was darkening in Europe and the Middle East and many families were seriously considering immigrating, with America being a primary destination. Before the outbreak of The Great War, about 1908, my older brother, Harry, accompanied by my uncle, John Solakian, went to the United States to pave the way for the family. During the Great War, Turkey was allied with Germany so that the Middle East became a center of conflict. In 1915, the Turkish massacres started in the hinterland and soon 13 streams of refugees were to be seen all over the countryside. Mother and Fatheropened up their house to displacedrelatives and at one time, seventeen of themwere living withus.”

“The war years were difficult. Father continued his medical practice and, during the worldwide flu epidemic of 1917/1918, was struck ill and died, as did Uncle Alexander, Father’s brother who was also a medical doctor. Mother was now left alone with two young children and few resources. My brother, George, was a teenager and managed to find some work at the local post office. The British forces captured Jerusalem and started advancing into Syria. One day, I heard shouting in the streets and ran to see the British Army, led by General Allenby,enter Aleppo.”

“The convulsions of war and massacres forced many people to emigrate to other countries like Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Lebanon, and the United States; and finally in 1920, Mother, George, and I took ship for the New World via Beirut, Alexandria, Le Havre, New York, and finallyarrived in Boston where relatives awaited us. To be able to travel as a minor on my mother’s passport, I reported my age as 17. We first went to Alexandria to visit relatives and afier visiting and sightseeing, we took a ship for Marseilles and traveled across France to Le Havre, with a stop in Paris. In Paris, we did some sightseeing and I remember well seeing the Eiffel Tower. At Le Havre, we embarked for the United States and after an ocean voyage of eighteen days arrived in New York. We passed through Customs at Ellis Island and my first impression of the Americans was that they were somewhat uncouth and uneducated. The customs official could only speak English while I was fluent in French, Armenian, Arabic, and Turkish! From New York, we took a steamer to Boston and were met there by Aunt Esther, my mother’s sister, and began our new life in the United States.” See Appendix II. 14 THE SOLAKIANS OF KILIS

Up until the advent of the Great War, the Solakians were a prominent familyin Kilis. Kevork Solakian owned several stores, a vineyard, a winery, olive orchards, and an olive oil processing plant. The latter was equipped withthree oil presses in which the olives would be pressed and the oil extracted. The residue which consisted of the seeds and pulp was further processed by boilingto remove any residual oil which was then used in soap making; the final pulp residue was burned. As was common in those days, Kevork would not only process his own olives but also would do contract work for neighbors. His grandson, Harry Prince, often spoke of his grandfather’s vast holdings and especially of his extensive vineyards so that by any standard, Kevork could be considered to be a fairly wealthy man. Kevork married Vartouhie Topalian and raised a family of eight: Nerses, Solomon, John, Frieda, Esther, Zarouhie, Osanna (1881-1952),and Mary.

The following reminiscence of my mother is based on notes prepared by my sister, Helen, when she interviewed Mom in the mid 19805:

“We used to visit my grandfatherin Kilis during the summer time and spent a good deal of time there when my father was sick and had to recuperate. The house was made of stone and was the first two-story dwelling in Kilis. One entered the house through a large heavy front door that was made of wood but which was covered with metal on the outside. To the left of the entryway was a bathroom. The entry hall ascended three steps and continued to a door leading to the courtyard. Just before approaching the courtyard, one could take a flight of stairs on the left-hand side and go upstairs. Most of the living quarters were on the second floor. This included bedrooms as well as one very large multi-purpose 15 room which faced the front of the house - part of this room was used as a kitchen.”

“On the ground floor there were storage rooms for coal and wood as well as stables for horses, lambs, and goats. I had a pet goat with which I used to play when visiting grandfather. On the other side of the courtyard were additional living quarters which included bedrooms, family room, and pantry. There were extensive olive storage vats, both above and below ground.”

“All of the rooms had high ceilings of 10’-12’. The floors were all made of marble and carpeted with Turkish rugs, thin woolen carpets and straw mats. I rememberthatwe had to remove our shoes before walking on the carpets. The walls of the house were very thick, about 2’, so that I could easily sit in the window openings and look outside. The courtyard was paved and there was a spring fed well in its midst used for drinking and cooking. Kerosene lamps and chandeliers were used for illumination.”

_.- A NEW BEGINNING -ca. 1920-1930

As already mentioned, the Ishkanians and Solakians left their homes in Aleppo and Kilis and resettled in different countries, with many of them coming to the United States. The general goal of this section will be to trace their steps in an attempt to describe how they established themselves and started life anew. This will not be comprehensive as far as the family tree is concerned and will deal primarilywith the descendants of Dr. Elisha Ishkanian, with added genealogical references as rememberedand required. After arriving in the United States, Mom, her mother and brother George, stayed with family in Boston. Many of the Solakians had settled in the Boston area so it was a natural entry point for them. Aunt Esther Solakian (of whom more will be said later) took them in hand and tried to help them adjust to life in America. Many years later, Mom remembered bitterlythat some of the advice given by Aunt Esther, before and after theirtrip to the United States, was not the best, though well-intentioned. One point, albeit a humorous one, troubled her. As immigrants traveling to America, Aunt Esther had advised that Mom and family bring along bedding. After arriving in the States, Mom could not help but wonder at the advice when she saw stores full of blankets, bedding, etc. Aunt Esther had suggested that they sell their jewelry and buy staples, like bedding! Mom could never understand the logic behind this bit of advice. The bedding in question consisted of quilts filled with sheep’s wool which every few years had to be taken apart, the wool washed then reprocessed by hand and sewn back into muslin covers. I well remember helping Mom withthis chore on several occasions. We washed the wool, dried it on the roof, fluffed it by hand, spread it in the muslin cover and finally sewed it to keep the wool from gathering in one large mass. Yes, the quilts were warm, but to carry them all the 17 way from Aleppo!! It was during one of these quilting sessions thatMom expressed her opinion of Aunt Esther’s suggestions. Aside from Aunt Esther, another of grandmother Osanna’s sisters, Mary, lived in the Boston area. She had married a dentist, Dr. Calustian, so that between the two aunts, Mom and family became a part of the American Scene. At thattime, Massachusetts apparently had a law requiring that workers know how to speak English so that Mom and her brother had to go to school to learn the language before being able to start working. Mom worked in the garment trades and became very proficient in sewing sequins on fancy dresses. This was the Flapper era and evening dresses required thousands of hand-sewn sequins. It is not known, but it may be that Uncle George also started working in the garment industry because in later years he operated several tailor/dry cleaning shops and these first jobs may have given him the much needed experience.

Sometime between 1921-1923, an attempt was made to take advantage of the land boom in Florida. Uncle John Solakian took his two nephews, Harry and George, and headed for Florida to the Jacksonvillearea, where they bought some property and built a combinationgrocery store/gasolinestation. Today, we would refer to these as the neighborhood and highway 7-ELEVENS. The venture was apparently successful, the degree depending on whose point of view one cites. During this period oftime, there was some going back and forth between Jacksonvilleand Boston. All my life, I thoughtthatthe familyhad settled in the Gainesville, Florida area; however, Cousin Peter pointed out that Jacksonville,Florida was the correct location. Recently, my sister, Cordelia, sent me some letters thatmy fatherhad written to my mother in 1925 while he was studying and living at the University of Florida in Gainesville. At that time, I was only one month old and Mother 18 was staying with the family in Jacksonville. At the end of his letter, Dad sends regard to “Unc, Ma, Harry, and George.” I take these names to be “Uncle John, Grandmother Osanna, Uncle Harry, Uncle George.” The letters were sent to 1616 Main Street, Jacksonville, Florida, which I assume was the family home address.

In 1923/1924, Aunt Esther became aware of a pre-med student attending Harvard Medical School, named Yervant Baghdoian, and quickly assumed the role of matchmaker on behalf of her niece, Rose. The two young people were introduced to each other and after a proper period of courtship, were married in Boston during the 1924 Thanksgiving season. Thus, Mom and Dad met, married, and started life together. Dad had transferred to Harvard from the University of Michigan Medical School and after a disappointing freshman year, dropped out of medical studies. He then turned to the study of law and enrolled in the University of Florida Law School located at Gainsville. Mom’s older brother, Harry, acted as his sponsor so that he could enroll as a Florida resident. Sometime after the Thanksgiving wedding, Mom and Dad moved to Jacksonvilleso that at thattime the familymembers residing in Florida included John Solakian, Osarma Ishkanian, Harry (Ishkanian) Prince, George Ishkanian, Mom, Dad, and his father, Harutoun Baghdoian. There are extant photographs showing all of the aforementioned in various combinations. In August 1925, I was born, the first of the post immigration generation born on American soil. Being the first baby in the family,I apparently went from lap to lap quite a bit. There are photographs of me sitting in a high chair on the house porch holding on to oranges. Uncle Harry, would in later years, brag of the numberof times he took me riding in his car and how he would ride around for hours while I slept. GrandfatherBaghdoian would try to hide and remedy the damage, which I did to my mother’s garden.

Dad graduated from law school in 1928 and opened an office in Jacksonville. Unfortunately, about this time, the Florida land boom started to come to an end and although it is not known exactlyhow this affected the grocery/gasoline business operated by the family,the familystarted to leave Florida to take up residence in New York City. Uncle Harry may have been the first to leave. He returned to Boston where he met and married Mary Der Bedrosian on October 30, 1927. By the end of the decade of the 1920s and early 1930s, the children of Dr. Elisha Ishkanian were all in New York City. They lived in the Bronx, in the general area between Tremont Avenue in the south and Fordham Road in the north, bounded by Third Avenue in the east and Webster Avenue in the west. At one point, Uncle George and his mother had an apartment on l83rd Street, near Webster Avenue where Uncle Harry and his family also had an apartment. Uncle Harry’s brother-in-law,Jack Der Bedrosian, operated a shoe repair shop in the same building. By the year of 1930, the entire familylived in the Bronx.

20 DR. ESTHER SOLAKIAN - AUNT CISSY

To us children Aunt Cissy was the spinster aunt who was invited to Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. She always dressed in what appeared to be old-fashionedclothes, typical of the l920’s. Aunt Cissy was my grandmother Osanna Ishkanian’s sister and it was she who called her “Cissy”, short for sister, so the name stuck and to all of us, she became “Aunt Cissy”. Of all the familymembers outside of the immediate circle, she was the best known to us and as it turns out, her life history could furnish more than enough raw material for a dime store novel or romance.

She was born in Kilis to Kevork and Vartouhie Solakian sometime in the l870’s, one of nine children-fourbrothers and five sisters. As has already been noted in the chapter, THE SOLAKIANS OF KILIS, the familywas well off and considered to be affluent. Apparently, every effort was made to educate the children, because it is know that Osanna attended Aintab College and Esther attended Constantinople College. Aunt Cissy apparently made a number of trips to and from the United States and, as previously noted, she was in Boston to greet Mom and her family to America. Although we always knew her as being unmarried, this apparently was not the case. Photographs of Aunt Cissy and her sister, Osanna, taken when they were young ladies show them to have been very attractive and would certainly have turned the heads ofpotential suitors.

Aunt Cissy’s forays into matrimonial endeavors took several turns and twists and the narrativetold here is based on an interview which my sister, Helen, had withMom in the 1980’s. It seems that her family had made arrangements for her to marry a prominent Armenian fellow in Kilis, ca. 1895-1900, but that she had refused. As is well known, this was not typical behavior for a properly 21 brought up young lady at the turn of the century. Aunt Cissy had a desire to go to the United States and eventually a suitable marriage partner was found for her. He turned out to be a successful Boston rug dealer. She set sail for the United States in the anticipation of meeting her future husband, getting married, and settling down. Unfortunately, her trans-Atlantic voyage was delayed by storms and she arrived in Boston after the scheduled date. Her fiance had been notified of the delay but, because of business conflicts, had not been able to meet the ship personally and, instead, had sent one of his company executives. This apparent lack of tact and understanding did not sit well with Aunt Cissy and she broke off the engagement. Aunt Cissy was miffed that her yet unseen husband-to-behad not taken pains to meet the ship personally.

She stayed on in Boston and attended Boston Medical School to become a nurse. Just becoming a nurse did not satisfy her and, in an era when female doctors were a rarity, she wanted to become a doctor. According to Mom, Aunt Cissy continued her education 2,)‘ at the same Boston institution where she had studied nursing and graduated as a medical doctor in the l900’s, prior to the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, thus making her the first Armenian- American woman doctor in the United States.

While a student in her senior year in medical school, romance again struck and she met and married a third year medical student. One day when -retuming to their dormitory apartment she discovered her husband in the company of another woman which so shocked her that she immediately left. After graduation, Aunt Cissy, now fully estranged from her husband, went to Alexandria to care for her sister, Zarouhie, who was having a difficult pregnancy. She took advantage of the trip to visit relatives in Aleppo and Kilis and, while she was so occupied, received the news that her husband had succumbed to a heart attack. After 22 returning to the Untied States, Aunt Cissy practiced medicine in Boston, specializing in female illnesses. Eventually she moved to New York City where she practiced medicine until she passed away on December 12, 1960. Her last place of residence and office was at 157 East 3 1 st Street, New York City. I believethatin addition to her private practice, she also worked with the New York City HealthDepartment.

All of this antecedent history was unknown to the great- nephews and great-nieces so that they all looked on her as the slightly eccentric but highly educated great-auntwho would visit at the holidays. Aunt Cissy had mastered the art of reading tea leaves, Turkish coffee grounds, and palms so that at each visit, after the Turkish coffee had been served, she would be prevailed upon “to tell our fortunes”. Aunt Cissy believed in her abilityto “tell fortunes” and we all paid rapt attention as she scanned the designs, which the coffee grounds had made in the overturned cups and for days thereafter, would look for signs to prove her right.

As a family member who had come to the United States, become a doctor, and settled down, she was looked to for advice- which she gave-both good and bad. She assumed the role of matchmaker, trying to find suitable mates for her nieces and nephews. Aside fiom her involvementwithMom and Dad, I don’t know how many other marriages she influenced. Some of her financial actions were not well received and were scathingly denounced. Apparently Aunt Cissy had had a hand in the trek to Florida described elsewhere. It is quite possible that she had put up the money to allow her brother, John, to buy the Jacksonville property on which the grocery store/gasoline station was built.

As if becoming a doctor were not enough, Aunt Cissy also studied for the law as my cousins Grace and Peter reminded me. I L’-»;;_ 23 _, was not aware of this whether by oversight or selective forgetfulness and am indebted to Grace for the following bit of familyhistory. “Between 1931 and 1937, Aunt Esther accepted a challenge and became a lawyer. A lawyer friend one day stated, ‘Esther, you understand medicine but you could never understand law.’ To prove he was wrong, Aunt Esther attended Columbia University and obtained her law degree. This story was related to me by my parents becauseAunt Rose, togetherwiththem, attended her graduation. They sat through the whole program anxiously waiting for Aunt Esther’s presentation. Not until the very end of the program was Aunt Esther armounced and she was presented a beautifulbouquet of red roses. After the ceremony, Aunt Esther, Aunt Rose and my parents took the trolley home. They laughed as other riders were trying to figure out who these people were with the beautifulflowers. They were coming from an important event but were too poor to take a taxi home.”

Perceived slights and intrigues seemed to surround her and these were usually ascribed to the fact that she was a lonely spinster and this state of feelings continued on after her death. The execution of her will was typical of the life and times of Aunt Cissy. Apparently,the terms of her will left whatever money and property she had in Florida to a trust to be used for educating qualified young men and women from Kilis. The terms were very loose and open to wide interpretation by lawyers and courts. About three years were spent in locating all of her living relatives which by this time included over forty nieces, nephews, grand nieces, and grand-nephews. Finally, the court decided that the will, as written, could not be executed and thatthe estate was to be equally divided among all of the aforementioned relatives. One bright day in 1963, the mailman brought me my share of the inheritance from Aunt Cissy’s estate, a check in the amount of $25.00!!

24 appear at our home at Christmas and Thanksgiving, because she was a medical doctor and a lawyer, because she would read our palms and coffee grounds, because she always wore the same 1920’s style clothes and because she was involved in many ways, unknown but sensed, with our familyfortunes.

25 ROSE BAGHDOIAN nee ISHKAN IAN

As we have seen, by the time that the 1930’s had arrived, Mom and her family were settled in New York City. Soon after this, Ann (Annarose),the first of three daughters was born in 1928. As soon as the familywas settled, Dad took the necessary steps to obtain his New York State Bar license. He successfully passed the written examinations but, unfortunately,because of some negative references submitted by “assumed friends”, he was denied entrance to the’Bar. It must be pointed out that soon after the familyarrived in New York, the Crash of 1929 occurred, which not only played havoc with existing plans, but also put a damper on the future. This set back colored Dad’s outlook for the rest of his life. At various times in the next ten years, he sought unsuccessfully to get

but this was denied him.

In 1932, a second daughter, Helen, was born and the family continued to live in New York, making quite a few apartment changes, but always staying in the Bronx. Dad worked at odd jobs and when the WPA (Works Progress Administration) was established, he was able to go to work in a section manned by unemployed lawyers whose task was to study and prepare volumes describing the legal systems of foreign countries. This situation continued until 1939 when the WPAjob came to an end. Dad then tried operating a health food store on Washington Avenue near TremontAvenue, but this venture only lasted a few months.

The Depression years of the 1930s were trying and defining years for most American families and this included Mom’s family as well. Growing up during this period, the familydid not lack for the necessities of life; however, in retrospect, I have to admire the courage and fortitude of my parents who did everythingpossible to 26 maintain the dignity of home life. They and countless millions like themmet the challenge and survived.

It was not uncommon for women to do odd jobs to add to the familyincome and I rememberone period in the late 1930’s when Morn did piece work decorative sewing of ladies’ leathergloves. I would go to the shop in downtown New York and bring home a box full of cut glove parts which required decorative stitching. Mom was good at this kind of work and she showed me how to do the work so that I soon became quite proficient at the task. After the batch in hand was completed, I would return it to the shop and come home with another. These were the days when every attempt was made to raise our living standards. One day, Dad came home with our first radio which opened up new horizons. One year, Mom bought her first washing -machine which had a separate centrifuge cycle. The machine wrung clothes would be dried on outside lines or on a rack suspended from the kitchen ceiling.

This was the period before the availabilityof Crisco and other synthetic shortenings so every year, Mom would buy endless quantities of lamb fat which were laboriously melted atop the kitchen stove in large kettles and vats. The scum would be skimmed off the top and the rendered fat would be put into crocks for use throughout the year. Another year, Mom bought a 9’X12’ Oriental rug which gave color and warmth to the living room. Each summer, she and I would sprinkle the rug with moth flakes and wrap it in newspapers to be stored behind the sofa until the coming winter. The rug is now in the possession of my nephew Richard and after sixty plus years, it still looks as good as the day thatit was purchased.

Mom was an excellent seamstress and would sew clothes for herself, her daughters, and for her mother so that each season they 27 were all garbed in new clothes. One year, knit clothing was the rage and soon each female member of the family sported a knit dress or a knit skirt. One day, I asked Mom to make me a sport jacket but she demurred, saying that men’s tailoring was very different from women’s sewing and that she had no experience in thatfield.

During this same period, Mom’s brothers made several business moves and each time, familymembers would close ranks to help each other. Uncle George tried to establish himself in the grocery business, and at several locations, Mom would help out in the store as needed. In the mid-1930’s, Uncle Harry decided to move to Troy,New York to open a rug cleaning business and was able to borrow $300.00 from his sister and mother to enable him to buy the property at 7 Humiston Street.

During our Bronx days, Uncle George and Grandmother Ishkanian, as well as Uncle Harry and his family, lived within walking distance and we would visit each other on holidays and birthdays. I well rememberone day when we were visiting Uncle Harry that we heard on the radio the news the Bruno Richard Hauptman, the kidnapper and murderer of the Lindberghbaby, had been executed. These family dinners and get togethers were pleasant times which gave the cousins the opportunity to get to know each other and to fonn friendships which have stood the test of time. Aside from our uncles, there were several other relatives with whom we had reasonably close ties. Every so often, Mom would take us across the Hudson River to West New York, New Jersey to visit her first cousin, Dr. Nouri Ishkanian, and his family. Dr. Nouri, as he was called, also helped with any medical problems which arose. Dr. Nouri’s brother, Harry Ishkanian, lived in downtown New York in the vicinity of Third Avenue and Thirtieth Street, where he operated a photography salon. Whenever formal 28 pictures were needed, the familywould go to him. As a footnote, let it be noted that I acted as a ring bearer at the wedding of Harry and Mary Ishkanian. According to an old photograph, which I remember seeing many years ago, I wore velvet short pants and a ruffled silk shirt! My paternal grandfather, Hamtoun Baghdoian, lived with us for awhile and continued to be a visitor during the holidays. Another relative with whom we had rather frequent contact was Dr. Esther Solakian, Aunt Cissy, about whom much has already been said.

Nineteen hundred thirty nine was a momentous year: World War II broke out in September, Mom and Dad’s third daughter, Cordelia, was born in November, and I started attending the Bronx High School of Science. In 1941, the familymoved to the Inwood section of Manhattan, where my parents bought a “Mom and Pop” candy store located at 5008 Broadway which would be a second home and a source of income until 1954. We rented an apartment around the corner on 212th Street and walked back and forth to the candy store to take our turn waiting on customers. During this period, my sisters and I continued our education. I graduated from high school in 1943 and joined the United States Army Air Force as soon as I turned eighteen in August and served as a Second Lieutenant, Aerial Navigator. After the end of the war, I attended New York University, College of Engineering, located in the Bronx and studied chemical engineering. I graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree and started on my professional work career. Ann attended George Washington High School and after a brief fling at Hunter College, attended Nyack Bible Institute. Helen attended Hunter College High School and Hunter College, majoring in education. Being the baby of the family, Cordelia spent untold hours in her baby carriage at the candy store where the nickname, ‘Cookie’, was bestowed upon her.

29 Starting in early l930’s and continuing on into the early 1950’s, we attended the Armenian Gospel Church in the Bronx which was started by the Reverend Nicholas Papazian. Today, it would be described as a storefront church but it served the function of being a spiritual and sometimes social home for many Armenian families in the area. The teaching was very fundamental and Bible-oriented with great emphasis placed on memory work and familiaritywith the Bible. Uncle George and his family attended this church as well as Uncle Harly and his familyuntil they moved to Troy in 1937.

‘In 1952, I married Astrid Viekman and moved to Louisville, Kentucky to start working for National Carbide Company. In 1953, Helen graduated from college and the quest for employment brought her to Oxnard, California. She and Ann moved there and in 1954, Mom and Dad sold the candy store and traveled cross- country to Oxnard to start life anew. But I’m getting ahead of my story. In October 1953, my daughter, Deb, was born and that Christmas my family and I went to New York City on vacation. Dad was very pleased to see his new granddaughter and spent countless hours playing with her, even to the point of neglecting the candy store. As fate would have it, Deb would be the only grandchildthatDad would ever see. Meanwhile, Helen graduated from Hunter College and started looking for a teaching position. Finally, an attractive offer was received from the Oxnard California School District which was accepted and soon Ann and Helen headed for Oxnard.

The moment had now arrived which Mom and Dad had been looking for; they sold the candy store and in the late summer of 1954 left New York to join Ann and Helen in Oxnard. While driving across the country, they stopped at my home in Valley 30 Station, Kentucky, which would prove to be the last time that we would see Dad. Upon arriving in Oxnard, Mom and Dad set up house and Dad proceeded to look for a business venture and bought a mushroom growing and processing business. Shortly before Christmas, while inspecting one of the upper tiers, a platform broke, plunging Dad to the pavement below. He suffered serious injuries; never gained consciousness, and passed away on December23, 1954.

Mom, now a widow, spent the rest of her life in Oxnard and I will now try to relate the events of the years from 1954 to 1992 when she passed from time into eternity. In 1956, I was transferred to the Calvert City, Kentucky plant where I continued working in the engineering department. _We lived in Calvert City until 1961, when we moved to Paducah, Kentucky about twenty miles away. In the same year, Astrid and I completed our family by adopting Diana (b.1957). In 1968, the engineering department in which I was workingwas abolished and I was forced to relocate. I went to work for Kennedy Van Saun, an engineering, manufacturing and construction company located in Danville, Pennsylvania where I worked until my retirement in 1994. In November 1981, Astrid suffered an aneurysm-induced stroke and lingered on as an invalid until May 9, 1986, when she passed away.

Deb graduated from DanvilleHigh School in 1971, attended Bloomsburg University for about two years and then went to California to seek her fortune. There was a brief marriage, which ended in divorce, but not before a son, George (b.1975) was born. In 1978, Deb and George came to Danvillewhere George grew up and graduated from DanvilleHigh School in 1994. In 1991, Deb made a mid-life career change and attended the Geisinger Nursing School and worked as an RN until 1998, when she decided to 31 return to Bloomsburg University to complete her education and to start a second mid-life career.

Diana graduated from Danville High School in 1975 and attended Lock Haven University, majoring in Social Work. She too, went to California, married Samuel Ramirez (b.1954) and returned to Danville in 1983. A son, Edward, was born in 1984. Presently, Diana is Director of Children and Youth Services for Montour County; Sam operates a Beauty Salon and does professional photographywork.

In August 1955, Ann married FranklinDvoracek(b. 1933), an Electrical engineer from Tabor, South Dakota who worked for the U.S. Navy at Point Magu and Port Hueneme until his retirement in January 1998. In 1973, Ann went to work for the Ocean View School District as a School Secretary and worked until her retirement in December 1988. Ann and Frank have three children: Ellen (b.1957), Richard (b.1961), and Carol (b. 1963).

Ellen graduated from Oxnard High School in 1975 and then attended Cal Lutheran University where she took a pre-med course and graduated in 1979, with High Honors. Afterwards, the path led elsewhere and after gaining experience as a large animal aficionada, Ellen returned to college to acquire her teaching credentials. She now is a biology/anatomy/physiologyteacher in the Lancaster California School District. Ellen is Chairperson of the Science Department, a CSF Advisor, and is listed in “Who’s Who of American Teachers”.

Richard graduated from Oxnard High School in 1979 and attended the University of California at Davis where he majored in geology. Although the years after college have not taken him actively into the field of geology, they have moved him around in 32 the mountainous gold country of Northern California where one can enjoy spelunking, white water rafting, and hiking. Presently, Richard works in a convenience store and gives geology lectures to adult and student groups. On April 20, 1996, Richard married Cindy Knecht on the shores of the American River where gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill. He has three stepsons: Tyson (b. 1980), Austin (b. 1982), and Brian (b. 1991). Cindy is an Account Service Manager for Cable Data, a Sacramentobased company. Carol graduated from Oxnard High School in 1981 and then attended the University of California at Irvine where she majored in Liberal Arts and Dance. On April 9, 1994, Carol married Stewart Lockwood. They currently reside in Porterville, California where Stewart works as Shipping and Sales Manager for a Lemon Growers’ Association. Carol puts her computer skills to use at a plant which manufactures commercial water meters; she also is the company’s MarketingRepresentative. In August 1956, Helen married David Everitt (b. 1928) who came to Oxnard from Michigan after serving in the U.S. Navy for eight years, from 1945 to 1953. Helen and David met at The First Presbyterian Church. In 1957, David attended California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo and then California State University at Long Beach where he received his Master’s Degree and Credentials to teach high school Industrial Arts, Mathematics, and Science. After their travels up and down the coast, Helen and David settled in Oxnard. They have three children: Susan (b.1958), David (b.1961), and Sharon (b.1964). David retired from teaching in 1986 after twenty-three years at Hueneme High School. Helen retired from teaching in 1993, having taught four years in the San Luis Obispo School District and thirty years in the Oxnard School District - mostly in Kindergarten. 33 Susan graduated from Oxnard High School in 1976 and from Westmont College in 1980, with a degree in Sociology. Susan met Steve Solano at a church youth group in 1976; they were married February 6, 1982. Steve was a telecommunications major who

has worked at a variety of part-time jobs, including a stint as Office Manager for several children’s’ organizations. Susan and Steve live in Carpinteria, California and share the care of their two children: Sarah (b.1988) and Michael (b.1992). Both thoroughly enjoy their involvement as volunteers in their children’s schools.

David graduated from Oxnard High School in 1979 and graduated from the University of California at Davis with Honors in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics. In 1986, he received his Masters Degree in Physics from the University of California in Los Angeles. While at Davis, David met Lisa Wallace who graduated with Honors in 1989 with a Doctor of Veterinary Science Degree. They were married on June 17, 1989. Job seeking took David and Lisa to Vancouver, B.C., Canada, where she took a job as an Equine Veterinarian and David taught physics and math in the community college system. They presently live in Davis, California, where David is pursuing a Doctorate in Physics. A daughter, Micaelawas born in 1996. After Micaela’s birth, Lisa started her own private veterinary practice. Ryan, their second child, was born on November20, 1999, as this history was beingwritten.

Sharon graduated from Oxnard High School in 1982 and then attended the University of California at Santa Barbara from where she graduated with High Honors and received a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. After graduation, Sharon went to work in the publishing industry and soon her name was on the masthead of a 34 business magazine At the present time, she does computer graphics for a graphic design studio. On July 28, 1990, Sharon married David Murphy, an Aerospace Engineer. David graduated with High Honors from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1985 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. reside in They Santa Barbara and have a son, Shane Everitt (b. 1997).

Cordelia graduated from Oxnard High School and attended San Diego State University where she majored in Social Science and minored in English. After graduation in 1960, she attended one more year and obtained the necessary Teaching Credentials. Cordelia started working as a high school English teacher and advanced to Chairperson of the English Department at Rio Mesa High School in Oxnard until her retirement in 1999. To complete her formal education, Cordelia obtained her Master’s Degree in Secondary Teaching from California State University at Northridge. In 1963, she met and married Jay Stanley (b. 1936)

Christine graduated from Rio Mesa High School and attended California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English. While at Cal Poly she met Rick Relyea and the two were married on August 19, 1995. They currently reside in Clovis, California, where Rick is continuing his education in Mechanical Engineering at Fresno State University. Jaynee is married to Larry Ashmun and they have three children: Adam (b.1979), April (b.1980), and Andrew (b.1982). 35 they currently live in Orfordville, Wisconsin. Adam joined the Marines in 1999, and is stationed at Pensacola, Florida. April is attending college, and Andrew is a high school senior.

Mom continued to live in Oxnard with a brief interlude in San Luis Obispo. She became active in the First Presbyterian Church of Oxnard as did the other members of the family. Many pages ago, I noted that in New York we grew up in the Armenian Gospel Church. As we completed our education and moved out of New York, we found new church affiliations. In Kentucky, my and I family joined the Southern Baptist Church and ca. 1963, moved our membership to the Presbyterian church and in Danville joined the Grove Presbyterian Church. When Helen and Ann first went to Oxnard, they started attending the aforementioned First Presbyterian Church of Oxnard and the family has continued worshipping there throughoutthe years. In Mom time, became a mother-in-law three more times, a grandmotherten times, and a great-grandmotherseven times. She soon becamethe familyMatriarch and grand Dame, always willing to express an opinion and to give advice as to the best way to prepare a particular recipe. As needed and requested, Mom took up residence with her married daughters to become the live-in Grandmother and many grandchildren treasure the memories of these days. When circumstances permitted, Morn had her own too, passed from time into eternity on All Saints’ Day 1992 at the age of 91.

i ...4

37 ROSE BAGHDOIAN nee ISHKANIAN

AN ADDENDUMINEWBLOSSOMS ON THE TREE OF LIFE

A family history is a pulsing organic being and as old branches fall, new blossoms bud. As thistale was being completed, edited and printed, two additions to the Rose Baghdoian family tree made theirway into the world.

Name — Alexander James Bagdoyan

Date of Birth — March 16, 2000

Place of Birth — AtlanticCity, New Jersey

Parents — George Bagdoyan and Victoria Sprague

Comments — Genealogically speaking, Alexander is Rose Baghdoian’s first great-great-grandchild.

Name —- Alaina Rose Murphy

Date of Birth — March 31, 2000

Place of Birth — Santa Barbara, California

Parents — Sharon and David Murphy

Comments — Alaina (a variation of Helen) is named for her grandmotherand great-grandmother.

“Days of childhood,like a dream, are gone: Never more to return.”

A bit of poetic philosophyoft recited in Armenianby Yervant H. Baghdoian, GEORGE ISHKANIAN - “UNCLE GEORGE”

When we last saw Uncle George, he and Grandmother Ishkanian were living in New York City and this narrative will attempt to describe his/their lives in NYC and Uncle George’s various business ventures. Uncle George, at first, tried his hand at operating a tailor shop/dry-cleaning establishment. As I remember, the first one was on Grand Concourse in the Bronx, right around the comer from Fordham Road and not far from the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage, where the poet lived for some time. It was a very nice neighborhood and, some afternoons, I would be allowed to spend some hours with Uncle in the shop. These were always interesting times because he would try to explain the different activities which took place in such an establishment. I can still see him mending a pair of trousers or pressing a suit. The latter was hot and tiring work and one would hear the hissing of the steam as he brought the top section of the presser down onto thejacketor trousers.

Uncle George’s second tailor shop was located in the Throg’s Neck section of the Bronx. At thattime, the Throg’s Neck section was relatively rural and a pleasant place in which to live. I remember spending several summer weeks there with Uncle and Grandmother. They lived in a two-story apartment house which had four apartments. Grandmother raised a few tomato plants in the front yard next to the house and each day she would inspect the plants and bring in those which were ripe and ready to be eaten. She showed me where she would pick wild “perperim”, a salad green withtiny leaves symmetricallyspaced on a stem. Sorry, but I don’t know what it’s called in English, although, I might recognize it, if I saw it. The house was but a short walk from the water and it’s there thatI learned how to swim.

38 I’m not sure of dates, but I thinkthat I was probably eight or nine years old so that the year would probably be 1933 or 1934. Fort Schuyler was nearby and Uncle had army officers as customers. He would pick up their dry cleaning and return it when ready. On such occasions, he would take me with him in his car. It was a treat to enter onto the grounds of the fort and to see the giant cannon that were trained out to sea to repel invaders. To a boy of my age, it was an exciting trip. My grandmother spoke only Turkish and, during visits, my grasp and use of the Turkish language expanded. Although GrandmotherIshkanian spoke only Turkish, she made the attempt to learn English in order to pass the language test required for United States citizenship. Cousin Grace recalls one summer in the 1940s, when Grandmother was visiting in Troy,that she asked Grace to help her with her English reading skills. Apparently,Grace’s tutorial efforts were successful because Grandmother did apply for and receive United States citizenship. She would also help Uncle George in his various grocery stores and although her English was halting, she managed to successfully take care of the customers. I remember learning a Turkish ditty from Uncle George that he would recite with a chuckle. I quickly learned the ditty and over the years, when people wanted to hear what Turkishsounded like, I would recite it. I’ll try to present it in English phonetics and hope thatthe reader who is conversant with Turkishwill be able to understand it.

“Guese, nerdesen, nerda? Hamamdaim, harnamda. Hamamda bulsom senne’ Hamamlarem ben senne!” It rhymes beautifullyin Turkish and an English translation would not do it justice, but here goes. It concerns a man who is calling at the home of a young lady and as he enters the house, he calls out, “Dear maiden, where? Oh, where are you?” (The young lady then answers) “I’m in the bath bathing.” (To which the man says), “IfI

39 find in you the bath, I’ll bathe you!” I hope thatyou didn’t expect Edward Lear.

Time plays tricks on my mind so that I’m not sure of the exact sequence of events which took place in the succeeding years, but I’ll try my best to be as chronologically correct as possible. Uncle George decided to leave the tailoringbusiness and to go into the grocery business. Over the years, he owned, or had a short- term interest in, at least eight grocery stores. I believethatthe first one was located on Third Avenue in the thirties. I would take the Third Avenue El and go down town to spend some hours with Uncle on Saturdays. I was a pre-teen at this time and Uncle would try to teach me the ropes of the business. It was in this store that I learned the first basic tenets of capitalism: that you had to sell an article for a price higher than what you paid for it, so that you could earn a profit. It was also here that I witnessed Uncle’s prodigious adding capabilities. He would list the price of each item on the outside of the paper bag and then proceed to add up the however list, long. He would start at the top and then go back up the column of numbers to check himself. He added the numbers quickly and one could often hear him doing the addition in Turkish. Another store was located in the Jewish Market section of Bathgate Avenue in the Bronx. He opened what can best be described as a semi-ethnicArmenian grocery store. Uncle bought a mimeograph machine and printed flyers which he had prepared, describing the goods available. I remember helping him operate the mimeograph machine, fold the flyers and stuff the envelopes. We would scan the pages of the local telephone directories for the names of Armenian families to whom the mailings could be directed. This particular venture did not last too long and Uncle found yet anothergrocery store. This was a going business located in the South Bronx, across from the Major Deegan Expressway. It was a decent neighborhood and I would often spend Saturdays 40 there helping out and visiting. By this time, Uncle had married Virginia Kondakjian in June 22, 1935 so thathis immediate family included himself, Aunt Virginia and Grandmother. At this point, I must digress and give the reader some history as to the events that transpired between grocery stores. Aunt Virginia lived in Newark, New Jersey with her brother Albert, his family, and her parents. After the proper introductions had been Uncle made, George and Aunt Virginia were married and took up housekeeping in Newark. Albert Kondakjian owned a machine shop and taught Uncle George the machinist’s trade. I remember

the aforementioned grocery store on Third Avenue. Uncle George and family lived in a newly refurbished apartment located a few blocks from the store in the South Bronx and he would walk back and forth to tend his business. We would visit as families during the holidays, especially New Year’s Day, which was celebrated as Uncle’s birthday. On some occasions, Uncle Harry and his family would come down from Troy, New York and there would be a

pineapples and which soon became a favorite of visiting nieces and nephews. In 1944, cousin Robert was born and at a young and tender age began to study the violin so that no future visit was complete without a recital by him.

1930’s to about 1946, when he decided to make a move. During and it was during this period that I became acquainted with many of the customers and people in the neighborhood. There was the local Italian barber. There was the fellow who would buy six quarts of Rheingold beer every night and return the empties the next day and who on Saturdays would buy twelve quarts to tide him over Sunday. Grandmotherwould help in the store and in her halting English would wait on customers. On one Saturday, we watched a motor car cavalcade go by on the Major Deegan Expressway featuring the mayor of New York, Fiorello La Guardia. Uncle would let me help and showed me how to slice meat and cheese on the electric slicer and to weigh out one and five pound bags of sugar from a one hundred pound sack. I served in the USAAF from 1943-1945 and whenever I was home on leave, would visit Uncle and his family. After I was discharged from the USAAF in November 1945, I took a temporary Christmas

South Bronx which was about 10-15 blocks away and asked me to help operate the older store during the period that he would be occupied negotiating the purchase and setting up the new store. I left my job at B. Altman’s and, together with Grandmother,ran the grocery store. Meanwhile, Uncle ran into snags withthe owners of the second store, who happened to be Armenians, and the deal was never consummated. In this way, I worked for Uncle for a period of one to two months.

_J Uncle was still interested in moving from the South Bronx location and investigated a small super marketin Jersey City, New Jersey. We both visited the place and we even talked about the possibility of uncle and nephew going into business together because Uncle felt that he needed someone he could trust to operate this new venture. The discussion soon came to an end, 42 because I was planning to start college in September 1946 and to Uncle, going to college was preferable to working in a grocery store. This all makes for interesting “What if....” conjectures and I suppose that my early exposure to the grocery business makes me want to reach out and straighten crooked cans on shelves when I go shopping! I don’t rememberwhether or not Uncle bought the store in Jersey City but, if he did, it was a short-lived venture. The next place of business was located on York Avenue in Manhattan, somewhere in the 60’s or 70’s. It was a comer store and again, he and Grandmotherwould run the place and it was at this place that Grandmotherpassed from time into eternity. In the spring of 1952, she apparently had a heart attack while working in the store and was declared D.O.A. when she was rushed to the hospital. I had graduated from college and was working in a chemical plant in Harrison, New Jersey and managed to take a few days off to help with the funeral For some both Mother elf arrangements. reason, my and Uncle George were too stunned by the occasion so that my sister, Ann, and I worked closely with them in making the funeral arrangements. One sunny day, family and friends gathered at a downtown funeral parlor to pay theirlast respects to Grandmother.

Life, of course, went on and Uncle continued working the York Avenue store until he decided to make yet another move. By this time, I had married and moved to Louisville, Kentucky so that I’m not too sure of all of the details surrounding this next move. As it turned out, the move to Queens, to a superette sized store was the last business move that Uncle would make. The store was located in a middle class neighborhood on Queens Boulevard, right across from the Queens County Court House. At anytime that I would find myself in New York, I would take the subway to Queens and visit. Uncle George, Aunt Virginia, and Cousin Robert moved to Massapequa - a town located on Long Island and which was to become home until he passed away in 1987. Aunt 43 Virginia continued to live in Massapequa until she passed away on October 15, 1999. Cousin Robert has made his mark in the business world by operating a sporting goods and gun shop. Robert started university studies at Hofstra but switched to New York University from whence he graduated. In 1986, Robert married KathyLivornese who became his second wife. Kathyand Bob live in Dix Hills,New York but also maintain a residence in Fort Myers, Florida.

Although, the family proper had now spread across the United States, we still kept in touch by letter and Christmas cards and whenever the opportunity presented itself, nieces and nephews would visit Uncle George in his grocery store on Queens Boulevard. I saw Uncle George for the last time in late summer 1986 at the wedding of Cousin Robert. My mother and my niece, Ellen, came east for the event and the three of us drove to New Jersey for the wedding and reception. About one year prior to this, Uncle had started suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and its effects showed during the reception. Outwardly he was the same, cheery Uncle I had known all of my life, but this time, there were subtle changes. He had difficulty rememberingnames and people and would repeatedly ask my mother and Aunt Mary who they were. However, I soon discovered that he recognized me and we carried on a conversation as if we had just supped the evening before. This set the pattern for the day and it was always “Edward”, when we met and not, “Who are you?”. One year later, September 1987, Uncle George passed away at age 83. My cousin Grace and I attended the funeral services and Aunt Virginia was kind enough to have us sit close by her as being Uncle’s closest relatives besides her and Robert.

44 Author’sNote:

While preparing the final version of this familyhistory, I was informed by my cousin Grace thatAunt Virginia had passed from time to eternity on October 15, 1999 (her birthday),89 years old. Reguiescat in pace.

45 HARRYPRINCE (ISHKANIAN 1 - “UNCLE HARRY”

The English equivalent of Ishkanian is Prince, so that soon after he arrived in the United States, Uncle Harry adopted the anglicized version of the family name to facilitate the Americanizationprocess. I am indebted to my cousin Grace for a more complete explanation of the name change: “When he arrived in the United States as a young boy, Uncle John did not take responsibility for his nephew. He was sent to live in New Hampshire with a non-Annenian family. Because Dad was baptized Haroutune (in Annenian, it means “resurrection”) Ishkanian, the familydecided that a foreign name would be hard to pronounce in the early 1900s; therefore, he became Harry Prince. These were very hard years for my father but he became Americanized. Dad always had a warm and caring feeling towards family and relatives. He introduced his family to all of the relatives in Boston, Philadelphia, Troy, and New Jersey; so therefore to this day, I maintain contact with many of Dad’s L}- cousins.”

Uncle Hany has played a prominent role in this narrative and you may remember that he and Uncle John Solakian came to the United States prior to the Great War. Not much is known of these early years, but it is known thatwhen the United States entered the Great War in 1917, Uncle Harry, then a young man of nineteen, joined the United States Army and fought withthe AEF, American Expeditionary Force, in France. During one of the many battles in which he participated, Uncle Harry was gassed, which left him with recurring physical problems for the rest of his life. For heroism in battle, Uncle Harry was awarded several medals by the French Government as well as the Purple Heart by the United States.

46 We met Uncle Harry in Florida during the mid-1920s and later when he returned to Boston in 1927 to marry Mary Der Bedrosian and lived in Boston for three years before moving to New York City. Uncle Harry and Aunt Mary raised a family of three: Grace (b.1929) was born in Boston; John (b.1933) was born in New York City, and Peter (b.1940) was born in Troy. In previous sections we have related how my mother’s and uncle’s families socialized. In 1937, Uncle Harry and his familymoved to Troy where he bought property at 7 Humiston Street and went into business as Royal Carpet Cleaners. The barn was converted into a workshop where rugs, mostly Oriental, were cleaned, shampooed and fully processed. I’m not sure when Uncle Harry became involved with Oriental rugs but I believe that he was exposed to the trade at an early age, perhaps after the end of the Great War. I remember one time during the 1970s telling Uncle of my experiences in Iran and he shared withme the factthathe had been in Iran on a rug buying trip and had found the Armenian merchants there not to be trustworthy. In the early 1920s, before moving to Florida, UncleHarry had an Oriental rug shop in New York City. A letterhead which recently came into my possession proudly announces: HARRY PRINCE Persian and Chinese Rugs 276 FifthAvenue (Room 1009) New York Telephone:Lexington 4507

With Uncle Harry and his familynow living 150 miles away, we did not see them as often as we formerly did, but the times that we did became adventures. I’m not sure how many times we visited each other prior to 1940. Not having a car, we could take the train or the Hudson River Dayline. On one occasion, we sailed 47 up the Hudson River to Troyon the DaylineSteamer which proved to be a pleasant way to travel.

I visited Troyby myself several times and during these visits, Uncle Harry showed me how he carried on his business and took me along in hlS truck to prckup and deliver rugs. During these periods, he would tell me about his customers; some were prominent city and state officials, some were Armenian families in the area, and some were family members. Often, at Aunt Ma1y’s request, we would stop at a farmers’ market to do some needed shopping and quite often, Uncle would buy fruits and vegetables in quantities many times thatrequested by Aunt Mary. While serving in the Airforce during World War II, I managed to visit my Troy relatives on several occasions. On September 19, 1946, I went to Troy for a visit and found upon my arrival that both Uncle Harry and Aunt Mary had been severely burned in a fire in the workshop. The days were spent with hospital visits and with helping my cousins to cope withthe situation.

When Astrid and I married in 1952, Uncle Harry, Aunt Mary and family attended the wedding in New York City. Soon thereafter, Astrid and I moved to Kentucky and our visits to Troy were tied to trips back east. In 1976, Grace, John, and Peter hosted a golden Wedding Anniversary party for their parents. My mother and sister, Ann, flew in from California, Astrid and I drove up from Danville,Pennsylvaniawhere we were then living, and Uncle George and his family came from New York City. This was the last time that the children of Dr. Elisha Ishkanian were united under one roof.

In February 1982, Uncle Harry passed from time into eternity and although it was winter and my wife was in the hospital, I drove to Saratoga Springs for the funeral service. As the service came to 48 an end, Aunt Mary held my hand and said, “Well, Edward, it’s all over.” In the summer of 1992, Aunt Mary, too, passed away. I have only good memories of Uncle Harry, I rememberthat he was strongly opinionated, that he had a demanding personality, that he was a superb Shish-Kebab chef. He would reminisce from time to time and two such occasions come to mind. In his younger days, while living in Boston, Uncle said that he had taken the last bit of available money and bought a ticket to attend a concert given by Enrico Caruso. The tale was completed by the moral that he appreciated good music and the arts and that he was willing to do without some of the necessities of life in order to enjoy the arts. Apparently,during this same period of time, Uncle was diagnosed as having high blood pressure. He had heard that garlic was a potent antidote and so he began to use garlic as a medicine. He believedin the philosophythat if a little bit was good for you then large quantities must be better. Laughingly,he told me how he consumed large quantities of garlic so that its’ smell permeated his being and seemed to ooze from his pores. He didn’t say how this affected his social life, but cured the high blood pressure. Uncle was partial to my father and often spoke to me of him in glowing terms. I thinkthatthere was a strong sense of respect between the two men.

So far, I have not said anything about my cousins: Grace, John, and Peter. They were educated in the Troy school system and, in time, left home to marry and raise families. Instead of trying to guess at the paths which their lives took, I have asked Grace, John, and Peter to participate in this family narrative by writing their personal familyhistory from the earliest days to the present. Following are theirtales.

49 FROM THE PEN OF COUSIN PETER

Peter P. Prince was born at Troy Hospital, Troy,New York on June 12, 1940. My memory of growing up in Troy was very pleasant, considering we were the last house withinthe city limits, but in a country setting. Mom and Dad owned 3-4 acres of land that Dad used to the utmost. His vegetables and fruits were to be envied (and were by many). He would spend endless hours in the orchard tending his mature and newlyplanted varieties. Of course, this would mean bushels of produce at harvest time for Mom to “preserve” for our winter consumption pleasure. Peaches, apples, pears, plums of various kinds, and the uniqueness of quince, are visions that still glow when 7 Humiston Avenue is mentioned. Along with the produce, Dad had a very green thumbwith flowers. Peonies, lilies, poppies, flax, hollyhocks to name a few, but his all time favorite was the rose. From new found varieties, to old standards, the garden was a joy to view. Not leaving Mom out of LJ this joy, she would produce a delightful rose jelly, that would be offered in the late evening when guests would have a bite to eat with “kaka”, pies and homemade cheese. In all my years of tasting Armenian foods, there has never been anyone that can come close to matching Mary Prince’s culinary quality. Of course, my father would always take credit for her excellence. Who else would be able to test and perfect her dishes. They truly made a great team. The smells, tastes, smiles, tales, joys, and laughter will always be clearly etched in my mind. I graduated from Troy High in 1958, and left home for the State University of New York at Buffalo (Buffalo State), with a major in Art Education. Graduating in 1962, I returned to Troy and landed a teaching position. Of course Mom and Dad were delighted to have me back in the “fold”, and I didn’t mind 50 consuming Mom’s cooking. One year of donn food and three years of apartment endeavors, couldn’t match the “Troykitchen”.

In 1963, I was married in Syracuse, New York. In 1964 we moved to Greenwich Village, New York to open an art gallery with my brother John. John and I had thought thatbeing a World Fair year in New York, that this would be a good financial approach. That was not the case. People attended the Fair, but not the Village. It was a good experience. Even thoughthe gallery did not turn out as expected, there was a good result from the Village. A little girl named Laura Rahel Prince was born at St. Vincent’s Hospital on August 18, 1964. She was born during a rain storm that evening, and even though I was not allowed in the delivery room, I saw her minutes later. She was crying with tears, which they told me is unusual for that age. Her middle name is after her great-grandmotherDer Bedrosian. She carries it proudly.

After teaching in New Jersey for a year, it was time to head back up to New York State. I bought a small ranch house in Burnt Hills, New York and secured a high school Art position at Shenendehowa (Indian for Great Plains) Central, while working part-tirne towards my Master’s Degree.

In 1968, another miracle came into my life, Peter Michael Prince was born December 7, 1968 at Bellevue Hospital in .__J Schenectady, New York. Peter was delivered with a full head of hair and dry skin (they said he was overdue). At 8 lb. 10oz., I believe it. At any rate, he was a good looking young man and thus I felt he should be “kept”. He also has a super sense of humor. I i like to feel I have to do with L something that. there was J- By 1972, a change beginning. My wife of nine years and I realized that we were no longer compatible. We separated (divorced in 1973) and for the next five and a half years

(and receiving my MA in Studio Art from Albany State - graduate work from SUNY New Paltz & Syracuse University), Laura, Peter, and I set up house in a Saratoga Springs 1884 Victorian.

In 1976, it was a summer event to gather with friends in the evening to play volleyball. On one particular night, I looked across the net to see this very attractive, petite, and smiling (nice

PatriciaAnne Di Domenico. When Patti saw me that evening, she thought I was a nice Italian “catch”. Little did she know that she had an Armenianto deal with. Not all thatbad though, becausewe have things in common. Patti teaches 1st grade at Shenendehowa and truly enjoys the classroom (she also enjoys summer vacation -1 with the family). She knew since she was a little tot that teaching was to be part of her life. Lucky for her students, since she is fantastic at what she does.

In 1980, Patti and I were fortunate to be blessed with the birth of Sara Anne. A fair skin baby (considering an Armenian and an Italian) with a smilethat can melt a glacier. I like to think that Sara’s middle name is for her mother and her great- grandmother Osanna Ishkanian. Sara has been such a joy. This time I was allowed in the delivery room, and held my wife’s hand as we welcomed Sara into this world. Laura Rahel

I hospital. just spent hours holding and looking at her. She is so special in so many ways.

Laura decided to stay home while Tom continued to teach (Earth Science). In 1994, the stork arrived again at the Lane home. This time he brought Benjamin Thomas Lane. Fortunately, due to modern medicine, during Laura’s pregnancy, using ultrasound, they were able to detect a problem with Ben. The intestinal cavity had not closed during development, therefore, the intestines were A team exposed. from Albany Medical Center (a physician, a couple of nurses, etc.) was rushed to Glens Falls Hospital by ambulance to take Ben to their neonatal unit. Ben was a real fighter and today he is a strong and healthypre-schooler. Of note, while Laura has been home with the children, she has not been idle. She has taken courses and now has a cake making business. She does everything fiom birthdayto tiered wedding cakes. Not do only they look good, but she surely had inherited many of Grandma Prince’s sense of taste. She would like to continue cakes making part-time, but will probably go backto teaching once Ben is in school full time. Peter Michael

Peter graduated from Saratoga High withhonors in 1986, and Buffalo State in 1992 with a BA in Music and a minor in Art. While in college, Peter started a band thathas continued on since. Peter writes his own songs (copyrights them), is the vocalist and guitar player for the group. They have procured numerous tapes and CD’s and have toured the Eastern seaboard, Midwest and for the covers of their music, and acclaimed for their.uniqueness. The band has had numerous rewarding reviews in the Village Voice as one of the featured bands in the Jam Bands book (North Americas Hottest Live Groups). Peter loves what he’s doing and

through families. At any rate, Brockport has a strong dance program, which Sara has taken advantage of. This year she will be vice-president of the Dance Team. As of this writing, Sara has claimed a Communication Major, since she has always enjoyed writing, creating, and organization. It is so gratifying to watch a young being grow, mature, and develop to their full potential. There are no doubts in my mind that Sara will succeed in her

54 endeavors. I guess that sounds like a parent speaking, but I believe.

Patricia and Peter

Patti is still in the classroom, and as she has said many times, “when I don’t enjoy the classroom any longer, I will leave it”. As empty nesters, we have adjusted pretty well to the quiet when the children (and grandchildren) aren’t around. I’m going into my 5th year of retirement from teaching, but I still produce artwork every day. I ski when the snows fly and still manage to have a delicious dinner on the table when my wife returns from the “mines”. We even manage to have real fish (we must watch our fat intake...the good kind).

*1 can instill this awareness in our children, I feel that they too will carry on the tradition. FROM THE PEN OF COUSIN GRACE

My early memories of New York City were mainly of my relationship withmy Baghdoian cousins. We were very close, as a matter of fact, they were also my best friends. On Sunday mornings at Gospel Church, everyone watched me waiting for Annarose and Helen to arrive (I would be so excited to see them.) I also remembermy dear Aunt Rose who treated me at thattime as her third daughter. She made dresses for me as well as her daughters. There was a wonderful bond betweenthe two families.

We were fortunate to have two grandmothers (Rachel Bedrosian and Osama Ishkanian), three uncles (Uncle Jack - my mother’s brother, Uncle George - my father’s brother, and Uncle Edward - my father’s brother-in-law),two aunts (Aunt Rose and Aunt Virginia, who married Uncle George in 1935). Annarose and I were flower girls at Uncle George and Aunt Virginia’s wedding.

It was sad for me to move to Troy on September 3, 1937. I left behind my dear ones. I’m glad we have tried to keep close during these 62 years, and I pray we always will. During the depression years, we were fortunate Dad’s business was good which made our life in Troy pleasant. Of course, my mother worked with my father in the business as well as raised three children and entertained family and friends. In 1947, I graduated from Troy High School and then from Mildred Elley School in Albany in 1948. I worked at theNational City Bank in Troyuntil I married Vahe (Jim) Bedrosian in Troy on October 11, 1953. Jim was in the Navy during World War II and graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering and later M.B.A. from Rutgers. We lived in Somerville, New Jersey for eight years.

56 in Ohio gave us an opportunity to live in'the Midwest and adopt new ideas for enriching our lives.

In 1976, Jim was transferred to the main office of Union in Camp Wayne, New Jersey. We bought a house in Washington Township, New Jersey. The children attended Westwood High School. Steve attended Northeastern u._ University in Boston for a

department. She is also on the board of elementary school PTA. They have three children - Zachary (1990), Lauren (1992), and Gregory (1996). They live in Ordell, New Jersey. helps Armenia’s economy. In January 2000, she left Tufenkianto start her own design firm.

Our familyhas been a memberof the Armenian Presbyterian Church since we moved to New Jersey. The children were active in the youth program. Margaret (chairperson) and Glen have been Trustees. Margaret taught Sunday School and has been on the Board of the Women’s Guild. Jim was treasurer for four years. He and I have been Elders and Bible Studies members. I have been a choir member. Since moving to New Jersey, APC has been an important part of our lives, as a matter of fact, Glen and Margaret met and married from the church.

John E. Prince

John was born in New York City in Fordham Hospital on April 3, 1933. During the time that Uncle Harry and his family lived in New York City, we would have family visits, especially during the holiday seasons- as has been referred to previously. Life in Troy,New York has been covered in the accounts prepared by Grace and Peter and I’ll skip to highlights as I rememberthem. In the summer of 1992, I had occasion to visit with John and his family at which time we tried to catch up on forty plus years of familyhistory. Much of what follows has its genesis in thatvisit.

Art seems to have been John’s consuming passion as a youngster and as a teenager and its pursuit has occupied a large apart of his life. When John was in grade school, he won first prize in a citywide art show and this may have inspired his interest in art. During two of his high school summer vacations, John studied in the art program of the Boston Museum at Tanglewood, MA, where he met the world-famous artist, Oskar Kokoschka. The attached Troy newspaper article from 1949 says it all. John 58 ._ was awarded a scholarship to go to England to study with Oskar _ Kokoschka and I rememberthat he spent almost a week with my familyin New York City before leaving for England.

The seventeen-year-oldJohn traveled to England and pursued his artistic career in the Kokoschka studio. Unfortunately, the Korean Conflictbroke out in 1950 and sometime thereafter, John enlisted in the United States Air Force where he was trained as a chemical warfare technician. The Air Force sent his specialty group to Korea where their assigned task was to detennine whether or not the enemy was using chemical weapons of any type. This hazardous duty required the team to be set down by helicopter in territory near the enemies’ lines to collect soil samples for laboratory analysis. On one of these forays the helicopter landed in the wrong area and John’s team was attackedby North Koreans. In the ensuing melee, he sustained shrapnel wounds in his arm and abdomen.

After returning to England for hospitalization and recuperation, John tried to pick up his career as an artist. It was at thatpoint that he met and married his first wife, Eve Fuergeson, in 1954, who bore him a daughter, Deborah (1956-). His daughter married Edward Phillips in 1980 and presently resides in England.

For the next many years, John’s career carried him to both sides of the Atlantic. For awhile he was back in Troy where he worked in a hospital laboratory. At some point in the 19603, John and Eve broke up; subsequently, he met and married his present wife, Ursula nee Honold (1940-) in 1974. His career went back and forth between art, selling expensive English automobilesand other endeavors. During this time, John and Ursula spent a considerable amount of time in England and on the continent. Upon returning to the United States, they settled down in the 59 Saratoga Springs, New York area. John continued with his artwork and had a number of successful private exhibitions. One of these was held in Southern California in the late 1970s and as John and Ursula drove back east, they investigated areas where sink .-T... they might roots. Fate brought them to Dauphin Island, AL and theyimmediatelydecided to call it home.

Their daughter, Denise Ursula, was born in 1980. She attended “The Little Red School House” on Dauphin Island; high school in Mobile, AL, and at the present time is a freshman at Springhill College in Mobilewhere she is taking a pre-med course. Her ambitionis to become a pediatrician. John and his familykeep busy on DauphinIsland with mother and daughter participating in Civil War reenactments at nearby Fort Gaines. Of all the descendants of Dr. Elisha Ishkanian only John bears his name. Yes, the middle initial stands for Elisha!

60 .....ooaJ.rII Q

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—-+__‘ THE FIRST CHRISTIAN NATION APPENDIX I

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_I \ D I N I ' 3 0 5.» 0‘ ‘I_..l_.'' '7: I ‘.0 II. P’ /".".fl‘ I’ I Q - -I-I‘ -.—-u— ;' . - No family history can be complete without some reference to therole which Christianity plays in the Armenian soul. It is with pride that Armenians call themselves THE FIRST CHRISTIAN NATION and it is this belief which has sustained them as a cultural and civic entity for the past seventeen centuries. Armenia, which is located in the southern part of the Caucasus Mountain range, betweenthe Black and Caspian Seas, is today but a vestige of its historical expanse. The ancient land of the Armenians is divided among Russia, Turkey,Iran and Iraq and its history, like that of all ancient lands is a mixture of legend and fact.

The beginnings of Christianity in Armenia are obscured by folk tales and history. Legend persistently tells us thatChristianity was first brought to Armeniaby the apostle Thaddeus between the years 35 AD and 60AD. Concurrently with Thaddeus, Armenia was also supposed to have been visited by the Apostles Bartholomew,Simon, and Jude. Whatever the bases of these tales may be, it is know that Christianity was introduced into Armenia before the third century and there is evidence that an Armenian church was in existence before 250 AD.

The one definite fact about the early days of Christianity in Armeniais thatGregory, the Son of Anak, was sent to that country in 285AD by the Bishop of Ceasarea. The conversion fiom Zoroasterianism to Christianity is intimately connected with the life and work of Gregory, better know as Gregory the Illuminator. Gregory preached during the latter half of the third century, during the reign of Tiridates III. At one point, Tiridates subjected the few Christians to terrible persecutions. Because of his zealous preaching, Gregory was cast into prison where he languished until his near miraculous release. He continued to preach with renewed 61 fervor and soon his ardent preaching took effect. Near the end of the third century, King Tiridates became a Christian and was baptized. In the years immediately following, large numbers of nobles of the court, as well as throngs of the masses, were baptized.

As a climax to the work of Gregory, the King, in 303AD, took the step which influencedArmenianhistory for all time. King Tiridates adopted Christianity as the national religion of Armenia, making it the First Christian Nation. Note that the Edict of toleration issued by Constantine in 315AD made the Byzantine/Roman Empire Christian and is hailed as a historical landmark;however, it must be pointed out that the action of King Tiridates preceded that of Constantine by fully a dozen years. Armenian historians of the third and fourth centuries shed light upon the work of Gregory. We are told that for a period of sixty days after the conversion of King Tiridates, Gregory held almost daily meetings in the capitol city of Valarshabad which were attended by immense throngsof people from all ofthe provinces of Armenia. The intense fervor of Gregory’s speech, his deep knowledge of Christian teaching, his reputation for patience, kindness, and long suffering endeared him to the hearts of the multitudes which came to hear him.

One historian tells us that in the city of Ashtishad, 190,000 nobles and common folk were baptized. It is fiirther related that during a thirty day period of fasting and prayer at the foot of Mt. Mebad, located on the shores of the Euphrates River, over 150,000 soldiers and a comparable number of men, women, and children were baptized.

Christianity took firm hold upon the Armenian people and soon schools and churches were established throughout the 62 country. Christianity became the dominant factor in Armenian history and the events of the first few centuries after Gregory placed an indelible national individuality upon the Armenian people and influencedall phases of Armenianlife. The conversion from Zoroasterianismbroke the ties to Persia and the holy wars led by Prince Vartan Mamionian against Persia in 457AD helped to consolidate the Armenian Christian Church. The rejection of the Council of Chalcedon broke the ties between Armenia and the West and Armeniawas now alone between the empires of the East and the West. Through the efforts of St. Mesrob, the Armenian language was developed in 405AD. Prior to this, Greek and Persian characters had been used to write the Armenian language. The subsequent translation of the Bible into Armenian helped to strengthenthe position of Christianity and affected the language in the same manner that the King James and Lutheran translations affected English and German.

Some of the noblest works of architecture were executed after the advent of Christianity. The Cathedralof Am, The City of a Thousand Churches, is hailedby architects as a gem of Armenian architecture and it was not until later years that similar buildings appeared in Europe. Serious inquiries were made into theological matters and studies which antedated similarwork in other lands. Throughout the centuries, Armenians have remained uniformly faithfulto their Christian heritage. Large numbers still belong to the Armenian Orthodox Church which has its seat in Etchmiadzin under the leadership ofthe Katholikos. Others belong to the Roman Catholic Church, while others are members of various Protestant Churches. Regardless, theystillharkbackto the days when Thaddeus, Bartholomew,Simon, Jude, and Gregory the 63

L: w Illiminator preached and planted the seeds of Christianity in Armenia.

In the section titled, Life in Aleppo 1896-1920, it was stated that at some time in the late 19”‘ century the Ishkanian family joined an evangelical Protestant church. The details as to how and why the move was made are not known; however, it might be useful, at this point, to say a few words about the beginnings of ArmenianProtestantism.

With eight hundred years of Turkishdomination, internecine warfare, Vatican efforts to bring the Armenians into the Catholic fold, etc., the Armenian Orthodox Church found itself in a defensive and apatheticmood. Like so many indigenous churches that had been engulfed by the Islamic tide, the Armenian Church established by St. Gregory struggled to maintain its identity and had little energy to become an evangelical and missionary church. This is not to say that there were not individual theologians, monks, and scholars who were active in the manner of St. Gregory; e.g., Nerces the Graceful, Nerces of Lamprone, Gregory of Nareg, Moses Datevatzi,John Golod, and Gregory of the Chain. The last three named are churchmen of the 17”‘ and 18”‘ centuries who may be said to be following in the footsteps of Gregory the Illuminator and Mesrop Mashtoz. They were deeply religious; traveled extensively; and preached the Gospel.

The Christian missionary movement which was predominately Protestant started and grew in the 19*‘ century which has been called THE GREAT CENTURY OF WORLDWIDE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT. In 1815, the Church Missionary Society of the Church of England sent the first Protestant missionaries to the Turkish Empire. In 1818, the American Board of Foreign Missions assigned two missionaries to 64 Palestine. The early pioneering work done by these groups interacted withthe Armenian community and it was soon apparent that this was fertile ground for evangelization. The foreign missionaries were joined by evangelical Armenian preachers and scholars and in 1836 formed the Society of the Pious. Much of the local work was done by the Armenians themselves but they depended on the American and European missionary societies for financial and material aid in the form of Bibles, books, and supplies.

The evangelical movement had to fight both the Armenian Orthodox Church and the Turkish government to establish and to maintain its identity. Finally,after many years of persecution and denial, the Turkish government approved the establishment of a distinct evangelical religious group. July 1, 1846 marks the birthdayof the EVANGELICAL CHURCH OF ARMENIA and is generally accepted as the official beginning of the Protestant movement among the Armenians. This first congregation had forty members - thirty-seven men and three women. The movement grew and according to one report, over 330,000 Bibles were in use in Armenianhouseholds during the 1870s and another report claims that in 1914, there were about 150 evangelical churches witha membershipof over 100,000.

It seems thatthe evangelical missionary activitywas centered in Cilicia that we have noted as being the homeland of the Ishkanians. The work of the evangelical churches was carried out through the establishment of churches, wide use of religious literature, establishment of schools, hospitals and orphanages, translations and distribution of the bible for all to read, etc. The task was not easy becausethe OrthodoxChurch took a dim view of these activities and basically declared them anathema. The missionary effort continued throughout the 19”‘ century with the 65 labors of people like Vertanes Eznakian, Hovanes Der Sahakian, Simon Tavitian, Sarkis Hampartzoumiantz, Krikor Kevorkian and many others.

For a century and a half, the ArmenianEvangelical/Protestant church movement has ministered to Armenian groups living in all countries of the world. At first it was opposed by the Armenian Orthodox Church, but events have come full circle so that it now recognizes the Evangelical movement as a co-worker in the Armenian community. In 1996, in a letter to the Armenian Evangelical Council, Karekin 1, Supreme Patriarch & Catholicosof all Armenianssaid,:

“We offer praise and thanksto Almighty God, that over one hundred fifty years of life of our Armenian people, the service of the Armenian Evangelical Church transformed spiritual awakening by the preaching of the Living Word, the spreading of the gospel, and the reevaluationof spiritual life into a movement. “The Armenian Evangelical Church has had, and continues to have, in the life of the Armenian people a deservedly commendable reputation in inculcating a health religious, moral, spiritual and human understanding in the life of the Armenian people. We believe that she did a work pleasing to God and is deserving of God’s blessing and the gratitude of the Armenian people. The Armenian Evangelical Church played an important part in alleviating the suffering of the Armenianpeople and in strengtheningthe movement towards rebirth, centered in the areas of benevolent, humanitarian, and social work. “The Armenian Evangelical Church deserves our deep appreciation for the commendable behavior and attitude which she has expressed towards the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church, which she lovingly and with rightful pride recognized, and continues to recognize as the Mother Church. Now, in a free and independent Armenia, our church, The Holy Church of the Armenians,the Armenians’ Mother Church, is called to a new mission, and we welcome the support of our Evangelical brothers and sisters, so that this spiritual harmony, this recovery of our identity of being a Christian people, be realized.”

Author’snote:

The first part of this article dealing withthe establishment of Christianity in Armenia was written during the period 1948-1950 for a church publication. I was a student at N.Y.U. and used the Encyclopedia Britarmica and other sources available in the college library. The part dealing withArmenianProtestantismwas written in 1999 with information gleaned from “A Century of Armenian Protestantism 1846-1946”, 1946, Leon Arpee; two articles which appeared in the AMAA NEWS, 1995-1996, “Evangelism in the Early Armenian Evangelical Church”, Barkev Darakjian; “A History of Christianity”, 2-vols., 1975, KennethS. Latourette. The letter from Karekin I appeared in the AMAA NEWS, July/August 1999.

67 AN INTERVIEWWITH GRANDMOTHER APPENDIX II

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. I spent some time in each city visiting and sightseeing while they waited for arrangementsto be made for eachpart of theirtrip.

At Le Havre, theyboarded a French ocean liner named, THE LEOPOLDINA. It took them eighteen days to cross the Atlantic Ocean. They arrived in New York City on June 12, 1920. My grandmotherwas sixteen years old when she arrived in our country with her mother and fourteen year old brother. People were kind and helpful to the familyas theytraveled.

Their relatives lived in Boston, Massachusetts, so theytook a boat from New York to Boston. One of the aunts met them at the station and took themto theirnew home.

My grandmother got a job at a dressmaker’s shop. She got twelve dollars a week at thisjob. The year and a half she was in Boston, she learned to speak English. When she came to America, she learned a fifthlanguage, for she already knew French, Turkish, Armenian, and Arabic.

CONCLUSION

She moved to New Jersey with her family and took a ferry across to New York every day to work. Soon after that, she got married, moved to Florida, and thenback to New York again. The law required a five year residency period before becoming a citizen. Because of her many moves, she was not able to become a citizen until June 12, 1933. She now lives in Oxnard, California.

69 MAP SHOWING HISTORICAL & MODERN ARMENIA APPENDIX III

From THE ARMENIANS, John M. Douglas, J .J 1992 . Winthrop Corp.,

. Tims I I . stinopl ‘

BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIXIV

This bibliography lists a few of the books dealing with Armenian history and the experiences of the Turkish massacres. None of them deal specifically with the families described in this narrative but will give the interested reader additional background material. Some of the boolss may be out of print and not readily available and in this case, it is suggested that the following A organizationsbe contactedfor possible assistance.

ArmenianGeneral BenevolentUnion 31 West 52nd Street New York,New York 10019-6118 ArmenianMissionary Associationof America, Inc. 31 West Century Road Paramus, New Jersey 07652

J.J 1. “The Armenians”, John M. Douglas, . Winthrop Corp., 1992

2. “The Kingdom ofArmenia”,M. Chahin, Dorset Press, 1987

3. “A House Full Of Love”, Marjorie Housepian, Random House, 1957

4. “My Beloved Armenia”,Marie S. Banker, The Bible Institute Colportage Association, 1936 5. “In Quest Of The Soul Of Civilization”, Hagop Bogigian, Whittet & Shepperson, 1925

70 6. “My Name Is Aram”, William Saroyan, Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1940

7. “Song OfAnnenia”, George Mardikian,McGraw-Hill,1956

8. “ArmenianChurch Architecture”, Lawrence Cone

9. “The Forty Days Of Musa Dagh”, Franz Werfel

10. “Our ArmenianChristian Heritage”, G. H. Chopourian

11. “The TreatmentOf ArmeniansIn The Ottoman Empire 1915- 1916”, Bincent Bryce

12. “The Armenian Genocide”, New Accounts fiom the AmericanPress, Heritage Publishing

13. “The Complete Armenian Cook Book”, Alice Bezjian, Rosekeer Press, 1983

14. “Recipes From Armenia”, Tomas Azarian, Farmhouse Press, 1985

15. “The Cuisine Of Armenia”, Sonia Uvezian, Harper Colophon Books, 1974

16. “A Century of Armenian Protestantism, 1846-1946”, Leon Arpee, ArmenianMissionary Associationof American, 1996 17. “A History of Christianity”, 2-vols, Kenneth S. Latourette, Harper Collins, 1975 “Evangelism In The Early Armenian Evangelical Church”, BarkevDarakjian;AMAANEWS, 1995-1996, (Part 1 & Part 2) “The Whole Armenian Cataglogue”, Armenian Students AssociationofAmerica, 1974

T“! {J FROM THE MISTS OF TIME APPENDIX V

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'., ~ ’- . . L}, .. ‘o-' .","r 1 a .-1. ,1 1.‘ ‘ _ ...... ' ’_ - -h 1, .' at rl - . -;- Sqlatci-an Siblings THERE ARE OTHERS APPENDIX VI

The WorldlyHope men set theirHearts upon Turns Ashes-or it prospers; and anon, Like Snow upon the desert’s dusty Face, Lighting a little hour or two—was gone.

Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend, Before we too into the Dust descend; Dust unto Dust, and under Dust, to lie, Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and-sans End!

From the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam; Quatrains XVII & XXVI In the introduction, it was stated that this family narrative would deal only with the descendants of Dr. Elisha Ishkanian; however the reader will note that mention has been made of other relatives with whom family contacts were established and maintained over a period of years. This section will tell of the interactions with Nouri Ishkanian, Harry Ishkanian, and Abraham Ishkanian.

Nouri Ishkanian was the son of Alexander Ishkanian and, therefore, he was my mother’s first cousin. He first attended an American school in Aintab, followed by two years at the American University in Beirut where he studied medicine. Nouri Ishkanian then went to England to complete his medical education. Upon returning to Aleppo, he practicedmedicine and was the only doctor in Aleppo who was trained to perform blood tests and certain other specialties.

At the outbreak of The Great War, Nouri Ishkanian was drafted into the Turkisharmy and served for five years as a doctor. After the war, he returned to Aleppo in 1920, married, and resumed his medical practice. Like other members of the family, he and his wife, Mary, immigrated to the United States and settled in West New York, New Jersey, where he set up his medical practice. There, Nouri and Mary raised a familyof three, Grace, Alex, and Ara.

On occasions, my motherwould take us to visit Dr. Nouri (as he was known to us) and his family. While there, he would inquire about our health and give his professional advice as needed. These visits were a treat for me (and I assume for my sisters also), becausewe took the subway/elevatorto 42nd Street; then walked to 74 the Hudson River, which we crossed in a ferry boat. I’ll always remember the religious poster which hung in the second floor living room which showed the worldly progress of the Christian Pilgrimas he went on his way throughthis evil world. The road to Heaven was narrow and beset on each side with all of the temptations and sins of the world. One day, as we were returning from one of these visits and were walking east on 42nd Street, I heard someone call out “Edward!” At this time I was perhaps thirteen years old and as I turned, 1 saw Uncle John who apparently was living in a downtown New York men’s lodging. Of course, we stopped and visited for a few minutes. This was the last time thatI ever saw Uncle John.

Dr. Nouri practiced medicine for many years in West New York but unfortunately was struck with cancer in the late 1940s, which was soon diagnosed as beingterminal. One day, my mother and I went to the hospital where he was a patient and visited with Dr. Nouri one last time. My mother and father attended the fiineral J -\_v~ (December 1946) but before leaving Dad asked my help to compose a short memorial in case he was asked to say a few words. Calling upon the Bible and Shakespeare we set down in words what Dr. Nouri had meant to us as a familymember and a physician.

HE Ishkanian was the son of Alexander Ishkanian (Nouri’s L.) brother and my mother’s first cousin). He immigrated to the United States with his brother Nouri and his wife and shortly thereafter married Mary Boyajian. Harry Ishkanian was an artist and a photographer who opened a photo studio on 3” Avenue in the vicinity of 32nd Street in New York City. The reader will note thatthere were now several “Harry-Mary” husband and wife pairs in the family so that it became necessary to identify each by some trait in order to make the conversation intelligible. This particular 75 of life history is presented in its entirety in APPENDIX VII, “Our Destiny is in God’s Hands.”

Abraham Ishkanian was Dr. Elisha Ishkanian’s half-brother and, therefore, my mother’s half-uncle. Like the rest of the family, he left Aleppo; first going to the Sudan as a company representative for an export-irnport company. Although he was successful in this business venture, he and his family immigrated to the United States and settled in the Bronx, New York. Abraham Ishkanian was known as “Appa” which in the Turkish language means “Uncle”. He and his wife Abro, had a family of five children: Mary, Richard, Leo, Jean, and Harry.

Because Appa and his familylived in the Bronx, we would, on occasion, visit with them. I remember Appa as being a wiry type of person who would drink a glass of arak and water at each meal. He used to make arak at home and probably each family member had a bottle, courtesy of Appa, to be used for medicinal purposes. For the uninitiated, arak is equivalent to the Greek ouzo that is a clear alcoholic drink, not unlike vodka in appearance. It has an anise flavor and when mixed withwater turns milky.

Author’snote:

I chose Nouri, Harry, and Abraham because I had memories and experiences thathave served to remind me thatthere were, and are, other Ishkanian family members in the world besides my mother, Uncle Harry, and Uncle George. Of course, the fact that each of these three families lived in the Greater New York City area was conducive to family visits. No doubt, another author would have had other experiences and treated the subject differently.

77 In 1996, Grace Bedrosian and her husband Jim, Alex Ishkanian and his wife and I attended an Ishkanian familyreunion held at Pocono Manor, PA. This was a branch of the Ishkanians which was new to us (except to Grace) but it proved to be an invaluable experience. We soon discovered that Grace, Alex, and I, together with the other Ishkanians present, had a great-great- grandfather (Mardiros Ishkanian) and a great—great-great- grandfather(Nerses Ishkanian) in common.

78 OUR DESTINY IS IN GOD’S HANDS APPENDIX VII

THE TESTIMONY OF MARY BOYAJIANISHKANIAN

T .h...._B MCU .m_.H CT.O S S At certain times in our lives, it is good to review the past, for in looking back we discover that no matter how difficult life has been, God has had His hand on us all along. Even when separated from all we hold dear, we see that God’s plan for us has been a

F loving one, intertwined withHis mercy and compassion. The older I I get, the more I realize that God has a definite plan and purpose for my life--as He does for each of our lives. I see this so clearly now as I look back on my early years. In every case where I lost a loved one, God appointed someone else to care for me. Whatever I lacked, He provided. Through every circumstance, that child of the past did not lose faith. Rather, faith became stronger. I was helped rather than hindered. God’s hand was on me all the way, and if we are in His hands, we are in the safest place of all, and all is well.

Those early years E hard years. They were evil years. But as Joseph told his brothers who sold him into slavery, “You meant it unto evil. But God meant it unto good.” That is true in my life. I have known the goodness of God. Some aspects of my story are no different than those experienced by other Armenians of thattime in our history when the slaughter began. It started--as it did for many--in the latter part of 1915. Up to that point, we Boyajians were a happy family. My motherhad died at the birthof my sister when I was 2-1/2, but my father had remarried and my stepmother cared for my sister, my little stepbrother, and me lovinglyand tenderly. We lived, togetherwithmy grandmother,in Malatya, a city in Turkey that lay in a fertile region near the Euphrates.

In the latter part ofthatyear, all male Armenians, about 16 to 60, were quickly rounded up with no warning and thrown into prison. Among those taken were my father and godfather, and when she heard the news, my stepmother rushed to the prison to 79 see my fatherbut was denied entrance. No visitors were allowed. all she was permitted to do was to bring food for the men and this was to be left with the guard at the gate. Sick with fear, my stepmother returned to the prison the net day, bringing me along with her, but the orders remained the same. No one could go in. I was only five at the time, and this was such a cruel separation that I began to cry, bitterly disappointed that I could not see my beloved father. The tears, for some unknown reason, ;had a softening effect on the head gendarme and he took me by the hand, admonishing, “Come,come. Dry your tears. I’ll take you in to see your father. Only you mustn’t cry, and you mustn’t talk or stay too long.” Though my stepmother could not accompany me, the visit was a happy one. My father was glad to see me and hugged and kissed me, asking he how everyone was. There was one other happy note. Before we returned home that day, the gendarme left word thatI was to be permitted to visit my fatheranytime I wanted as long as he remained a prisoner. This way I was able to bring back news not only about my father and godfather, but about the other prisoners as well.

This reprieve proved to be a brieffew days, for one morning when my stepmother and I arrived, the guard brusquely informed us: “Your husband is no longer here. He’s been sent away on a job, so don’t come back here any more.” It wasn’t until much later that we discovered the truth. My father’s and godfather’s fate was similarto that of many other Armenian men of that time. In their case, it meant they were led out of prison to a desolate field, handed shovels, and ordered to dig, -and dig deep. -The Turkish soldiers then methodically beheaded them one by one, burying them deep in Turkishsoil. That incident was followed by another- -the wrenching experience of deportation. Every Armenian woman and child, together with the old men of the city, received orders to pack and be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. -I was 80 too young to fully understand the impact of that order and what it meant. In fact, I hopped around in delight at the thought of our all being together, seeing different sights and towns, and meeting new people. Little did I know. All thathappened, of course, but it also became a journey from which none of my familywould return. As inevitable as day follows day, I would one by one lose all the loved cones in my family.

When the orders finally came, we were herded together with our few belongings and marched out of town. That first night we rested on the outskirts of a small village outside of Adaiyamon, where neighboring Kurds came out urging the Armenianwomen to leave their children behind. They knew our destination and the hazards and knew thatinfants and the very young had no chance of surviving the rigors of that terrible journey. And some children w_er_e left behind- My small sister was among that number. The mothers who consented to this separation only agreed to it because they felt it would be best for their babies. They thought this way their childrenmight have a. small chance of surviving. For the rest of us, there was day after day of hardship and suffering fiom intense heat, scarcity of food and water, and little rest. My grandmother’s strength soon gave out. One day she simply could go on no longer and she staggered and fell to the ground. The guard prodded at her with his rifle, but she was too weak and exhausted to care or respond. Infuriated, he lashed out at her with the butt of his rifle. I tugged at her skirts, pleading withher to get up when a gabit (head soldier) ordered us aside. Then he pointed a gun at my grandmother’s head and pulled the trigger. It was a terrible moment. I.thinknow that it was probably the kindest act that man ever performed. My grandmother could never have survived thattrip. Indeed, few did. And she was mercifiillyspared the agony of watching all the people she held dearest in this world die. I had little conception of what the noise and commotion 81 meant. I only saw that my grandmother had fallen and was hurt, and I ran back to her side. The zabit gently pulled me away, saying, “Let your grandmother rest her awhile. I’ll come ‘back later and take care of her. Come. Let me take you back to your family.” This combinationof violence followed by kindness has always puzzled me, ‘but that is what happened, that’s the way it was. My heart was broken, but I did what he asked.

In the days that followed, I saw this man time and time again keep other soldiers from beating the defenseless. But despite his efforts, there was much cruelty and robbery and people often lost even those few possessions theyhad managedto salvage from their homes. Possessions could be replaced; however, lives could not. And what was saddest of all was when mothers, unable to bear the cries of their starving babies, abandoned them along the roadside. Among them one day was left my beautifulbaby stepbrother. Of all the sorrows, this was the hardest for me to bear. I remember crying withall my heart, “You mustI1’t leave him here. He’ll be all alone. He mustn’t be left alone. Let me stay withhim.” but, of course, that was out of the question. I had no choice. Neither did my stepmother. None of us did. We had to leave him behind. The picture of that one-year-old child, helpless and alone, will stay with me for the rest of my life. When we arrived at the Euphrates River on the outskirts of Ourfah, we made camp for several days’ stay. It was a spot I would always remember,one I still cherish, for it was where God sent a guardian angel in the form of a TurkishMoslem woman. Yes, I truly believe she was sent by God. It was His doing, as are all the circumstances of our lives, and she was Turkish, and she was Moslem, making it all the more.remarkable to me. The woman first appeared at the edge of the river where several of us children were wading along the shallow edges. She came again the next day, bringing candy and nuts, which she offered and I refused. Her attentions were puzzling, until one day 82 she approached my family and everything became clear. She began by explaining, “I have eight sons and no daughters. I’ve seen little many girls here, but God has laid your little one on my heart. I want to take her home with me to raise as my own. I’ll as much love give and care as you have if you will onlyletme take her home. I’ll be good to her and treat her well. You’ll never regret it, but if you take her with you, she’ll only suffer and perhaps die. If she goes with me, she’ll be safe and I promise I’ll give her all my love.” Shepersisted like this for several days each time bringing food and money withher. Her genuine fondness for me was evident, and it was this that overcame my stepmother’s reluctance and she finallyrelented. I know she did this out of great love and concern for me, fully aware of the hazards that lay ahead if she didn’t. so it was with great sadness that she took me aside and told me of things that must be. “She is a good woman,” she said, in an effort to assure me as well as herself. “She will treat well and you care for you until I return and we can be together with again. go her. Do whatever she tells you. She will take care of and God you, will not desert you.” That day, the woman and I and her two older sons left by carriage for her home in Ourfah.

There was a terrible finality about that departure. I would never home go again, nor would I ever see any member of my family alive again. There was an end to many things--but also some new beginnings. I had to adjust to a new family,a different another religion, language. All I could do was cry--for my parents, my brother and sister, my godparents, and fiiends. For weeks I cried, locking myself in the bathroom, sobbing for all the that things no longer existed. And this dear Moslem woman, whom I began Armah did calling (Mother), everythingto comfort me. She gave me dolls, jewelry, sweets. She gave me love, care, and affection. Nothinghelped. I was inconsolable. I cried so much I became ill. The doctor’s diagnosis was short and to the point: 83 “There is nothingI can do. Physically,there’s nothingwrong with her. Only time can make her forget.”

Time did heal. So did the tender ministration of Armah and her husband, whom I came to love and call Babah (Father). Together with their two younger sons, 2 and 4, they formed my new family. Babah, ann affectionate and loving man, was a wealthymerchant who traveled a great deal in his work. Within a few years, part of the family (including me) moved for business reasons to Aleppo. We lived in a big home with three servants, two of whom were Armenian (a mother and daughter-in-law) who were cook and housekeeper, and the third, a Moslem man who ran errands and performed the heavy work. Once more death intruded. We were informed that Annah, who had gone to Ourfah to attend the wedding of her older son, was hospitalized with a severe case of pneumonia. Within a few days we received word that she had died. For the third time in my short life I was left an orphan. It is only with the perspective that time gives that I realized even this, too, was of God. If she had lived, I would still be living in Turkey, raised in Moslem surroundings. In the middle of my bewilderment and grief, Babah, who had three young childrento raise, remarried. Once more, everything changed. His new wife was not at all like Annah. Instead of love and affection, there was jealousy and resentment: I was Armenian, I was the only daughter and Babah showed his fondness for me in ways that she did not like. She took care not to show her true feelings in fiont of her husband, but they were there all the same. There was one thing in particular that irritated her. When Babah brought home the day’s profits, he liked me to help him count the gold pieces--he enjoyed my prattling, he also found I had a small talent for figures--andthen together we’d lock up the money for safekeeping. His new wife would repeatedly ask me to reveal the combinationof the locked box, but I had been carefully instructed not to give it to anyone, not even 84 her. As a result, she made life very difficult for me in many ways so that I became quite bitter and unhappy. Only later did I realize just how necessary all thiswas.

But that difficult, uncaring woman did one thing for which I shall always be grateful. In October of 1918, England began its rule of Aleppo, and there was a concerted effort to reconcile all Armenian children residing in Moslem homes with their families or close relatives. Up to that time, the Armenian servants in the household had never been told the true story of my background. They had always regarded me as a memberof the family. But one day, this woman took the occasion to relate to themthe story of my life, that I was an Armenian orphan who their master and his late wife had adopted. I don’t know what her motive was. It really doesn’t matter for it was a real service she rendered me; it began a series of interrogations by the Armenian servants. Did I have any relatives in America? Who were they? What did I know about them? I remembered my stepmother had written the names of three relatives on a piece of paper which I had always kept pinned to the inside of my garments. I gave them the paper and promptly forgot all about it. Several weeks later, a man knocked at our door. When I answered, he asked me my name. When I said “Mareah”, he replied, “You’re the child I’m looking for” and went on to explain that our servants had told him about me, had given him the names of my relatives, and he had found that my uncles in America were anxious to locate me and eager to have me live with them. He asked to speak to my mother and father. I told him Babah wasn’t home and I didn’t like my stepmother so I didn’t want him talking to her. At this disclosure, he questioned me again. “If you don’t like this woman, would you like to live somewhere else until you uncles can arrange for you to be sent to them?”

85 Slowlywithmixed emotions, I answered, “Yes, but don’t tell my father. He’ll feel badly if he hears I want to leave him.” It turned out that this man, Magurdich Araradian, belonged to a group of volunteers recruited by the Armenian Church to seek out all Armenian children living in Moslem homes in order to restore themto theirrightful families. He returned thenext evening to talk with my father and came back several more evenings because my father wanted proof that my uncles really did exist, that they wanted me, that guardians and travel arrangements were being provided. He had a true father’s heart. finally, on receiving a guarantee that I would not be placed in an orphanage and upon receipt of papers from the church authorities, my father relinquished me. Mr. Araradian presented all the necessary proof and a certified letter from the church, signifying that all was in order.

But my stepmother, unkind to the end, said, “Ask her if she really wants to go. Ask her right now in front of us all.” She knew how that answer would hurt. I shuddered at the thought of its effect, but I answered in a low voice, as quickly as possible to cushion the pain “I have never seen my uncles. I would like to see them and to know them. Yes, I would like to go”, and to soften the blow, I added, “Maybe I can come back after I see them.” Babah and I both knew that could never be. He held me in his arms, and withthe tears streaming down his face, he said, “When my beloved wife died, I didn’t cry for I knew she was ill and death is final--as it is for all of us. But in letting you, my daughter, leave my home and go to America, I feel as if it is a living death, and I can’t stop my tears.”

Other matters had to be settled. Guardians had to be found, traveling papers prepared. There were delays, new people to get accustomed to, new cities and many other disappointments, 86 problems and delays. Through the help of Mr. Araradian, I was taken to an Armenian familyin Aleppo who took me withthem to Kilis, Syria. I stayed withthem for 14 months until the Red Cross could assign a married couple as guardians. Again I found it difficult to part from my new family,the Ekmejians, but they put me on the train to go from Aleppo to Beirut, then by boat to France. There was a delay of two months again. another guardian had to be found, and I finally reached the shores of America on May 26, 1921, where I met my two uncles, Marderos and Khatchadour. It was a time of great joy but a time of sadness as well. Out of the 50 or so people that comprised my family,I was the only survivor.

It wasn’t until I married and was raising my two little daughters that I came to know the Lord who engineered all my circumstances. It was at a Presbyterian church in New York that my family attended where I found the great liberating experience of divine grace and forgiveness. As a result, I began serving in the Sunday School and church, a ministry I have carried on throughout my life in several cities. To that, I added a love and concern for missionary projects of every kind. Now in looking back at those years in Turkey,I realize theyweren’t wasted years. They weren’t wasted because they gave me a compassion for all people who are in need. They weren’t wasted becausetheytaught me to forgive, a very difficult lesson to learn, but undeniablybetter than bitterness, and somethingthatChrist Himselfdemands of us. What did he tell Peter? How many times are we to forgive? Seventy time seven!

And those years have made me grateful. Even in the midst of the horror, there was the kindness of the gendaime who allowed me to see my father, the zabit who took me back to my family,my dear Annah who showered such love on me, Mr. Araradian who diligently followed me step by step for over a year to be sure I 87 reached my destination in America, to the Ekmejians who housed me for 14 months, to such organizations as the Red Cross and the Armenian church that assisted me in locating my uncles and making the traveling arrangements. This and much more. I am ever grateful for my cruel stepmother. If she had been a kind and loving woman, I might neverhave left Turkey.

Above all, I am grateful to God. Those years were a tremendous testimony of God’s faithfulness. He cared for me through them all and protected and guided me all the way. He hasn’t stopped. He’s given me family and friends, health and a great joy in serving Him. He’s given me a new song to sing, and I know “He will guide me all my life with his wisdom and counsel...for He is the strength of my heart. He is mine forever.” (Psalms 73: 24, 26)

88 YOU SOMETIMES FIND ARMENIANS IN THE COMICS APPENDIXVIII

One doesn’t often find Armenian references in the comics or cartoons, so I thought that.it would be a humorous way in which to end this family narrative. These examples were culled from my scrapbook of trivia and I’m indebted to my sister Ann for the Columbus cartoon that she sent me many years ago.

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—-aw FAMILYTREES A endix IX

midst of the ‘. . .the tree of life also in the garden...” Genesis 2:9 ISHKANIAN FAMILYTREES

The family trees presented herein _have been prepared with the best information available and a blanket apology is made for any inaccuraciesthat the discerning reader may note. I am most grateful to my daughter, Deb, for her assistance in setting up these family trees on the computer. Instead of trying to prepare one large familytree encompassing many generations and families, it was decided to breakdown the whole into the following parts:

The Descendants ofNerses Ishkanian The Descendants of Harry Ishkanian Prince The Descendants of Rose Ishkanian Baghdoian The Descendants of George Ishkanian

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