Of Dr. Elisha Ishkanian
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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 ” ) _;.; \\_/} -\.\ xv/fi''‘" ‘I u \\./ 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.