Basmajian Easter 1984

Easter 1984 at Joann and Pete's.
From left to right:
Joann Kazarian Seeley, Auntie Vee Basmajian, Cindi Kazarian, Mark Bujulian, Auntie Erch Basmajian Kazarian, Robert Paloutzian, Tom Paloutzian, Michelle Paloutzian, Jeanne Paloutzian, Pete Seeley, Uncle George Basmajian, Tim Seeley, Auntie Arlene Paloutzian Bujulian holding Joy Paloutzian, David Kazarian, Merlin Kazarian, Adam Paloutzian, Denva Kazarian, Stacy Bujulian, Gary Kazarian, Uncle Frank Kazarian, Matthew Seeley and Uncle Harry Bujulian.

Mariam Keshishian and Her Four Generations

This wonderful picture was taken on May 10th, 1920.  My grandmother, Dorothy Basmajian Paloutzian, is seated on the ground, third from the left.  Interesting fact:  My grandmother and her two cousins also in the photo, Zabel and Violet Zaillian, married three of the Palouztian brothers; Ed, Vern and Roy.
The writing on the bottom of the photo translates as "Mariam Keshishian and her four generations.  May 10 1920.  Fresno."  Mariam was born around 1840 in Turkey, and died in Sanger, CA on 18 July, 1925.

Front Row (Sitting):

George (Cal Jack) Basmajian; Mike Basmajian; Dorothy Basmajian Paloutzian; Erch Basmajian Kazarian; Leo Chooljian; Astig Chooljian Murachanian; Maron “Mike” Chooljian; Lilly Zaillian Bushnell; Mae Zaillian Perch (Lilly and Mae are Nishan and Hosanna Zaillian’s daughters. Their children Mary and Jim were not born at the time of this photo); Doris Kershaw Richards; Paul Kershaw; Pearl Kershaw; Albert Kershaw; Ruth Kershaw; Gladys Shishmanian Karabian; Violet Zaillian Paloutzian; Bertha Tusan Minasian; Dick Tusan. Eddie Mekealian.

Center Row (Sitting):
Nishan (George) Zaillian; Hosana Zaillian; Helen Basmajian – holding Margaret Basmajian Pashayan; Mary Badigian Basmajian; Zoren Zaillian Garabedian; Bidzar or Bidzarchali Chooljian (Sister of Nishan Chooljian); Gadar or Gadarchali Keshishian Chooljian; Susie (Susie Mama) Keshishian Zaillian; Mariam Keshishian*; Khatoun Ouzounian**; Lucia Basmajian Shishmanian; Rose Shishmanian Zaillian – holding Zabel Zaillian Paloutzian (Rose’s son, Sarkis “Ray”, was not born at the time of this photo); Roxie Shishmanian Parichan; Anna Basmajian Tusoosian; Aznive Tusoosian Mekealian; Arestakes Mekealian – holding Archie Mekealian.

Back Row (Standing):
Horine (Khoren) Basmajian; Dikran (Richard) Basmajian; Peter Garabedian; Murgrdich Chooljian; Nishan Chooljian***; Giragos Chooljian (Husband of Gadar and father of Nishan Chooljian and Bidzar Chooljian); Charles Kershaw; Paul Kershaw; Garabed (Adjam) Ouzounian; Thomas Shishmanian; Maron Zaillian (Older brother of Nishan seated at left end of center row); Harry Tusoosian and his sons Leo Tusan and Carl Tusan.

*Mariam Keshishian’s three daughters are beside her. On the left is Gadar Keshishian who was married to Giragos Chooljian, and Susie Keshishian who was married to Sarkis Zaillian. On the right is Khatoun Keshishian who was married to Kervork Basmajian, and after he died, she married Adjam Ouzounian. Mariam's sons are Paul Kershaw (he changed his name from Keshishian) and Peter Kershaw (not in photo) and Jacob Keshishian (not in photo).

**Khatoun Ouzounian’s first husband was Kervork (George) Basmajian. Her children from Kevork are Dikran Basmajian, Horine Basmajian, Lucy Shishmanian and Anna Tusoosian.

***Nishan Chooljian’s wife, Zevart, was not in the picture. Their daughter, Jessie Chooljian Garry, and their twin sons, Carl and Kenneth Chooljian, were born after the time of this photo.

Mary Basmajian's obituary translated from Armenian

Mary (Mariam) Badigian Basmajian (1886-1957).

Many thanks to Arevik of ArmenianAncestry.com who completed this translation.  The notes in brackets are mine.  Here is the original article.

Ms. Mariam T. Basmajian's death


Ms. Mariam Tigran Basmajian had a sudden death on February 25th in her Fresno apartment, surrounded by her family and doctor.
Funeral was at 10AM on February 27th at the Saint [Holy] Trinity Church, with the presence of a crowd of both genders. The casket of the deceased was covered with flowers. Church service was done by priest Der Babgen Gasparian and Senior “Sarkavag” Hrach Dzerkoyan.
Talented Ms. Henriet Devejian sang "To the upper Jerusalem". A eulogy was given by Der Hayr.
Then the casket of the deceased was transported to Ararat Cemetery, where a eulogy was given by P. Khosrov Badikian.
After the funeral the husband and children of the deceased served a requiem dinner (hokejash) for her memory in the church hall to more than 90 people.

Biography: Ms. Mariam Basmajian was born in Baghech Sultik town [Bitlis Sultanate] on January 10th, 1886 to Hovhannes and Margarit Badikian.
She came to the US with her mother and brother Vartan in 1907 and settled in Fresno.
Miss. Mariam Badikian got married to Digran Basmajian in March of 1908, creating a happy and honorable family, always fitting to the famous Badikian name of sacrifices and honesty.
She had two daughters and two sons. She was married for fifty years, being a kind and honest mother.
She was a happy and hard working person, treating her children and husband the same, often filling her eyes with tears of happiness.
The deceased Ms. Mariam was a member of Saint [Holy] Trinity Church Union of Women, Union of Baghech's Orphan care and Verashinats Union of Tigranakert.
The deceased Ms. Mariam Basmajian is leaving a kind name and a real mother's memory. Her death is being mourned by husband Digran Basmajian, sons Mihran [Mike] and George Basmajian, two daughters Ms. Aghavni Balutsian [Dorothy Paloutzian] and Ms. Yerjanik Ghazarian [Erch Kazarian], two daughter-in laws and seven grandchildren, as well as her brother and his wife Vartan and Rozi [Rose] Badikians and many relatives and friends.

A relative



Zaillian Family Photos

I wanted to share some photos I scanned on one of my visits with Gloria Perch Attoian almost a year ago.  This first picture we believe is Susie Keshishian Zaillian, aka "Susie-Mama".  Can anyone else verify that information?  I wonder where and when this photo was taken.  Maybe in Turkey, or upon her arrival in the U.S.?  Notice she has some reading material in hand, and a watch (?) pinned to her dress.  Does anyone know Susie's Armenian first name?

 

We think this picture is of Hosanna Tutunjian Zaillian's mother, based of some group photos that Gloria had of Hosanna's family.  Gloria had thought this was the picture of Susie-Mama.  Isn't it interesting that she is posed writing on a tablet?  Maybe she was a teacher?

Here is Nishan (George) Zaillian as a young man, he was Susie's oldest of the three boys, Nish, Maron and Yesneak.

This is Mae Zaillian Perch, Nishan's second child and Gloria's mother.

Another photo of Mae.  I can see Gloria in this photo.

Nish and Hosanna Tutunjian Zaillian.  According to the 1930 census record, they were married in 1907.  He was 20 and she was 15.

Maron and Rose Shishmanian Zaillian.  They were married in 1911; He was 22, she was 19.  Rose was my grandmother Dorothy Basmajian Paloutzian's first cousin, and Maron was her first cousin, once removed (first cousin to my great-grandfather Dikran Basmajian, Dorothy's father).  Maron and Rose's daughters Violet and Zabel also married Paloutzians, my grandfather Ed's brothers, Roy and Vern.

Nishan George Zaillian

Paul Keshishian gets married.

Paul Keshishian was born 21 Dec 1880 in Diyarbekir, Turkey, and came to the United States sometime before 20 Jun 1900 when he and his sister Suzie Zaillian (and her 3 sons) are found living in Franklin, Norfolk, Massachusetts on Chestnut Street.  Paul's occupation at that time is listed as "woolen weaver".  I have not been able to locate any immigration records for Paul, his sister Suzie, brother Jacob, or his mother, Mariam.  I do have records for Mariam's other children: Khautoon (Touma) Basmajian, Gadar Chooljian and Peter (Bedros).  I don't think that Mariam's daughter Arschalous ever came to the U.S.

I discovered Paul Keshishian and Margaret Ferguson McClary's marriage record in the Rhode Island marriage record database on Ancestry.com.  They were married on December 27, 1907 in Providence, Rhode Island by an Armenian priest.  As the on-line record only had the names and dates, I went ahead and sent for the complete record from the Rhode Island State Archives.  I was surprised to find quite a bit of information in this one document.  Some of the information confirmed what I knew, and some things were new to me.
Paul Keshishian was the youngest child of Mariam Keshishian and I didn't know his father's name, but here it is on the marriage record as Elijah.  The record shows that Paul was born in Armenia, was 28 years old and was a loom fixer.  Margaret was 27 years old, divorced and had a daughter, Esther (who ended up married to Jake Zaillian, son of Arschalous Keshishian Zaillian, Paul's sister).
So, another piece of the puzzle.  The only picture I have of Paul is in the large 5 generation picture of Mariam Keshishian's family, which I haven't been able to scan yet.  Margaret is not in that picture, but their children Doris, Paul, Pearl, Albert and Ruth are sitting in the front row.  By the second generation, all the Keshishian males were using the last name Kershaw.  Henry Keshishian (1920-2005), son of Peter, was the last in the family to use the name.

Another Arrival

I recently found the immigration record of my great-grandmother Mary Badigian Basmajian. She arrived at age 22 with her 52-year-old mother, Markarid (which means pearl) and her brother Vartan, who was 12, aboard the SS Laurent. They sailed from Le Havre, France on December 15, 1906 and arrived in New York on December 28. Also sailing with them was Markarid's nephew, Hovsep Karabian and his wife, sister and 3 small children. The whole group had their passage paid by Markarid's brother, Krikor Karabian, who was living in Fresno.
So, now I have found arrival records for all 4 of my father's grandparents, who each arrived separately with their families!

Who is buried in Bethel Cemetery?

Ce Happy New Year!

Over my Christmas vacation, my mom, Joy and I tried to dig deeper and find some more obscure information. No, we didn't take shovels to the cemetery, only a camera. I called up the Sanger District Cemetery and asked about Mariam Keshishian, my great-great-great grandmother. They had records for a Mary Keshishian and an M. Keshishian buried next to eachother, so we went to check it out. Bethel Cemetery is in Fresno County out between Sanger and Del Rey. It is on Bethel Ave., between Indianola and Central Avenues. Here is a map.

The map in the Cemetery office shows there is an M. Keshishian buried next to Mary Keshishian. Out at the cemetery we found Manoosh Keshishian (1844-1925) in the M. Keshishian plot, and where Mary Keshishian is shown on the map, there isn't a headstone. I have never seen the name Manoosh in any records I have found so far. Now, Manoosh is a female name, and the dates are close to what I've found for Mariam, so there could be some confusion in the cemetery records (which are not original records). I have 2 birth years for Mariam from the 2 census records I found for her. In 1900, her birth year is 1845, and in 1920, her birth year is 1835. Her daughter Khautoun was born in 1856, so a 1835 to 1840 birth year is the most likely. Hopefully, there is some more information out there somewhere.

The picture above is from the same cemetery and is the headstone for Kervork (George) Basmajian (1848-1911), my great-great grandfather, husband of Khautoun. Even though the headstone says 1912, we know he died Oct. 10, 1911 because Grandpa Basmajian wrote it in his Bible. Thanks Grandpa!

October Cemetery Haunting

Well, really, I was hunting not haunting. And, actually, it was September 30, but we can be creative in order to make a catchy title!

I was on my way to St. Mary's Church in Fresno and made a short detour to the Ararat Cemetery on Belmont Ave., just to poke around and see who I could find. It was almost hard not to stumble over cousins, some more distant than others. I've posted the photos on Ancestry.com. If you don't have access to Ancestry yet, and would like to, let me know and I will send you an invitation. It is free! If you like, I can e-mail you any of the photos. Here's who I found: Markered Badigian (my great-great-grandmother), Geragos and Gadar Chooljian (my other great-great-grandmother's sister and her husband), Horene Basmajian (my great-grandfather's brother), Khatoun and Garabed Ouzoonian (my great-great-grandmother and her 2nd husband), Harry Tusoosian (Tusan), Susie Zaillian, Yezneak Zaillian, Albert B. Badigian (1920-1923), Harry and Arax Chooljian, Tooma Chooljian, Gadar Zailian, Aram Zailian, Zaven Chooljian, Ralph and Anahid Shamshoian, Chester and Erma Badigian, Arax Chooljian Zailian, Lucy Zailian (1920-1923), Rose and Vartan Badigian (my great-grandma's brother and his wife). I also already have pictures of Dickran and Mary Basmajian, and Giragos and Altoon Tatoian. I have other family headstones, too, but these are the ones from the Ararat Cemetery.