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.

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.

What I know about Mariam Keshishian

In order find more information about my great-great-great grandmother, I needed to put together what I know so far.

I started with the 4 generation family photo dated 10 May 1920. This tells us she was alive in 1920 and in California.
1900 US Census
The earliest census record I can find of the family is in 1900. They are living at 6 Prescott Ave., Chelsea Ward 5, Suffolk, Massachusetts on 14 June 1900. Here are the details of the census record:

Head of household: Jacob Keshishian, born in Turkey Sept 1864, age 35, married 13 years, arrived 1887, occupation: weaver
Catherine, wife, born in Massachusetts Oct 1868, age 31, married 13 years, bore 2 children (2 living)
Charles, son, born in Massachusetts March 1898, age 2
Ester, daughter, born in Massachusetts May 1900, age 1 month
Peter, brother of head of household, born Aug 1874 in Turkey, age 25, married 2 years, arrived 1898, occupation: weaver.
Mary, sister-in-law to head of household, born Dec 1883 in Turkey, age 16, married 2 years, 0 children
Mary, mother to head of household, widow, born Nov 1844 in Turkey, age 55, bore 8 children (7 living), arrived 1898

Mariam’s other children in 1900: Khatoun arrived at Ellis Island 7 Nov 1899 with her husband and 2 sons. In 1900 they were living on Main St., Paterson Ward 8, Passaic, New Jersey. Gadar crossed into the US from Montreal, Quebec, Canada in Mar 1907 with her children. Paul and Susie are living on Chestnut St., in Franklin, Norfolk, Massachusetts with Nish, Maron, and Yesneak, having arrived in 1894. I have no records for Arschalous.

1910 US Census (and other records)
I have no record for Mariam in the 1910 census. In 1910, Khatoun is living in Sanger, CA with her family. Jacob leaves Liverpool, England on 1 June 1900 with son Charles and arrives in Philadelphia with a final destination of 57 Central St., Milford, Massachusetts. where Paul is living (last name is now Kershaw). Gadar is living with husband and son at 139 Spruce St., Chelsea, Ward 4, Suffolk, Massachusetts. Susie and her sons are living in Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts. A 7 Sept 1910 naturalization record for Peter has him living at 4 Prescott Ave., Chelsea, Massachusetts with wife Mary. (His WWI draft registration card dated 12 Sept 1918 has him living at 230 Chestnut St., and his wife is Anoush (Peltigian) Both the 1910 and 1918 records have his birth date as 26 March 1874.)

1920 US Census
15 Jan 1920. Mary Keshishian lives on K St. in Sanger, CA. Her age is listed as 85. Khatoun and Paul live in Sanger. I cannot locate a 1920 record for Jacob, he might have died by this time, but I haven’t located a death record either. Jacob’s children Charles (Kershaw) and Lucy (is this Ester from 1900??) are both in the Sanger area. I cannot locate either Gadar or Susie in the 1920 Census, but their children are in Fresno County by this time. Peter, his wife Anoush, and children Ann and Mike are living in Massachusetts with Peter’s in-laws.

Death Records
The only death record I have been able to locate that is a close match is of Marry Kishisian, who died 18 July 1925, in Sanger, CA On the death certificate, her birth is listed as 16 June 1845. Amazingly, her parents’ names are listed, but the name of the informant is not. Her parents are recorded as Garabed Kiaetlian and Toma Ouchlookian. It says she has lived in California for 11 years (since 1914), and in the US for 17 years (since 1908). I don’t know if that is correct, because of the 1900 census record I have (I find it hard to believe that record isn’t of this family, too many coincidences). The 1920 Census has an arrival date that looks like 189_ (it is a bit blurry). Place of burial is Bethel Cemetery. This matches up with the cemetery records at the Sanger district office, which manages the Bethel Cemetery. They have records for a M. Keshishian and a Mary Keshishian, seeming to indicate that there are 2 plots with Keshishians. At the cemetery, there is only one headstone, and it reads, “Manoosh Keshishian, 1844-1925”. Here is the entry on that subject, with pictures.

Have anything to add? Let me know!

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!

Missing information - do you know?

A few of the many pieces of information I don't have:

wedding anniverary dates for:

1. Peeps and Pop Levenberg
2. Ernie and Mary Paloutzian (11 Sep 1932)
3. Frank and Louise Paloutzian
4. Roy and Violet Paloutzian
5. Vern and Zabel Paloutzian
6. Jack and Julia Golden, 29 Jun 1931 (Thanks, Fr. Paul!)

dates of death for:

1. Miriam Keshishian (d. 18 July 1925)
2. Peter Thompson (brother of Manoug Paloutzian) (d. 24 Oct 1936)
3. Harold (Paloutzian) Paulson, b. 1903 (d. 14 Sept 1999)
4. Ann Doherty (mother of Peeps, Elizabeth Levenberg) (d. 14 Oct 1999)
5. John Thomas Doherty (brother of Peeps) (d. 5 Dec. 1936)
6. William P. Doherty (brother of Peeps)

updated 11 Nov 2010