Utah Digital Newspapers

I thought this was cool! Murray was constantly being updated on the European travels of my great-grandfather, Herond Nishan Sheranian during the Depression.

Enjoy the following newspaper clippings here:

Murray Eagle 1933-01-19 "Dr. H.N. Sheranian Will Study in Europe"

Murray Eagle 1933-02-16 "Dr. Sheranian in Vienna"

Murray Eagle 1933-06-18 "Dr. Sheranian Writes of European Conditions"

Armenian Census

This information is straight from wiki.familysearch.org:

In 1867 the Turkish Council of State assumed jurisdiction over all population matters in Turkey (Armenian people currently under their rule).

In 1874 the Council introduced a law regarding census taking and the establishment of an accurate, permanent registration system covering men, women, and children. This new system merged the headcounts and population registration into a single system. The new system was based on three types of registers; the basic register [esas defter ] listing all males with a second column listing the family members; the summary [icmal ] listing the total number of people living in each town village or town quarter based on data from the town registers; and the daily events register [yevmiye vukuat ] which was to include records of births, marriages, deaths, and migrations into or out of each district.

Various political problems delayed the execution of this system although Turkey published estimated population figures for 1876/1878. Regulations of 1881 and 1878 and the law of 1874 were finally implemented in a census which started in 1881 and was completed in 1883.

The 1881/1883 census used several ethnic-religious categories for the Christian population, but all the Muslims continued to be counted as one homogeneous group despite the ethnic and linguistic differences among them.

Possible Films Available (listed in the FHLC)

All films are listed in the Armenian language (frustrating for me). The title details include the available civil registration years as between 1865 and 1930. However, when clicking on “View Film Notes,” everything is listed in Armenian. Title: "Անձնական հաշվառման քարտեր կենսագրական տվյալներով," and I can’t make out which of the 45 possible films would be the correct ones pertaining to the time that our family was living in Zara, Sivas, Armenia/Turkey.

But if the film notes are the correct ones, these are the ones available:

-VAULT INTL Film 2289757-2289763 All Item 1
-VAULT INTL Film 2291078-2291084
-VAULT INTL Film 2291089
-VAULT INTL Film 2286824-2286825

What is frustrating for me, is that even if I finally located these films, the fact that they are in Armenian is a HUGE obstacle for me--because not only do I not know the Armenian language/characters, but I don't even know what the names "Sheranian/Sherinian" or "Sivas" look like in Armenian script.

Other information that can be used to find birth/death records (or christening/burial records is more likely) are the Parish records that could be available. Considering Armenians were Christian, they probably had parish records which listed that information. Too bad (again), I can't read/write/speak Armenian.

Armenia - General History

The information below is gathered from several sources including wikipedia, wiki.familysearch.org, and google (I know. I didn't do any hardcore research, but here are some basics about the country from which our family emigrated):

In 301 A.D., Armenia was the first sovereign nation to accept Christianity as a state religion. The Armenians later fell under Byzantine, Persian and Islamic hegemony, but reinstated their independence with the Bagragunti Dynasty kingdom of Armenia. After the fall of the kingdom in 1045, and the subsequent Seljuk conquest of Armenia in 1064, the Armenians established a kingdom in Cilicia, where they established cordial relations with the Europeans and prolonged their existence as an independent entity to 1375.

Greater Armenia was later divided between the Ottoman Empire and Russia. Armenians then suffered in the genocide that was inflicted on them by the Ottomans. From April 24th, 1915 until 1921, 1.5 million Armenians were killed, totaling almost 80% of the population, and the rest of the Western Armenians were dispersed throughout the world via Syria and Lebanon. Armenia, from then on corresponding to much of Eastern Armenia, once again gained independence in 1918, with the establishment of the Democratic Replublic of Armenia. From 1922-1991 Armenia was a part of the USSR, but was once again made independent in 1991 with the Republic of Armenia.

Armenia lies between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The Republic is now landlocked between Turkey, Georgia and Iran. The country contains many mountain lakes and rivers. The Aras River flows along the eastern border of Armenia along Turkey and into Iran.

Occupationally, Armenians traditionally created beautiful works of art including rug weaving, metal work, and stone carvings. The intricate details of Armenia craftsmanship can be seen on historic buildings and monuments, and is still a form of income for many Armenians. Other occupations included coal mining and copper mining.

Side note here: Rebecca Nigogos Sherinian wove a rug and sent it to Salt Lake City in the late 1890s. Family tradition has it one of the rooms of the temple. It was later removed. Our family has no idea where it is now, although I would be much interested to find it just to have a picture.

Great-grandpa Herond Sheranian states in "Odyssey of an Armenian Doctor" that:

"Mother was considered to be the most expert of all rug weavers in all of Sivas County in Turkish Armenia which was then the center of the rug weaving industry...she sheared her own wool, made her own yarn, chose her own patterns, made her own colors...Apostle Lorenzo Snow of the [Latter-day Saints] Church wrote her a letter of gratitude for a large rug she wove and presented as a gift to the Temple in Salt Lake City, December 13, 1899."

Since the demise of their kingdom, the Armenians have spread into Turkey, Syria, Greece, and throughout the world. Armenians began settling in Greece before the eleventh century. After the War of Independence, the Armenians of Greece rapidly adopted the language and culture of the Greeks and intermarried with them. The Armenians in Greece today are refugees or descendants of those who fled Turkey into Greece in 1895–1896 and 1914–1918, as well as in the 1920s when the most Armenians settled in Greece.

For requests for Armenian Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates:

Chief Department of Civil Registry
Ministry of Justice
8 Khorderdaran Street
Yerevan 375010
(Cost is approximately $25.00 per certificate)

Address for Armenian National Library:

Armyanskaya Biblioteka
ul. Teriana 72
Yerevan 375009

Rebecca N. Sherinian - birthdate

Ok. Please help me discover the real birthdate of Rebecca Nigogos Sherinian!

It is so confusing!

1. AF - 24 Jan 1868 (The date initially submitted to familysearch.org)
   
2. IGI - 24 Jan 1868 (The date used for temple ordinances).
   
3. Odyssey of an Armenian Doctor - Cal 1868
1. It is listed that she was married at 18 years old. If she was, and they were married on 23 Nov 1886, she was born in 1868.
   
4. Personal History of Arick Kezerian - 24 Jan 1868
   
1. It is listed that she was married at 16 years old. If she was, and they were married on 23 Nov 1886, she was born in 1870 [Cal].
   
5. Death certificate - 24 Jan 1873 (This would make Rebecca 13 years old when she married Nishan!!)
   
6. Death certificate calculated - Cal 24 Jan 1873
   
1. Calculated with 1 Jan 1928 as the death date, and with age at death listed as 54 years, 11 months, and 7 days.

So, with this information, now we get to dissect it and figure out what should be considered the true birthday.

Her death certificate could be considered a good source of information since it was filled out by her husband--however, we also have to take into consideration that she might have lied about her age while she was married, OR her parents lied about her age when she was married, making her older, or younger, depending on what they wanted.

I am going to say that I'm absolutely certain that Rebecca N.'s birthday month and day are definitely January 24th. The year, however, is the problem. We've got 1868, 1870, and 1873.

Should we trust 1873 on the the death certificate filled out by the husband, Nishan K.?

Or should we trust 1868 on the records of the oldest son and daughter of Rebecca N. and Nishan K.? I believe that these two records were the sources of the information used in both the AF and the IGI--so I am not counting them as additional sources proving that her birthday is in 1868.

Any thoughts? Comments? Additional information?