 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Kourajian Family History This is a story of two courageous people and of survival. Having fled
their homeland to avoid the persecution of the Turks, they settled in
Jamestown, ND in 1926. They are Vahan and Sarah Kourajian, both of Armenian
descent. In the early 1900’s, the Turks killed one and a half million Armenians
and forced thousands to flee for refuge. Vahan and Sarah are two of these
that fled and found safety and a home in America. Vahan Kourajian was born in Oror, Turkey on May 13, 1896 and Sarah was
born in Tarsus, Turkish Armenian on Jan. 10, 1907. Vahan and Sarah were
forced to leave their homeland to avoid further persecution at the hands
of the Turks. They suffered along with thousands of Armenians during the
forced death marches through the dessert where many of them dies and their
bodies left behind. Vahan was forced to fight in the Turkish army against his own people.
He escaped several times but was caught and beaten. He finally did escape
and found his way to America. His family was all killed by the Turks except
an uncle who came to live with them. Vahan first came to this country
on Dec. 24, 1913 as a young man of 17 years old. He found work on the
railroad and was a hard worker. He did not know the language and could
not read or wrote. He worked for the railroad as a section worker in Aspen,
WYO., in Dallas, Texas, and in Nebraska. He did some pipeline work in
Oklahoma and in a foundry in St. Louis, MO. He finally settled in Jamestown,
ND in April of 1918 where he worked for the Northern Pacific Railroad
for almost 50 years when he retired. As a young girl, Zaroughe (Sarah) Geuvenjhizian left Tarsus and went
with her family to Beirut, Lebanon. A brother of Sarah’s was instrumental
in leading the family to safety. Sarah was dresses as a boy to avoid abuse
or being taken captive. It is said that an officer of the Turkish army
had commented what a good looking by she was. As they fled, they endured
much persecution. They ate grass from the ground for nourishment during
the death march. A sister of Sarah’s dies in her arms, singing an
old hymn of the church. Through correspondence with a cousin in the old country, Vahan arranged
to help Sarah escape and she was smuggled out of her homeland and put
on a boat and taken to Marsille, France where Vahan meet her. Vahan and
Sarah had never met or seen each other before they met in Marsille. Vahan
had seen a picture of Sarah and wanted an Armenian wife. Nothing is known
as to how they managed to escape and their meeting, but through the grace
of God, they met in Marsille and were married on Jan. 31, 1926. Shortly after their marriage, they sailed for America and freedom. Sarah
was seasick all the way over the ocean. They landed in New York and went
through the buildings of Ellis Island. Two young people alone in a strange
land, not knowing the language or customs, but two people among the thousands
of immigrants having gone through the gates of Ellis Island seeking a
new like of freedom. It is said that half of the population of this country
can trace their ancestry through Ellis Island. From Ellis Island, Vahan and Sarah traveled by train to Jamestown, ND
where Vahan had a house waiting for his bride. This same house was home
to nine children born to Vahan and Sarah for almost 60 years. Very few
Armenians settled in this part of the country. There were only four families
of Armenians in Jamestown and they all lived within a block of each other
and all the fathers worked on the railroad. Besides the Kourajians, there
were the Abrahamians, the Tarpinians, and the Melikians. All Armenian
names end in ian. All four families were refugees. The first year, Vahan
and Sarah shared their home with the Abrahamians. Then when each family
had a child, Abrahamians moved into their own home a block away. Nine children were born to Vahan and Sarah, five boys and four girls,
all of whom are still living. Seven of these nine were born on the little
house that was home; the last two were born at the hospital in Jamestown.
When the youngest child was born, Dr. Wood came to the house and took
Sarah to the hospital. Vahan had been called to work and the family had
no car. The family never owned a car; we all walked wherever we went.
Vahan had a car when they were first married but he broke his arm cranking
the motor and never owned a car again. Vahan also found time for a huge garden which supplied the needs of his
family and also his neighbors and friends. He also enjoyed sports, especially
baseball and was a faithful follower of all his boys at their games and
he taught the art to all his boys. Sarah was no help with the gardening, but she loved flowers and always
had flowers growing around the house. During her lifetime, she spent millions
of hours canning the produce of Vahan’s garden, cooking, and baking,
washing cloths, cleaning and caring for the needs of her family. Her favorite
pastime in her later years was quilt making and knitting afghans. It gave
her great pleasure to finish an afghan and present it to someone. She
made about seventy afghans whom she gave to family members and also her
neighbors and friends all received the gifts of her labors. She also gave
away all the quilts she made, which were too numerous to count. Vahan and Sarah became naturalized citizens of the United States of America
as soon as each could read and write enough to do so. Their children’s
first grade teacher, Miss Hartnett, and their fifth grade teacher, Miss
Darkenwald, took an interest in them and helped then to learn to read
and write. As was the custom in the old country, family members took care of each
other. So it was that Vahan’s uncle, Hagek, or ame, as he was called,
which is uncle in Armenian, lived with the family until he died at almost
100 years old. At first when Vahan would get his paycheck, he brought
it home and gave it to his uncle because he was the oldest in the family.
This was the custom in the old country. Then he learned that this was
not the way it was done in this country, so he stooped, which upset his
uncle. Vahan never had a checking account and always paid in cash for
whatever they bought. He never bought anything unless he and the cash
to pay for it. On the occasion of each of his children’s birthday,
Vahan would bring home ice cream to celebrate the day. The manager of
the North American Creamery, who was also our neighbor, would ask whose
birthday it was. We grew up not knowing any grandparents, an uncle or aunt or any cousins.
We only had each other and felt close kin to the other Armenian families
that lived by us. All of Vahans family, except who lived with us, were
killed during the Turkish-Armenian massacre. Sarah received an occasional
letter from the survivors of her family, two brothers and a sister and
a their mother. Two brothers lived in Lebanon and her mother and sister
lived in communist Russia and she never heard from them again. After almost
35 years, a brother came to the United States and lived in California
along with some of his family who were able to come with him. Vahan and
Sarah, with the help of their youngest son, did go to California to visit
her brother. Several years later, this brother helped the other brother
come to America also, and he came to Jamestown to visit his sister. They
had been separated for almost fifty-seven years so were almost like strangers
to each other. We were all interested in what he had to tell, but Sarah
didn’t want to hear the stories of the past and would leave the room.
Our history is unique but not enough is known about Vahan and Sarah’s
homeland and their trails and family they lost there as they found it
too painful to talk about. In 1963, a niece and nephew of Sarah’s
were allowed to leave their homeland and come to America. In 1972 her
niece and nephew came to visit. The niece, being a daughter of Sarah’s
sister whom she lost contact with, informed Sarah that her sister has
been put to sleep because she was old and sick. Vahan retired on Nov 30, 1966 after fifty years of railroading. He died
on Feb. 14, 1975. Sarah continued to live alone n the same house until
she died on Nov. 20, 1986. In all the years they lived, their hearts beat
with love for their family. It was hard for them to express themselves,
but their love was evident in all they did for us. They loved their country
and were proud to be United States Citizens. They instilled in their children
a love of home and family, a love for our country and a love for the dame
God that cared for them. They gave us the motivation to make good use
of our education and all the opportunities that are offered. Little did this young couple know when they came to America in 1926 that they would have a family of nine children, thirty two grand children, sixty three great grandchildren and four great great grandchildren. Anyone can count the seeds on an apple but only God can count all the apples that grow from one seed. We are unable to comprehend the kind of multiplication Jesus uses when He blesses a life that is turned over to him. Ours is a rich heritage.
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
