Re: Looking for Nokhoudians and Ohanians!
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In reply to:
Looking for Nokhoudians and Ohanians!
1/31/01
NOTE:This is a repost of my sisters letter with her updated email.We are anxious to hear if there is a connection.
Hello,
I was very interested in your message. My grandmother died in 2001, and I am trying to put her history in writing. There are many things I don't know, but she told me bits and pieces over the years. I had to do a geneology project in high school, and that was very helpful in getting some names and facts in order. Perhaps we are related!
My grandmother, Marie Attar, was born 1906-1908 near Ankara, Turkey, the third child of Perlanti Ohanian (b. 1890) and Garabed Ohanian. She had two older sisters, Piramsi and Olsona, and a younger brother, Garabed (b. 1910 or a few years later). There were also two other siblings (possibly b. between Marie and Garabed). One was a girl, but my grandmother did not know or tell me anything else about her. Could this be Ashken?? My grandmother did not know or tell me anything about the other child, either its sex or birthdate. I suppose these children may have been stillborn or died shortly after birth, too.
When my grandmother was about five, her father was tortured and killed by Turks in front of his wife. I believe he was working for the Armenian Underground and refused to give them the information he had. She (Perlanti) was able to escape hidden in a wagon with my grandmother and her brother, and probably the two older girls too.
With the help of the Red Cross, Perlanti took Marie and Garabed to France and placed them in a Dominican boarding school. She came to the U.S., where her brother, Kirkor/George Apakian lived. There she married Kirkor Onoyian, and sent for the two children. My grandmother came to Detroit in 1924, but her brother (now called "Jean" Ohanian)was refused a visa because of an eye disease. I believe he lived with one of his older sisters (Piramsi or Olsona) and her family for a time.
Garabed/Jean remained in France, and served in WWII. He was captured and held in a German concentration camp, his job being to bury the dead. In the camp, a dying friend asked Jean to marry his wife and care for his children in case of his death. The friend died, and when Jean was released he did as he had promised. He married his friend's widow and cared for her children, in addition to having some of his own. I am trying to find out the name of his children, but I think there were five or six in all.
My dad thinks Garabed/Jean did in the 1960's or 1970's, but he isn't sure of the exact date. I'm sure that information is among my grandmother's papers, but I'm going to continue searching the Internet, too. I hope this information will be helpful to you. If so, it will be helpful to me as well. I hope you will let me know. If you would like, and will send me your e-mail address, I would be glad to e-mail you scans of the photos I have. My e-mail is: [email protected]
Take care, and good luck in your search!
Sharon Attar