Amanda Berger
The second annual Armenian Genealogy Conference
took place at the University of Michigan-Dearborn on March 18, while
several related events were held in the Detroit area throughout the
weekend. The conference was sponsored by the Armenian Research Center at
the University of Michigan-Dearborn and co-sponsored by the Cultural
Society of Armenians from Istanbul, the Nor Keghi Association, and the
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR). Over 250
people from 18 states attended the conference.
The weekend’s events kicked off on the evening of March 17, with an
opening reception. Over 150 people with Armenian ancestry gathered at
St. Sarkis Lillian Arakelian Fellowship Hall to connect with each other
and to enjoy a traditional Armenian buffet, in which each item was
identified by its historic origins. Der Hrant Kevorkian, pastor
of St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church, extended a warm welcome to the
guests who were seated at tables that mapped the geography of Historic
Armenia with each table being designated a particular province. This
gave conference attendees the opportunity to connect with others whose
ancestors hailed from the same regions of Historic Armenia. Whether Keghitsis, Everegtsis, Adanatsis or Kharpertsis, compatriots made their way for group pictures taken according to regional roots.
The March 18 conference opened with introductory remarks and a
welcome by George Aghjayan and Ani Boghikian Kasparian of the organizing
committee as well as by Dr. Ara Sanjian, the director of the University
of Michigan-Dearborn Armenian Research Center. The morning sessions
touched on genealogy 101 (Tracy Keeney), the hidden Armenians of Turkey
(George Aghjayan) and the history of the Palu region (Vahe Tachjian).
In the afternoon, participants went into four consecutive break-out
sessions on various themes, including the Armenian Immigration Project
(Mark Arslan), genealogy and social media (Tracy Keeney), DNA testing
(Janet Achoukian Andreopoulos), Armenian/Ottoman records (George
Aghjayan), success stories (Jen Langley), and sources in Armenian
research centers (Ani Boghikian Kasparian). Speakers shared “success
stories” of genealogical discovery and encouraged those in attendance to
start putting together the puzzle pieces of their own family history.
In her presentation on the morning of March 18, Tracy Keeney, creator
of the Armenian Genealogy Facebook page, encouraged conference
attendees to become more involved in tracing their family lines, whether
it is through genealogy websites, newspapers and national archives, or
Google, stating: “You never know what you’re going to find and where
you’re going to find it.” Keeney also emphasized the importance of
connecting with living relatives. “You’re not going to find this all on ancestry.com,” she said. “There’s so much more to genealogy than names and dates.”
Meline Lachinian, who has been interested in Armenian genealogy for
twenty years, described the conference as “a labor of love.” She
explained that as a result of a meeting with the director of the Houshamadyan Project Vahe Tachjian at last year’s genealogy conference, he published an article about her family narratives and photos.
On the evening of March 18, the banquet participants enjoyed the
culturally rich program with traditional songs and dances of historic
Armenia. Harry Kezelian III, accompanied by Dickran Callan, sang songs
from various regions, explaining the occasion of when they used to be
sung, while playing the oud. The Hamazkayin Arax Dance group of Detroit,
led by Nayiri Karapetian, performed dances from Vasbouragan, Shirak,
Kessab, and Sepastia. They invited the guests to join them in an effort
to reintroduce some of the original steps.
On the morning of March 19, attendees had an opportunity to attend
mass at the local Armenian churches. In the afternoon, everyone was
shuttled to St. John’s Armenian Apostolic church for a tour of the Alex
and Marie Manoogian Museum. As everyone was gathered in the art
gallery, Ms. Lucy Ardash, the director of the museum, highlighted some
of the special artifacts from the collection. With docents in each of
the six galleries of the museum, the guests went through at their own
pace, identifying with artifacts from their ancestral towns and
villages.
The tour was followed by the farewell reception with a warm welcome by Hayr
Aren Jebejian, pastor of St. John’s Armenian Apostolic Church. Guests
enjoyed more Armenian pastries and more time with newly discovered
family and friends. Participants thanked the organizers, George
Aghjayan, Janet Achoukian Andreopoulos, Mark Arslan, Luc Baronian, Ani
Boghikian Kasparian, Tracy Keeney, Jen Langley, Marc Mamigonian, and
Shoghig Shahinian for a worthwhile conference and left with great
anticipation for its next installment.
"The Armenian Weekly," March 27, 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment