When Armenians came to Providence

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Our Hidden History

Varoujan Karentz Guest columnist

Unlike most immigrants settling in Rhode Island in the early 1900s, the
hundreds of Armenians fleeing genocide after 1915 usually came as single
people. Most were orphans whose families were either dead or lost, and they
arrived after first trying elsewhere in the Middle East and Europe. Yet they
recovered from their trauma enough to both build productive lives and
preserve their identity.
Most settled in Providence, along Douglas and Chalkstone avenues in Smith
Hill, with help from fellow Armenians who had arrived in numbers in the
1890s. Twenty to 30 men, often from the same district in Turkey, would share
a triple-decker until finding jobs and housing elsewhere. A strong bond
developed from the realization they were sole survivors and their heritage
must not be lost. Three Armenian Christian churches helped to maintain that
bond.

Most came by ship from Europe to New York, then by train to Providence.
Others came directly by ship into the Port of Providence near Allens Avenue,
especially the ?Fabre Line? from Marseilles, France. Both received help from
Travelers Aid at the old Union Station, with Armenian volunteers to help the
majority who spoke no English.

Jobs were the main draw. Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls were in
dire need of factory workers, and managers didn?t mind that Armenians
couldn?t speak English. Some arrivals met foremen right on the dock with
pieces of paper telling where to report to work.

But the best way to understand their settling here is with individual
stories. When Mesrob Echmalian arrived in New York, he had stayed up all
night gazing at the city lights. The Ellis Island doctor, believing his
bloodshot eyes were diseased, sent him back to England. Three months later
he found a ship sailing directly to Providence ? making sure to sleep well
before arrival. For 20 years he refused to visit New York City, for fear the
doctor might again deport him. Echmalian settled in Edgewood and operated a
grocery store there.

Hampartzum Gulesserian was in a Protestant orphanage in Harpoot, Turkey,
when an American missionary director, Henry Riggs, noted he was a good
student. Riggs arranged for him to attend medical school in Beirut, after
which Gulesserian returned to Harpoot and started a family. But when World
War I broke out, he was forced to treat wounded Turkish soldiers ? while his
family received a guard to protect them from the ongoing genocide.

With help from American missionaries, including members of the Riggs family
here, Gulesserian and his family eventually made their way to Providence in
1924. He set up an office on Smith Street and practiced medicine for 40
years.

Satenig (Gulistan) Asadoorian arrived from Canada in 1925, hidden in a
burlap bag in the trunk of a car and driven to a prearranged marriage in
Providence. For nearly two decades she lived in fear of deportation, and
even changed her name. Then World War II broke out and her oldest son, Paul,
went to the Pacific aboard a U.S. Navy assault ship. She now felt she had
every right to be a citizen, and marched over to the immigration office from
her home in Edgewood, demanding her papers. She then proudly hung the red,
white and blue ?S? flag (for serviceman in the family), facing busy
Narragansett Boulevard for all to see.

Despite these difficult beginnings, Armenian immigrants and their children
went on to serve as state judges and General Assembly lawmakers, as well as
mayor of Warwick. Seven have been inducted into the state?s Heritage Hall of
Fame, including the most decorated World War II veteran, Harry Kizirian.
People throughout the state will join in the annual commemoration of the
genocide on April 24.

Varoujan Karentz lives in Jamestown, where he is a retired corporate
executive. He has written extensively on the state?s history, including
?Mitchnapert the Citadel: A History of Armenians in Rhode Island.? He is
co-author of ?Untold Stories of World War II Rhode Island.?