Armenian Jerusalem
The
Kaghakatzi
family
tree
project
has
received
a
tremendous
boost
with
a
batch
of
new
contributions
from
community
leader
Hagop
Hagopian,
an
LA resident currently visiting Australia.
Hagop
has
not
only
traced
his
clan's
family
history
back
to
one
of
the
community's
most
memorable
recent
ancestors,
but
also
compiled
a
list
of
the
forgotten
colorful
clan
nicknames
that
characterized
the
residents
of
the
Armenian Quarter.
Unfortunately,
his
records
go
back
only
over
a
century
and
a
half,
but
they
fill
in
a
lot
of
the
blanks
in
the
main database.
Hagop's
paternal
grandfather
was
Hagop
Hovsepian
(he
later
changed
his
surname
to
Hagopian),
a
Sefer
Berlik
(First
World
War)
survivor
whose
several
brothers
were
born
to
different
mothers.
Apparently,
his
father,
the
patriarchal
clan
head
Yousef
El-Banna,
married more than four times.
There
is
a
mystery
surrounding
one
of
his
grandsons,
Sahag
(Levon's
son).
He
was
born
in
1907
but
apparently
disappeared
later
in Saudi Arabia.
Hagop
has
also
handed
us
the
family
history
of
the
Elian
clan,
prepared
by
Michael
Elian
who
is
currently
living
in
Beverly
Hills.
Michael
has
taken
the
trouble
to
write
up
some
9
pages
for
the
project.
"This
is
the
best
that
I
can
do
-
considering
that
I
have
been
out
of
Jerusalem
since
1949,"
he
notes.
"We
still
have
the
nucleus
of
the
JABU
(the
Kaghakatsi
social
and
cultural
club)
here
and
are
trying
to
continue the tradition."
In
compiling
his
list
of
clan
nicknames,
Hagop
had
the
assistance
of
a
worthy
matriarch,
Serpouhi
Shahinian,
mother
of
Ardashes
Shahinian.
In
her
90's,
Serpouhi
sat
down
to
jot
painstakingly
jot
7
pages
of
reminiscences,
ending
with
this
declaration:"I
wrote
all
these
at
the
age
of
92,
while
in
pain
.
.
.
sometimes
the
pen
would
slip
from
my
fingers,
and
I
would
push
back
my
ailments,
determined
to jot down what I know . . . Thank God that I have succeeded."
The
inscription
is
dated
January
19,
2003
-
the
day
the
Armenians
of the Old City of Jerusalem celebrate Christmas.
kaghakatsis having a night out
