Legacy

The Samour family arrived in the United States in the early 1900s. The name “Samour” is the Americanized version of the Armenian name “Samourkashian.”

 

It is said that the Samourkashian family were traders from Persia at some point before settling in Turkey. The family lived peacefully in Adana, Turkey for many years before being chased from their homeland for religious and political reasons by the Turks. They fled to Cyprus, a small island off the Turkish coast. At the time, the island was under British rule. From Cyprus, they dispersed and eventually settled in America.

 

There is much dissent among Armenians today about Britain’s role in the Armenian Genocide. Many feel that the British bear much of the blame for the massacres due to intervention between the Russians and the Turks. It all started after the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878 when the Russians forced the Turks to sign the Treaty of San Stefano, which contained Article 16 stating that the Russian army would occupy historic Armenia until the Turkish Sultan Abdulhamid protected the Christians of the area, most of which were Armenians. However, the rest of Europe feared the expansion of Russian power and this led to the Treaty of Berlin, which required the withdrawal of the Russian army and left the Armenians unprotected. The British government gained control of Cyprus in a secret pact with the Turks called the Cyprus Convention, which was made during the signing of the Treaty of Berlin. In this pact, the British agreed to protect the Turks from the Russians and in return received Cyprus and the Sultan’s promise to institute reforms to protect the Armenians, which he never did. 

 

Britain’s goal was to block Russia from invading Turkey. This action prevented the Russians from protecting the Armenians for which the Prime Minister of England, David Lloyd George admits:

 

“Had it not been for our sinister intervention, the great majority of the Armenians would have been placed, by the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878, under the protection of the Russian flag…The action of the British Government led inevitably to the terrible massacres of 1895-7, 1909 and worst of all to the holocausts of 1915.” (Quoted in Nassibian, Britain and the Armenian Question, p. 11)

 

Regardless, the Armenian people are a strong lot with a sense of survival. In his story The Armenian and the Armenian, William Saroyan sums up psyche of the Armenian in his most famous, and immortalized, declaration:

 

“Go ahead, destroy this race. Let us say that it is again 1915. There is war in the world. Destroy Armenia. See if you can do it. Send them from their homes into the desert. Let them have neither bread nor water. Burn their houses and their churches. See if they will not live again. See if they will not laugh again. See if the race will not live again when two of them meet in a beer parlor, twenty years after, and laugh, and speak in their tongue. Go ahead, see if you can do anything about it. See if you can stop them from mocking the big ideas of the world, you sons of bitches, a couple of Armenians talking in the world, go ahead and try to destroy them.”

 

Generation 1

?? SAMOURKASHIAN

According to Alice Lanier, Grandfather SAMOURKASHIAN was a wealthy merchant of Adana, Turkey whose family originated from Persia. He “owned most of Adana with vast orchards in the surrounding hills. He…was a merchant, and addicted to gambling. When he gambled away two trunks of his wife’s gold in one night during her absence, she never forgave him and they were separated.”

 

Generation 2

Nazareth SAMOURKASHIAN

1857 – 192?

and

Prapion ALTECOZALIAN Samour / Marion COZALI Samour

1868 – 1938

Nazareth SAMOURKASHIAN held a government position in Adana before the holocaust. He lived with his wife, Prapion ALTECOZALIAN, and their six children; Lousadzine, Verjine, Manoug, Hagop, Aram, and Fimi. Later generations know Prapion as Marion COZALI Samour and the children as Lucy, Virginia, Martin, Jack, Allan, and Fimi respectively. Nazareth never came to the United States.

 

Memories…by Alice LANIER

Grandfather Nazaret(h) was born into great wealth, but squandered it on gambling, women, and drink. He married a girl of middle class family, Prapion Alticozalian (known here as Marion Samour). When his family left for the U.S., he refused to come with them but lived in Cyprus. By then he was penniless and kept writing his children to ask for money. (His business had been trade in luxury items between Paris and the Middle East.) (My) mother (Lucy) was his favorite child, and she loved him in spite of all his weaknesses and spoke up for him always. I met him twice – on Cyprus and in Constantinople, and liked him immensely. He used to bring me chocolate bars.

 

Grandmother Prapion was in her early teens, so the story goes, when Nazaret(h), a wild young man, abducted her, and according to law and custom a marriage had to take place. She had unhappy memories about that part of her life which she did not discuss.

 

Armenag ALTECOZALIAN/ Armand Dore

May 1, 1888 – December 1966

Armand is Prapion’s brother. Armand came to the United States and settled in Rhode Island. He was a prime force in helping the Samour family come to the States. He was married twice and has one son.

 

Memories…by Alice LANIER

…Armenag ran away from home at age eleven, living on fruit for weeks and hiding from wild animals at night in the upper branches of trees. He somehow made his way to Paris where he learned the restaurant business and changed his name to Armand Dore. Later he came to New York and worked in some of Westchester’s most exclusive country clubs, making a name for himself as a great chef. He opened his own restaurant in Warwick, R.I. and lived there till his death at a ripe old age.

 

Veronica ALTECOZALIAN Manoukian

Veronica is Prapion’s sister. She married a man by the name of Hagop MANOUKIAN and they had six children: sons Onnig, Karnig, Hrant, Sebou, Haig and daughter Verjine.

 

Yeghia ALTECOZALIAN

Yeghia is Prapion’s brother. He married had three children, two sons and a daughter. One son, Elia COZALIAN moved to England. The daughter, Nouvarte, remained single living in Larnaca, Cyprus in a camp for displaced people.

 

Generation 3

Lousadzine SAMOURKASHIAN Kalousdian / Lucy SAMOUR

October 28, 1887 – January 23, 1966

Lousadzine “Lucy” married Krikor KALOUSDIAN and lived with him in Constantinople. They had two children, Alice and Vincent, who when they came to the United States changed their last name to Lanier. Alice never married. Vincent, however, married Dorothy MAISEL in 1948.

 

Krikor’s ancestry is not known. However, his father was a baker, who died of a stroke at the age of 55. His mother died of the same during her sixties. Krikor has two sisters, Makrouhi and Sema. Sema married and had two sons and a daughter. Makrouhi, Sema and the children emigrated to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Sema’s daughter, Berjouhi moved to New York sometime in the 1920’s and married a man with the last name KULJIAN.

 

Memories…by Alice Lanier

Pop’s (Krikor) family did not care for Mom (Lucy) from the beginning. His mother had taken a vow to dedicate her son to the church, (if she had a son), and was outraged when he brought home a rich and beautiful bride. Later, Pop’s relatives blamed our mother entirely for the break-up of their marriage and would have nothing to do with us.

 

Verjine SAMOURKASHIAN / Virginia SAMOUR

November 10, 1894 – Abt. 1925

Verjine “Virginia” died shortly after coming to the United States – most likely during the flu epidemic.

 

Manoug SAMOURKASHIAN / Martin SAMOUR

January 18, 1895 – March 4, 1977

Manoug “Martin” arrived in the United States at Ellis Island on September 7, 1919 and was instrumental in bringing his family to the United States. When his mother and youngest sister, Fimi, were held at Ellis Island, he came to their aid after a letter from Fimi and prevented them from being turned away from America. Martin studied at Columbia Medical School with the intent to become a physician. However, he changed course and became a registered pharmacist instead. Later, he changed course once more by becoming a jewelry appraiser for Prudential Insurance.

 

Hagop SAMOURKASHIAN / John “Jack” SAMOUR

February 15, 1897 – September 1968

Hagop “Jack” came to the United States with his brother, Martin, on a ship called Rotterdam. The brothers left Europe from Plymouth, Devon England. Prior to that, they lived in Cyprus. After his arrival, Jack worked at duPont designing patterns for dresser sets (comb & brush sets) and tiles in ivory. He later started a gift store in Kearny, New Jersey called the Lincoln Gift Shop, which he eventually moved to North Arlington, New Jersey. He ran the shop until his retirement. For many years, Jack lived with his brother, Aram “Allan” and his family in Kearny.

 

Aram SAMOURKASHIAN / Allan SAMOUR

August 18, 1901 – November 18, 1977

In 1919, Aram “Allan” was a soldier in World War I and worked as a translator since he knew at least seven languages (of which include Turkish, Armenian, Italian, Spanish and English). For part of his military life, he was stationed in Russia. After serving in the war, he came to the States and with the help of Uncle Dore, he obtained work in a restaurant probably in Rhode Island. Shortly thereafter, he found work in New York City in John Wannamaker’s Department Store, where he met his future wife, Helen Elsie CACCIA (see CACCIA Group). He married Helen on July 13, 1934 and together they bought a grocery store in Kearny, New Jersey. They had two children: Allan Charles and Helene. Allan died in 1977 of a ruptured aortic aneurysm.

 

Memories…by Vincent LANIER

When I was about five years old, I had a disagreement with my mother (Lucy). I was very upset and wouldn’t stop crying. Uncle Allan came over to my house and saw me crying. He offered me a five dollar bill to stop crying. Five dollars was a lot of money in those days. I took the money and threw it out of the window. Uncle Allan was shocked. He ran out to see if he could find it, but he never did.

 

Fimi Marie SAMOURKASHIAN / Fimi SAMOUR

November 13, 1908 –

During the family’s exile from Turkey, Fimi was still an infant. She spent a great portion of her childhood on the island of Cyprus and a short time in Trieste, Italy. Finally, she and her mother crossed the great ocean arriving in America in 1921. They settled in Kearny, New Jersey, where Fimi finished her school years. After graduating, she became a well respected executive secretary on Wall Street and later took an apartment in New York City. In 1990, she moved to Tucson, Arizona and away from the cold New York winters. Her hobbies include traveling, reading, knitting and crossword puzzles.

 

In My Own Words…An Autobiography by Fimi SAMOUR

Circa 1928

I hope dear reader that you will be interested in reading the story of my life up to date.

 

I was born in Adana, Asia Minor on the 13th day of November (Friday) 1908. Friday the 13th may sound unlucky but it did not prove to be so as you will note on reading my later life. My father was a wealthy property owner. My mother was a busy woman having two daughters and three sons other than the newborn.

 

When I was about five months old the Turks revolted against the Armenians, massacring them and taking their property.

 

Mother, Father, my brothers and sisters as well as many other families sought refuge in the home of an American Missionary. The Missionary was very hospitable, giving everyone food and shelter for three days. At the end of three days my parents with their six children sailed to the Island of Cyprus, then owned by Turkey and controlled by the British Government.

 

Many hardships were to be endured in that Isle of refuge. Father rented a house, but what about beds, clothing, and furniture which they had to leave behind in order to save their lives. My brave Mother sailed back and forth three times with her little one and brought all the necessaries with her.

 

The wealthy family had been practically robbed, because Father had no control over his property or financial means, the Turks having claimed everything. Now he undertook the work of an agent to keep the family comfortable.

 

At this time my brothers went to the American School in Cyprus. My oldest sister had been married before my birth. She lived in Constantinople while my other sister remained at home.

 

Thus the years went by peacefully until I was five years old. Then I began to go to the Armenian Kindergarten School as they called it in Cyprus – a one-room school where all the children of my age went for their primary education. I had to pay from ten to fifteen cents a month besides buying my own books. This sum may sound very little but it was not so for those days in English money. I had school for five and one half days. The hours were from eight in the morning until twelve at noon; one hour for lunch ending at one o’clock, then an afternoon session until four o’clock. On Saturdays we had school until twelve o’clock.

 

In 1914 the English Government took possession of Cyprus thereby making us British Citizens and making the Island a safer place in which to live.

 

During the four years that I went to the Kindergarten School I made many friends. We used to give little plays out in the open or in a large hall, go to picnics with our teachers and spend our days in various ways. At the end of four years I received my diploma. Then I went to another school. The highest grade of that school may be compared to the fifth grade in the Grammar schools of America. Unfortunately I could not receive my diploma due to our trip to Italy.

 

In 1919 my two brothers sailed for America, the land of opportunity. It was not long before my third brother followed them leaving Mother, Father and me behind. We were not to stay there very long for my Aunt invited us to her beautiful home in Italy. Mother, sister and I left Cyprus in the Fall of 1920 for Trieste. Father had to stay in Cyprus because of his business.

 

I spent ten pleasant months with my Aunt and cousins. For three months I went to the Italian School starting in a low grade because I did not know the language. Soon I picked it up and got along very well with my studies, only to forget it soon after I came to America.

 

At the end of seven months my sister sailed to America. Three months later, on September 4, 1921, Mother and I after our delightful visit found ourselves on our way to join the rest of the family. The trip to America was very enjoyable with the many friends that I had made on the boat. For about a week I was seasick but after that I did not mind the huge waves that wished to swallow the boat. For days and days all that I saw was the heaven above me and the waters below. But one night there appeared a light in the far distance signifying our approach to land. The next day September 23, 1921 we arrived at the harbor of New York City about three o’clock in the afternoon.

 

Mother and I with many others were taken to Ellis Island where we had to remain for twenty-five days before we could get out. Finally on October 18, 1921 my oldest brother with my Uncle came for us. How happy I was to get out of that prison-like building.

 

Until Christmas holidays were over I stayed at home resting after the long trip across the ocean. On January 2, 1922 I went to Emerson School in Arlington. Not knowing a word of English, I was put in the fifth grade. It is hard to realize the situation that one falls into surrounded by girls and boys whose language one cannot understand.

 

After months of hard work on my part as well as that of my teachers, besides the great help received from my brothers, I obtained a fairly good knowledge of the language so that I did not look blank when any of my friends asked me a question.

 

Besides the language, the studies were quite different than I was accustomed to studying, but as soon as I began to understand the teacher’s instructions and able to read in English, everything was taken care of.

 

At this time I made friends with my classmates and received help from them in different ways which was very encouraging. Finally in February 1925 I graduated from Grammar School after three years of hard work between improving my speech and properly preparing my lessons.

 

With the idea of becoming a stenographer I signed up for a four year Commercial Course in High School. I have not, up to date, regretted it and am positive that I shall keep on liking it. So far I have studied many interesting subjects in High School. A great deal of credit is due to all my Teachers who made the work so interesting that I could not help but like it.

 

I have another term before I graduate from High School. Then I expect to go (in)to business and practice the knowledge that I acquired in High School.

 

Onnig MANOUKIAN

Abt. 1898 – 1983

Onnig, also spelled Onnik, was a chemist/successful businessman. He continued a paint company started by his father-in-law that is still operating and is a major provider of paint for large companies such as Ferrari. He had a love of Armenian architecture and helped fund a restoration of Armenian churches. He married a woman named Marucha and they had four children: sons Nuber, Armen, Acopiq and daughter Vergine.

 

Karnig MANOUKIAN

Hrant MANOUKIAN

Sebou MANOUKIAN

June 17, 1904 – November 1978

Sebou worked as a maitre d and was the jovial muse of his family and somewhat of a black sheep. He loved tap dancing and making people laugh. He was married, had one natural born son (Robert), divorced and remarried. His second wife, Verjine, had  daughters named Ruby and Sarah and a son.

 

Haig MANOUKIAN

Verjine MANOUKIAN Kassabian

Verjine married a man with the last name Kassabian. They had one daughter.

 

Generation 4

Alidz KALOUSDIAN / Alice LANIER

January 30, 1910 – October 18, 1988

Alice went to Hunter College in New York City. She taught English in a girls’ school and was fluent in French.

 

In My Own Words…A History by Alice LANIER

As a girl, Mom was a legendary beauty with curly black hair that fell to her hips. In her birthplace, Adana, she was educated by American missionaries who taught her English, French, Geography, Sewing, Piano, and the Bible – subjects not taught at the local grammar school. She wrote and delivered the graduation address for her class on the topic: “Japan, Fifty Years Ago and Now.”

 

Against the wishes of her parents, who wanted a wealthy husband for her, she chose an impecunious teacher of Armenian History and went on a hunger strike until they allowed her to marry him. Six months later, on a visit back to her parents’ home – Pop lived in Tarsus – she and Pop were caught in a Turkish massacre of Armenians. The whole family, including Grandfather (Nazareth), Grandmother (Prapion), (my) parents, uncles and aunts would have been put to the sword except for an unusual circumstance. Grandfather had once done a Turk a great favor that saved his life. He had offered himself to the ruling Pasha as a pledge that his friend would return. This man now came during the night with armed guards and Turkish clothes for the women and escorted our family to safety over the bodies of their neighbors.

 

When (my) grandparents moved to Cyprus, Pop found a position at the Bible House in Constantinople. I was born there in 1911 during a blizzard. The doctor who brought me into the world was a young Hungarian woman who later served with the Turkish army. During World War II she suffered such persecution because of her Jewish parentage that she went insane. I still wear the necklace she sent me when I was four.

 

Pop side passionately with the Allies, but was forced to enlist in the Turkish army in 1917. He caught typhus and would have died without Mom’s daily treks to the hospital, two hours on foot, to bring him milk and orange juice.

 

At 6:00 A.M. on October 10^th, 1920, a son, Vazken, was born. He was two when we emigrated to the United States, arriving on September 3, 1923. The money for our passage – $200 – was collected in change and dollar bills on three consecutive Sundays in a Presbyterian church in Boston by a missionary who had been Mom’s classmate. (It was a gift, not a loan).

 

Mom worked to support the family from the day we arrived. She altered dresses, made artificial flowers, sewed beaded bags in a factory. In her later years she developed a great interest in psychoanalysis and read widely about Freud, Reich and other therapists, as well as biographies, poetry, and current periodicals. During her seventies she kept a vocabulary list so that she might learn more.

 

Vazken KALOUSDIAN / Vincent LANIER

October 10, 1920 – August 31, 1997

Vazken “Vincent” was born in Constaninople, Turkey. He was a highly respected art professor teaching at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles (USC), the University of Oregon in Eugene and the University of Arizona in Tucson. He married Dorothy MAISEL in 1948 and they had three children: John, James and Margaret. Dorothy, or Dee, served in the military during the war and later taught art. She enjoys needlework and has created many beautiful pieces.

 

Lloyd SAMOUR

April 26, 1938 – October 1, 1992

Lloyd worked as an air traffic controller for Air France. He married Maureen CULLINAN on October 7, 1961 and they have two children: Suzanne and Andrew.

 

Allan Charles SAMOUR

May 1, 1937 –

Allan works as an engineer for the New Jersey Department of Transportation. He married Geraldine (Geri) BADER on June 5, 1965 and they had two children: Kimberly and Robert. They settled in Cranbury, New Jersey. Geri worked part time at the Peddie School and for a short time, was a co-owner in a sno-cone business.

 

Memories…by Helen Caccia SAMOUR

When Allan was about four years old, he found a hammer and a screwdriver which he used to punch holes into cans of peas and carrots about to be stocked on our store shelves. There were too many cans for us to eat by ourselves and we couldn’t sell them. So, Allan’s father poured the contents of each can into a big bowl and offered them free of charge to all customers that day.

 

Helene Marion SAMOUR Emrick

August 18, 1940 –

Influenced by her sixth grade teacher, Helene studied education at Trenton State College and Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), from which she graduated in 1962. During her sophomore year, she married W. Russell EMRICK, Jr. (see EMRICK Group) and moved with him to Paulsboro, New Jersey. A little over a year later, on September 15, 1960, she gave birth to her first child, son W. Russell III. Eighteen months later on February 13, 1962, she had her second child, daughter Helen Lynn. Both children attended Helene’s college graduation. 

 

After graduating from college, Helene became a grade school teacher at Edgewater Park Township Schools and the family moved to Edgewater Park, New Jersey. Later, she took a teaching position in Cinnaminson, New Jersey but returned to Edgewater Park Schools, where she taught Language Arts for 26 years. After the college graduation of her third child, Virginia, in 1990, Helene retired. Her restless nature lead her to a part time job at the Pinelands Branch of the Burlington County Library in Medford, New Jersey a few years after retiring. She worked at the library for a few years before becoming a substitute teacher in Lumberton and Mount Laurel schools.

 

Helene loves children, reading, arts & crafts and traveling. She also enjoys game shows and mysteries.

 

Memories…by Helen CACCIA Samour

One day when Helene was about three years old, we (father & mother) lost track of where she was. We searched and searched the house but couldn’t find her. She didn’t answer when we called her name and we were growing more and more worried. Finally, we noticed her doll sticking out from under the bed. When we looked under the bed, there she was…sound asleep.

 

Nuber MANOUKIAN

Armen MANOUKIAN

Acopiq MANOUKIAN

Verjine MANOUKIAN Casnati

Verjine married an Italian man by the last name of Casnati and they have a daughter named Gaiane.

 

Ruby Derdarian

Ruby married Nishan DERDARIAN and they have one son, Mark.

 

Generation 5

John M. LANIER

January 5, 1952 –

Fluent in Spanish, John teaches English as a second language. He also does proof-reading. He is currently living in Chicago.

 

 

 

Margaret Ann LANIER Lawton

February 20, 1958 –

Margaret, otherwise known as Peggy, married Blaine LAWTON and they have two children, Renee and William. Peggy is a nurse and Blaine is a dentist. They currently live in Tucson, Arizona.

 

James Steven LANIER

January 1, 1960 –

Like his parents, James is an art professor and currently teaches sculpting, graphics and photography. He has also taught computer graphic arts. He and his wife, Robin BROWN, have a son Vincent James.

 

Kimberly SAMOUR Keener

September 3, 1966 –

Kim studied hotel management and taught aerobics. In November 1989, she married Robert Walter KEENER. Kim manages her friend’s tanning salon and Robert works for the Post Office and helps with the salon. They have four children: Kevin, Nichole, Tara and Lauren.

 

Robert John SAMOUR

September 21, 1968 –

Rob followed in his father’s footsteps and became an engineer. He works in Phoenix for the State of Arizona. He studied Spanish in school and is fluent in the language. He is currently working on his doctorate at the University of Arizona in Phoenix, where he worked as a professor for a short time. He married Monica (Mony) Rose CASTRO on July 28, 1996 in San Luis Obispo, California and they have a daughter, Sienna Rose.

 

Suzanne SAMOUR

June 24, 1962 –

Suzanne work in fashion design for the Los Angeles Times.

 

Andrew John SAMOUR

April 4, 1965 –

Like his father, Andrew works in the airline industry as an air traffic controller. He married Maria CHARBENEAUX on November 19, 1994 and they have a daughter, Michelle Jacqueline.

 

Gaiane CASNATI

Gaiane, like her grandfather Onnig, is very much involved in Armenian architecture and restoring the historic churches of Armenia.

 

Mark DERDARIAN

 

Generation 6

Renee Ann LAWTON

November 29, 1987 –

Renee enjoys soccer and other sports. She is learning to play the flute and the piano. She also enjoys arts and crafts, such as needlework.

 

William Allan LAWTON

September 18, 1990 –

Like his sister, William enjoys soccer.

 

Kevin KEENER

Kevin wants to be a gym teacher.

 

Nichole KEENER

Nichole enjoys dance and writing.

 

Tara Lynne KEENER

November 9, 1990 –

Tara enjoys dance.

 

Lauren Elizabeth KEENER

May 2, 1992 –

Like her sister, Lauren enjoys taking dance classes.

 

Michelle Jacqueline SAMOUR

February 6, 1998 –

 

Vincent James LANIER

April 1, 1998 –

 

Sienna Rose SAMOUR

July 25, 1998 –