Identity(ies) is the newest section of our site’s Open Digital Archive (ODA). Here, we will present to our readers various original documents preserved by Armenian families from around the world (identification papers, school diplomas, passports, property deeds, travel permits or tickets, baptismal and marriage certificates, etc.)
 
All documents featured on this page belonged to Armenians who lived in the Ottoman Empire. These individuals were forced to leave their native cities and villages for various reasons (mostly to escape violence) and started new lives in foreign lands. Their wanderings outside of the Ottoman Empire were often prolonged, and they frequently possessed only semi-official documents (such as refugee identification papers or passports issued by the non-existent Republic of Armenia) before receiving citizenship from the countries in which they found refuge.
 
The documents presented here tell the story of these Armenians’ journeys and the variety of identification documents they possessed.
 
Using the cursor, hover over the term “Identity(ies)” that appears in the column on the left of the main ODA page. A box will immediately open to the right, with a list of seven families. Click on any of the names to access the page dedicated to the documents belonging to the respective family. In the future, we will continue adding additional pages dedicated to additional families.
 
Link to the new page: https://www.houshamadyan.org/oda/identityies.html
 
Links to specific family collections:
 
https://www.houshamadyan.org/en/oda/identityies/apartiankaramanian-family-athens.html
https://www.houshamadyan.org/en/oda/identityies/babigian-family-los-angeles.html
https://www.houshamadyan.org/oda/identityies/derouniangemiksizianmadjarian-beirut.html
https://www.houshamadyan.org/oda/identityies/goshgariancalusdian-family-falmouth-ma.html
https://www.houshamadyan.org/en/oda/identityies/kitabdjianmatosian-family-los-angeles.html
https://www.houshamadyan.org/en/oda/identityies/kibarian-family-paris.html
https://www.houshamadyan.org/en/oda/identityies/parigiankaprielian-usa.html

 

 

We would like to thank all who participated in the preparation of this new page. Specifically, we would like to express our gratitude to one individual who did not wish to be named.

The article was translated into Turkish by Arlet İncidüzen.