 |
For me, the exercise is akin to time-travel. I've identified great grandparents and cousins who've witnessed the formation of the American republic and its relentless expansion westward; the Civil War, the Gilded Age, the sinking of Titanic, the 1929 Crash, and Germany's invasion of Poland-- even one cousin who inhabited the White House. This may seem academic to some, but if you've a vivid imagination like me, it's a remarkable experience.
And so, I've combined hardcopy research and family-bible records with internet queries, and have created a sizable database. Here's a quick overview:
|
Above is a photo of my grandfather, Haig Nigsarian (1900-1975).
In short, the surname, "Nigsarian," is Armenian. It's most difficult to reconstruct first-world genealogies from Indo-Europe, due to the invasions, disasters and general mayhem that played hell with local record-keeping in the past two centuries. As a result, I can reconstruct the lineage of my surname only back to my great-grandfather, Stephen Nigsarian, born about 1870 in Western Armenia. My father, Vahe, was born in Detroit, MI, in 1932. His parents, Haig and Satenig, were Ellis Island immigrants from Turkish Armenia. They fled at the time of the Genocide, just preceding WWI, when Ottoman Turks massacred over one million Armenians in order to ethnically purify Christian Armenia for Islamic settlers. (My grandmother's sister, Veronica Yagoobian, was executed by the Turks in 1915.) Like hundreds of thousands of the diaspora, my paternal ancestors fled their homeland during the Genocide and landed at America to begin their lives anew. Haig Nigsarian eventually took his family west, from New York, to Detroit, to the Los Angeles area. In Glendale, he opened "The Bucket," a hamburger restaurant of some renown among Occidental College students, and prospered there until his death in 1972. My grandmother, Satenig Yagoobian,
passed away, at the age of 96, on July 21, 1998, in Glendale.
Surnames related to my paternal lineage are as follows:Albian, Hougasian, Kanzadian, Kazie, Tillary, Neilson, Toupazian and Zettlemeyer.
 |
Above is a photo of my mother, Carol Dess Scrutchfield, born in 1934. She was a concert harpist, having played with the Pasadena Civic Symphony, therefore the instrument beside her.
On the maternal side, my ancestors came from the sturdy stock that founded the nation and settled the continent. DAR members abound, and distant ancestors Alexander Allison and Capt. John Carroll fought in the Revolutionary War. Their descendants fought in virtually every major American conflict that followed. My grandfather descended from English and Scots-Irish stock. His mother, a Rubey, descended from French Huguenot stock. Ancestors on this side moved west from Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, inhabiting Kentucky, Tennessee, and with the Scrutchfield line, Missouri. My mother is, obviously, the link to the pioneer Scrutchfield family which settled Macon, MO, and parts of Illinois, where the "Scrutchfield Prarie" remains-- although the common Illinois ancestor has yet to be found. The name, "Scrutchfield", is apparently derived from middle-English, meaning, very roughly, "cross in the field.") Additionally, I've just located new information regarding my maternal grandmother, Rose Engleman, and the lineage of her mother's name, Cozatt. I haven't yet absorbed this data, but I'll surely include any interesting abstracts here, very soon. For now, it can be said that all these folks were among those who built the first schools and roads, plowed the first fields and established the local governments of the American heartland.
Of anecdotal interest, the family motto of the Rubey family is, "Love dieth Not and Ceaseth Not with Death." A most serious thought, indeed.
 |
Of significant interest is a link which I've just discovered, as of November, 1998, that connects the Carroll and Rubey family (and hence, myself) to the seventh US president, Andrew Jackson.
It seems that Old Hickory's mother had five sisters, one of which (Mary) married John Lesslie and had six daughters. One of these daughters (Margaret) married my Gx7 grandfather, Samuel Carroll. This somewhat convoluted,
but nonetheless distinct, lineage makes Jackson my eighth cousin.
Following, finally, is a list of surnames related to my maternal lineage. Anyone conceivably interested in abstracts, GEDCOM files or further information, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Primary names are:
Scrutchfield, Engleman, Cozatt, Rubey, Carroll and Allison. Other names, more greatly removed, both in and outside my bloodline, are:Abbott, Akers, Aldrich, Allen, Anderson, Barcher, Bartholomew, Bartlett, Batsch, Beadles, Bell, Berry, Batthauser, Bishop, Bone, Bradshaw, Brinkmeier, Brown, Brooks, Buckley, Burmester, Burns, Burton, Campbell, Capp, Carson, Carter, Cary, Chapman, Cline, Collins, Cook, Copeland, Coulter, Cox, Crowe, Cummins, Davis, Dillon, Dixon, Dodson, Duckwall, Dudrey, Durstin, English, Epperson, Evans, Ewing, Foley, Goodding, Guinn, Hall, Hampton, Hancher, Hayes, Head, Henderson, Howard, Hurr, Hutchins, Hutchinson, Hutton, Johnson, Jones, Jurden, Keenan, King, Kinkade, Lawrence, Lesslie, Lewis, Love, Maggee, Maloy, Marsh, Martin, Mason, Matney, McCully, McMullin, Meeker, Merryman, Milam, Miller, Mitchell, Norman, Painter, Pope, Reynolds, Routt, Royal, Ryals, Sandt, Shedrick, Sherrin, Smith, Snow, Sponsel, Stator, Sturgeon, Swaney, Taylor, Thayer, Thomas, Thompson, Turner, Wagner, Walker, Wheatley, Whiteside, Wilkerson, Wisdom and Woodward.Return for future revelations, whether they link me to syphilitic sociopaths or European Kings.