A memorial to the only Armenian to have served in the American Civil War
Philadelphia - With a donation of $10,000 from someone who wishes to remain anonymous at this time, the project for a khatchkar memorial for the only Armenian to have served in the American Civil War will go ahead, Sandra Selverian, president of the Philadelphia Armenian-American Veterans Association (PAAVA), has announced.
A final appeal is underway for more donations so as to underwrite perpetual care for the gravesite, Ms. Selverian added.
Khachadour Garabedian was born near Constantinople and came to Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1850s, where he worked as a machinist, and became an American citizen. He enlisted in the Union Navy during the Civil War, and held what was then officer rank. He served aboard two ships engaged in the blockade of Southern ports - first along the Atlantic Coast and later in the Gulf of Mexico. He was discharged in Philadelphia in August 1865 and remained here, thus becoming the first Armenian in the city. He married into a prominent Philadelphia family, and died in 1881. There were no children.
He is buried in Fernwood Cemetery in southwest Philadelphia.
Mr. Garabedian was "discovered" by chance by Gary Kooltokian of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, who uncovered Garabedian's early years in America. His researches reached Philadelphia, and the rest of Garabedian's story was developed here.
"The reason we needed a gravestone for Garabedian," said Paul Sookiasian, who did extensive research on Garabedian's life, "is that the original stone disintegrated in the 1950s and his grave is without a marker. We thought that a traditional khatchkar would be ideal replacement." Mr. Sookiasian brought the Garabedian story to PAAVA, which readily agreed to undertake a fund-raising drive for the monument.
The 10-year-old PAAVA is composed of veterans from the tri-state Philadelphia area as well as former Philadelphians who want to retain their ties with the area. At its peak, it had more than 420 members, and it enjoys the support of all five churches in the area, members from which serve on PAAVA's board.
A final appeal is underway for more donations so as to underwrite perpetual care for the gravesite, Ms. Selverian added.
Khachadour Garabedian was born near Constantinople and came to Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1850s, where he worked as a machinist, and became an American citizen. He enlisted in the Union Navy during the Civil War, and held what was then officer rank. He served aboard two ships engaged in the blockade of Southern ports - first along the Atlantic Coast and later in the Gulf of Mexico. He was discharged in Philadelphia in August 1865 and remained here, thus becoming the first Armenian in the city. He married into a prominent Philadelphia family, and died in 1881. There were no children.
He is buried in Fernwood Cemetery in southwest Philadelphia.
Mr. Garabedian was "discovered" by chance by Gary Kooltokian of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, who uncovered Garabedian's early years in America. His researches reached Philadelphia, and the rest of Garabedian's story was developed here.
"The reason we needed a gravestone for Garabedian," said Paul Sookiasian, who did extensive research on Garabedian's life, "is that the original stone disintegrated in the 1950s and his grave is without a marker. We thought that a traditional khatchkar would be ideal replacement." Mr. Sookiasian brought the Garabedian story to PAAVA, which readily agreed to undertake a fund-raising drive for the monument.
The 10-year-old PAAVA is composed of veterans from the tri-state Philadelphia area as well as former Philadelphians who want to retain their ties with the area. At its peak, it had more than 420 members, and it enjoys the support of all five churches in the area, members from which serve on PAAVA's board.