Stepan Motian

Stephen Motian

b. 1881 Malatya, Turkey d. 1953 Providence, RI

Growing up, my Grandfather was always a bit of a mystery man.  He died ten years before I was born when my Mother was still a teenager.  He was 20 years older than my Grandmother.  In a bit of scandel, he was paid to go to Cuba and marry her in 1929.  It had become much harder to come to the USA after 1924 when quotas were imposed for immigrants, depending upon the country from which you came. The deal was that they would get divorced asap so that my Great Grandfather could find her a proper husband.  Of course, they decided they liked each other, and stayed married.  He had a reputation as a gambler and a womanizer.  The family grew up poor, struggling through the Depression.

Through the easily accesable internet world of genealogy, I have researched the facts of my Grandfather's life.  The facts do not always support the family stories. The history is obscure.  But I do feel that I know my Grandfather a little better.

My grandfather came to the USA from Turkey before the Genocide.  His mother had died and his father remarried.  His father was about to give his new wife his first wife's jewelry.  Stephen, a teenager at the time, was unhappy with this, stole the jewelry and made his way to America by selling the jewelry.  I wondered, was this story true?

I traced Stephen's journey with ship and census records.  Stephen arrived at Ellis Island in 1901 on the La Bretagne which sailed from La Havre, France. He was 20 years old.  His last residence was Larnaca, Cyprus (then part of the Ottoman Empire but under English control).  His occupation was listed as shoemaker!  Surprisingly, he could read and write English.  He was going to his Uncle at 422 Washington St.  Providence, RI.  I had thought that my Grandfather was the first member of his family to come to the USA.

On the same boat was Katchador Harpootian, Stephen's future uncle-in-law. My Grandmother had said that although her family and Stephen's family were both from Malatya, the families didn't know each other in Turkey.  Katchador was going to his cousin Hagop Simonian, a blacksmith in Worcester, MA. Hagop was also on the boat, but had lived in the USA since 1890. Katchador’s occupation was laborer and his last residence is also Larnaca, Cyprus.

In the next post, I'll talk about what I found at 422 Washington St!