lizchater

Thank you once again for sharing this latest article on Armenian heritage in Bangladesh. For anyone interested (and if you've got the reading stamina) you can see the full unedited version of this story on the website. http://armenianchurchbangladesh.com/spotlight-on-the-community/stephen-family/

Thank you once again for sharing this article.

Thank you so much for sharing this article and your kind words regarding my research efforts. If anyone has Armenian connections to the community in Bangladesh, please do get in touch with me. It would be good to include as many people and their stories as possible in the Bangladesh Armenian Heritage Project.

Moses Here is the google maps link to the Hong Kong Cemetery http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=hong+kong+cemetery&rlz=1R2GGHP_en-GBGB414&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1097&bih=561&wrapid=tlif133305058139910&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=5rx0T7S_NuGx0AXcmYkZ&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=3&ved=0CBAQ_AUoAg There is no Armenian Church in Hong Kong, but there is a small community. Email me and I'll give you a contact name. Liz

Dear Louise thank you for your reply. Yes, there are many Armenian graves still in India. Most of the old graves are in Kolkata and the surrounding area, but Armenian graves can still be seen in Chennai (Madras), Mumbai (Bombay), Saidabad, Surat, Chinsurah, Agra and other smaller towns and cities in India. I have looked on your forum to see where you have put the information but I cannot find it, so I am replying here. best wishes Liz Chater

You're welcome

Apologies. Apparently the link did not post on my original message. Hopefully this link will take you to the book. http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/2277738 regards Liz

Dear viewers, I hope it is not too much of a liberty, but since it has been a forum topic in the past, I thought you might be interested to know that I have now completed my book which records all the Armenian Graves and Inscriptions in Dhaka in Bangladesh. “Armenian Graves, Inscriptions and Memorials in India – DACCA – 1722-1977”. It contains in excess of 160 full colour photographs of all the remaining graves at the Armenian Church Dhaka (Dacca, previously in Bengal but now in Bangladesh). In addition, I have included over 25 individual family tree charts that relate directly to those Armenians buried in Dhaka. These charts have been drawn up from my own research of the Armenian community’s existence there between the 18th and 20th centuries. I have also uniquely cross-referenced the grave inscriptions with the original Armenian Church death register entries and where possible, I have also included important factual information from those registers. All transcriptions and register entries that are written in Armenian have been expertly translated into English, the majority of which have been completed by the very Reverend Fr. Krikor Maksoudian, to further help the Armenian family history researchers around the world who may have a South East Asia genealogy connection. The book is published by Chater Genealogy Publishing through a self-publishing print-on-demand online website www.blurb.com. The direct link to purchase the book is: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2277738 Please note that due to the print-on-demand conditions of the website, I am not able to take orders for the book directly. To obtain a copy please use the above direct link.

Dear Arpa, Thank you for your kind words. In this instance Chater is the anglicsed version of the Armenian name "Astvatsatoorian". In colonial India official records indicate it was shortened to Satoor, then Chatoor then Chater, so there is no French in this particular Chater, but I have met Chater's who are of French decendency. Sadly, I do not speak Hindi, but the sentiment is greatly appreciated Arpa. best wishes Liz

Hi thought your readers might be interested in the latest presentation I have done on Sir Paul Chater and Armenian Genealogy. NEWS RELEASE 21st February 2011 Sir Catchick Paul Chater and Armenian Genealogy Presentation in London By Liz Chater Liz Chater, a UK based family history researcher specialising in Armenians in India and the Far East, was invited by the Centre for Armenian Information and Advice (CAIA) Acton, London http://www.caia.org.uk to participate in their annual programme of Armenian Cultural awareness taking place during February and March of this year. The programme commenced on Sunday 20th February, and Liz began the session by speaking about Sir Catchick Paul Chater, an Armenian born in Calcutta, but whose life was spent in Hong Kong. She spoke about his early life, his family and his life’s work in Hong Kong. Liz also showed a short documentary film on Sir Paul Chater which was made in 2005 by the Armenian Church, Kolkata and ended with an interesting and lively question and answer session from the participants who attended. The second half of the programme was dedicated to Armenian family history and how to use the sources and resources of the internet to successfully trace ancestors. Through a PowerPoint presentation Liz showed how the many genealogy based websites on the internet enable the new researcher to look for information with comparative ease. This was a fantastic and friendly interactive session where Liz encouraged questions from members of the participating group who were eager to explore the resources brought to their attention by her. Many of them were surprised at the depth and breadth of the details available. Supplementing the presentation Liz also brought along a variety of documents she has acquired as part of her own research of Armenians in India. Of particular interest was an example of one of the earliest Armenian Wills she has which is dated 1761 and she explained how important genealogical information can be obtained from such documents. Misak Ohanian Chief Executive Officer and organiser of the cultural programme at CAIA thanked Liz for presenting such a diverse range of information in the short space of time available and hoped that she would return to do a second presentation at a future date. As part of Liz’s research on the Armenians of India and the Far East, she recently added to her website a slideshow which presents all the old Armenian churches that once had a flourishing community in Asia, this can be viewed at http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/emcjnd/. Liz Chater is an unsupported and unfunded family history researcher specialising in Armenians in India. Liz is currently without a sponsor to enable her to continue and complete her research and publish it. She would be delighted to hear from anyone willing to consider sponsorship of the continuation of her research. Further information can be obtained from Liz at liz@chater-genealogy.com or her website www.chater-genealogy.com. ENDS

Hello, I wonder if anyone can help do a translation of this old Armenian tombstone please? Here's hoping someone can help. many thanks Liz

Hello all, I wonder if I could ask any of you to help please? I still have several hundred photos of Armenians graves in India untranslated. Although I am deeply grateful to all those who have helped in the past, I really need to be able make my progress on the project a great deal more swift. Therefore I wonder if I could impose upon your time and ask if any of you could possibly help/volunteer to translate the graves for me please? I would of course give you due recogntition and acknowledgement on my website for any assistance given. I have large high resolution pictures which probably wouldnt be accepted here on this forum, (some of the pictures will need serious close up inspection, hence the high resolution) so if anyone is able to offer assistance, please email me [brio1 at tinyworld. co. uk - email broken up to try and avoid spammers] and I can send you the pictures directly. Many thanks for your time on my request. best wishes Liz Chater

Hi Thanks for picking up on the article, and placing it here, it is nice to know that people are interested. best wishes Liz

Hi everyone I have just come back from Syria where I gave a short presentation in Aleppo on the life and work of Sir Catchick Paul Chater. Here is my press release for those who are interested. Liz Chater, a UK based family history researcher specialising in Armenians in India and the Far East, was in Aleppo, Syria on Sunday 28th February. At the kind invitation of Hagop Mikalyelian she gave a talk on Sir Catchick Paul Chater. The short presentation took place at the AGBU Club (Armenian General Benevolent Union) where she was given a very warm welcome. Liz talked about Sir Paul Chater, an Armenian born in Calcutta, but whose life was spent in Hong Kong. She spoke about his early life, his family and his life’s work in Hong Kong. Liz also showed a short documentary film on Sir Paul Chater which was made in 2005 by the Armenian Church, Kolkata and ended with an interesting and varied question and answer session from the participants who attended. Whilst in Syria Liz also spent time in Damascus. In addition to her commitment to help families researching their Armenian ancestry, she is also a volunteer for The War Graves Photographic Project www.twgpp.org whose aim is to photograph in excess of 1.75 million graves or memorials from Commonwealth Nations and many from other military forces and locations around the world. It is a joint venture run with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission http://www.cwgc.org/. Liz took the opportunity to spend some time photographing all of the Commonwealth War Graves in Damascus. She has already contributed photographs of war graves from India and Afghanistan and she fully understands that sometimes it is often the photographs of the graves that can give some comfort to the families of lost loved ones. As part of Liz’s research on the Armenians of India and the Far East, she recently added to her website a slideshow which presents all the old Armenian churches that once had a flourishing community in Asia, this can be viewed at http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/emcjnd/. Liz Chater is an unsupported and unfunded family history researcher specialising in Armenians in India. Liz is currently without a sponsor to enable her to continue and complete her research and publish it. She would be delighted to hear from anyone willing to consider sponsorship of the continuation of her research. Further information can be obtained from Liz at liz@chater-genealogy.com or her website http://www.chater-genealogy.com. ENDS