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Introduction
Acknowledgements
Armenian Census Calcutta 1846
Armenian/Indian research publications
Armenians, Colonies & Churches in India
Armenian Graves In India
Armenian Graves in Hong Kong
Armenian Graves in the UK
Armenian Graves in Singapore and Malaysia
Armenian Graves in Australia
Graves at Lower Circular Road - Other Graves
Graves at the Roman Catholic Church, Calcutta
Historical Snippets
Surnames Directly Linked to my Family
My Direct Chater Ancestors
Chater's unrelated to my family
My Chater Family Bible
Part Index of the names at the IOR
The Andaman Island Photographs
Wills
Lady Chater
My Visit to Damascus
How armtown.com reported it
Article on Sir Paul Chater Hong Kong Standard May 2007.
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A Roman Catholic cemetery wouldn't be your first
port of call if you were looking for Armenian graves. However, in "Some
Eighteenth Century Armenian Graves in Calcutta" by Mesrovb J. Seth (which,
incidentally are not in his book "Armenians in India"), he researched and
annotated the follow.
In the historic Roman Catholic Church1
commonly
known as the Murgihatta Church, in Portuguese Church Street, (off
Canning Street) where the English worshipped for some time, after the
destruction of the Church of St. Anne, during the Sack of Calcutta, by Nawab
Suraj-ud-dowlah in June 1756, there are some old Armenian Graves, with beautiful
marble tombstones bearing the inscriptions, carved in raised letters, in
Armenian and Latin.
As very few persons know of the existence of these old graves that have stood
the ravages of time and the elements for 200 years, in a damp place like
Calcutta, they are published here, with biographical notes, for the information
of lovers of old Calcutta. They may also prove of some interest in the Indian
Epigraphical Department.
1
Hic Armenus Leo nomine dictus at quem mors ipsa facta Leo Nazareth patri
meo Persaeque patriae meae tollere non parcit, annos sexaginta natus sacramentis
munitus jacao appositus ad patres. Lector aliorum fata meditans disce vita
fungi; sic namque totum geritur recte negotium, Anno 1734.
Translation of (1) above.
Here, joined to my ancestors, lie I, called Leo, an Armenian aged sixty years.
Death, itself a lion, has not hesitated to tear me away from my father Nazareth
and from Persia, my fatherland. Readey(?), learn how to make a proper use of
life by meditating on the fate of others. Thus will the business of life be
carried on rightly. In the year 1734.
2
Hic jacet Sarkis de Agavally, natione Armenianus in Persia natus qui
ætatis suae annum 48 attingens in pace quescit die 7 Februarii anno Christi
1736.
Translation of (2) above
Here lies Sarkis de Agavally2 an Armenian, born in Persia, who sent to a peaceful rest in the 48th
year of his age, on the 7th February, in the year of Christ. 1736.
There is also an inscription of 4 lines in ancient Armenian.
3
Tristes hic jacent exuviae Emmanualis Sarhatte natione Armeni; ex
illustri Xerimanorum stripe in Persia oriundi sed vera fide (quam ad obitum
usque integer servavit) magis laudandi; licet ætatis flore, viggessimo acilicet
octavo raptus fuerit, attamen consummatus in brevi explevit tempora multa;
placita enim erat Deo anima illusi, propter hoc properavit educere illum de
medio iniquitatum; æternitatis laurea cum coranatus mortem oppetiit die nona
Martii 1738.
Translation of (3) above
Here lie the remains of Emmanuel Sarhatte, an Armenian born in Persia, from the
illustrious family of the Xerimani; but he is deserving of greater praise for
his steadfastness unto death in the true faith. Although carried off in the
flower of youth, i.e., in his 28th year, he being made perfect in a
short space, fulfilled a long time, for his soul pleased God, therefore he
hastened to bring him out of the midst of iniquities. Crowned with the laurel
of eternity, he died on the 9th of March, 1738.
There is also an inscription of 8 lines in ancient Armenian in which Sarhatte,
or Sarhad, is stated to be the son of Emmanuel, or Manuel Xerimani, which in the
Armenian, is called Shahriman.
4
Hic Jacet Petrus Armenius et Catholicus qui en patre nomine Izakan in
Persida natus vitam finivit in Colcutta die 23 Octobris Aerae Christianae 1742
annum aetatis suae 50 attingens.
Translation of (4) above
Here lies Peter, an Armenian and a Catholic, born in Persia; the name of his
father is Izakan. He died in Calcutta on the 23rd of October, A.D.,
1742, in the 50th year of his age.
There is also an inscription of 3 lines in ancient Armenian, in which the name
is given as Isakhan.
5
Here lyeth interred the body of Satur de Azarmal, son to Azarmal3 of the Armenian nation, born in the province of Julfa, in Persia, and of the
Roman Catholic religion, aged 45 years, who departed this life on the 13th
of May 1746.
There are no inscriptions, either in Latin or Armenian.
6
Hic jacet corpus Ignacii Isaac de Sauquic Armenus natione naturalis ex
Persia oriundus ex civitate Julfa, diem Supremum obit die trigessima mensis Maii
Anno Domini 1746.
Translation of (6) above
Here lies the body of Ignatius Isaac de Saquic, an Armenian, born in Persia, in
the city of Julfa. He died on the 30th of May A.D. 1746.
There is an inscription of 4 lines in ancient Armenian, in which the name of the
deceased is given as Minas, the son of Sahak, of the family of Dzakik.
7
In isto tumulo jacet corpus defuncti Zacaria Xerimani natione Armeni
(Mercator) diem supremum obit Colicatæ die 26 Novemberis, Anno 1754.
Translation of (7) above
In this tomb lies the body of the deceased Zacaria Xerimani, an Armenian
merchant. He died at Calcutta on the 26th November in the year 1754.
8
In isto tumulo jacet corpus defuncti Philipi Xerimani, natione Armeni
(Mercator) diem supremum obit Colicatæ die 27 Octobris Anno 1755.
Translation of (8) above
In this tomb lies the body of the deceased Philip Xerimani, an Armenian
merchant. He died at Calcutta on the 27th day of October, 1755.
There is also an inscription of 6 lines in ancient Armenian.
9
Hic jacet Joseph Bacarum Xerimani natione Armenius, obit die XI Juni,
Anno Domini MDCCLXIII.
Translation of (9) above
Here lies Joseph Bacarum Xerimani, an Armenian. He died on the 11th
of June 1763.
There is an inscription of 8 lines in ancient Armenian in which Joseph the son
of Bagram of the noble family of the Sharimans, born at Julfa, in Ispahan, is
called a “devout” person.
10
Hic jacet Zacharias Bacarum Xerimani natione Armenius, obit die
vigresimma septima Novembria, Anno Domini, MDCCLXIV.
Translation of (10) above
Here lies Zacharia Bacarum Xerimani, an Armenian. He died on the 27th
November, A.D. 1764.
There is an inscription of 7 lines in ancient Armenian, in which Zacharia, the
son of Bagram of the noble family of the Sharimans, born in Julfa, in Ispahan,
is called a “devout” person, like his brother Joseph.
Zacharia Bagram Shariman was the brother of Joseph Bagram Shariman (No.9
above). Both the brothers are buried next to each other, having similar
tombstones, carved with raised inscriptions and floral decorations of the same
style, without any difference, with the exception of the Christian names. These
two brothers were great patrons of Armenian letters and learning and between the
two, they bore all the expenses of the printing of the monumental History of
Armenia, in three big volumes, by Father Michael Chamchian of the learned
Mechitharist Society of Venice, a religious order founded by the Armenian monk,
Mekhithar, in 17091, for the preservation and advancement of the ancient
language and culture of Armenia, which had fallen into deplorable decay, through
ages of persecution of the Armenian race at the hands of the cruel Tartars, the
Turks and the Persians, in the land, where, in the words of Byron, “God created
man in His own image”.
11
Acuiesta sepultado ocorpo de Gabriel Joannes nacas Armenio de idade
LXVIII an Sonoual iadecaoa XI dei anetroanio Dominio MDCCLXXXII.
Above the Portuguese inscription, which is carved in a very poor and inartistic
style, there is a beautiful inscription of 13 lines in ancient Armenian, from
which it appears that the deceased Gabriel, of the noble family of Johannes, was
a devout, good and just person of irreproachable character, humble and chaste.
12
Hic jacet Georgius Johannis Drascoelu nationis Graecus ex Phillippopolis.
Anno Domini MDCCXXIII die XX Augusti.
Translation of (12) above
Here lies George John Drascoelu of Greek Descent, born in Phillippopolis. A.D.
1728, on the 20th August.
There is yet the tombstone of another Greek, one Nicholas Christianitza, a
native of Transilvania, “a man of sincere faith in God and upright in his
dealings with mean” who died on the 17th August, 1713, according to
the Latin inscription on his tombstone.
It
may be mentioned that the oldest tombstone in that Church is to the
memory of one Maria Tench, the daughter of Edward and Margaret Tench who died at
the age of twelve, on the 9th April 1712, Mrs. Margaret Tench, the
mother of the girl was the founder of the Chapel erectedin 1700, as stated in
the beginning of this article. The Shahrimans, or the Xerimani as they are
called in the Latin inscrptions, belonged to an aristocratic Armenian family of
the Roman Catholic faith. The ancestor of the family came from Julfa on the
Aras, in south Armenia, and settle at Ispahan in 1605.
They were eminent merchants and great bankers who carried on an extensive trade
with India, Italy, Austria and Russia. Some members of the family lived and
died at Calcutta, Madras and Surat. For the valuable services rendered by the
Shahrimans to the Catholic cause in Persia, by reason of their great influence
at the Persian Court, they were created Counts of the holy Austrian Empire by
the Emperor Leopold on the 23rd June 1699.
One Count Pogose (Paul) Shahriman, who rose to be a commander of the Imperiod
Austrian army, was presented with a gold cross by the renowned Empress Maria
Theresa, for his valour and bravery in the Military service of the Austrian
Empire. Another member of that illustrious family, Count Emmanuel Shahriman,
was the Ambassador of Persia at the Russian Court. One of the sons of the
Ambassador, Count Johanness Shahriman, died at Madras in 1791, and another
member of the same family, also Count Johanness Shahriman died at Madras in
1848, and was allowed to be buried in the Armenian churchyard of that city,
although a Roman Catholic, thanks to the toleration of the holy Apostolic Church
of Armenia.
There lives at Madras a lineal descendant of the Shahriman Counts, who resided
and died in that city during the 18th and 19th centuries,
as stated above. This last representative of the illustrious Shahriman
family in India, is a Government pensioner, having retired from the Telegraph
service. He is attending the orthodox Armenian Church at Madras and in his old
age, is learning the language of his ancestors. A praiseworthy zeal indeed,
would [be] that some of the Anglicised Armenians in India followed his noble
example.
Mesrovb J. Seth M.R.A.S., F.R.H.S.
No. 9 Marsden Street
Calcutta
Calcutta 1938.
1
The church, which was a
small chapel at first, was erected in 1700, at the expense of a devout
Catholic lady of Calcutta, a Mrs. Margaret Tench, whose only daughter,
Maria Tench, was interred there in 1712. The Portuguese community
having grown in numbers, the chapel was extended in 1720 at the expense
of another devout Portuguese lady of Calcutta, a Mrs. Sabastian Shau,
who died in 1725 and was interred in the church where her grave can be
seen to this day. In 1797, the church was demolished and on its site,
the present beautiful church was erected by public subscriptions. It
was consecrated on the 27th November 1799, and dedicated to
the Bless Virgin Mary.
There was an
eminent Armenian merchant at Madras, Sarkis Satoor de Agavally by name,
born at Basra in 1745, died on the 16th November 1812, and
was interred in the churchyard of that city. He was a patron of
Armenian learning and had established a printing press at Madras in 1809
for publishing books in the ancient language of Armenia for which there
was a great demand amongst the Armenian colonists in India and the
East. The press, after printing some important works, was closed down
immediately after the death of the owner, in 1812. (See Madras, the
Birth place of Armenian Journalism P.11 by the present writer M.J.
Seth).
3 Azarmal is a corrupt form
of Hazarmall. The Hazarmalls were a wealthy Armenian family of Calcutta
during the first half of the 18th Century. A pious member of
that family, Agah Manuel Hazarmall, erected in 1734, the beautiful
belfry of the Armenian Church at Calcutta, on which rests the handsome
English clock presented by Agah Catchick Arakiel, a prominent member of
the Armenian community of Calcutta in 1790.
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