August 2021
Written by Shant Dadourian, Manhasset NY
My great grandfather, Dadour Dadourian, was born in 1905 in Gurin, Turkey. The Armenian genocide started when he was 10 years old when his father, Alexander, and all the men and boys in his village were taken by the Turks and killed. Only Dadour, his grandmother, step mother and baby brother survived. Dadour survived by fooling the Turks and dressing up as a girl. Everyone else in his family was killed including seven brothers and sisters.
Dadour, his grandmother, step mother and baby brother were forced to march through the desert to Der Zor, a town in Syria, along with thousands of other Armenians, most of whom were women and children. Sadly, his brother and step mother did not survive the long, deadly journey. After many days and miles of marching, Dadour and his grandmother managed to escape and made their way back to Gurin where Dadour vowed to avenge his families’ deaths and fight the Turks.
By 1919 it became very clear to them that it was no longer safe in Gurin, so Dadour and his grandmother managed to travel to Constantople in hopes of finding some surviving relatives.
Unbeknownst to Dadour, he had two uncles, Harry and Dikran, who had emigrated to America, gained citizenship and lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When they learned that Dadour and his Grandmother were alive, Harry was sent to Costantople to find and bring them to America, along with other surviving members of his family. Unfortunately, Dadour was not interested in getting on the ship to America but rather to hunt down and kill Turks so when Harry found them, Dadour ran away. Sadly, Harry left Constantinople empty handed.
Dikran refused to give up trying to find his relatives so in 1920 he sent Harry back to Constantinople to find Dadour and his grandmother. Fortunately, Dadour cooperated with Harry and he and his Grandmother left Constantople to begin their new lives in America.
Once in Cambridge Dadour lived with his Uncle Dickran and attended the Boston School of Commerce from 1920 to 1924. Following graduation he moved to New York City and in 1932 married Elise Salibian of Beirut, Lebanon. Dadour and Elise had four sons who all worked in the family business.
Dadour learned the export business from his uncles, Dikran and Harry. Along with his close friend, Artin Aslanian, and cousin, Poozant Piranian, Dadour established the Dadourian Export Corporation, which exported used clothing to the Middle East, India and Asia. They also invested in real estate on the Lower East Side, including Chinatown.
Dadour used his entrepreneurial skills he developed in business to help build and support the Armenian community in the United States. He was constantly donating and fundraising for Armenian causes, never taking “no” for an answer. This included St.
Vartan Armenian Cathedral in New York City, which was one of the first Armenian cathedrals in North America, as well as establishing other parishes such as Holy Martyrs Armenian Church in Queens, New York and St. Mary’s Armenian Church in New Jersey.
Dadour helped develop the St. Nersess Seminary in New Rochelle, New York, which was the first Armenian seminary in the US. Dadour started Dadourian Sans, an organization for orphaned Armenian children from Turkey, bringing them to Jerusalem to be educated. In 1960 Dadour received the Medal of St. Gregory, the highest honor given to an Armenian layman, for his service to the church and community. He also founded the Armenian Endowment Fund.
He supported the Holy Martyrs Day School along with his second wife, Sara, who was the principal.
In addition to 4 sons Dadour and Elise also had 11 grandchildren. Dadour died in 1990 at the age of 85.