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Assyrian Oral Histories collection
ASSYR-OH.001.CaTurCSU
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Contributing Institution:
California State University Stanislaus Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Assyrian Oral Histories collection
source:
Backus, Nina (born 1906)
source:
Badal, Ludia (born 1907)
source:
Bourang, Jerusha
source:
Durna, Elia (born 1906)
source:
Elia, Mary Jim (born 1915)
source:
Elias, Jesse Youkhana (born 1907)
source:
George, Abram (born 1908)
source:
Gouryagous, David (born 1910)
Creator:
Ishaya, Arianne, Dr.
source:
Israel, John (born 1910)
source:
Jackson, Sarah (born 1914)
source:
Jacobs, Walter (born 1909)
source:
Jacobs, Florence (born 1920)
source:
James, Jerome (born 1904)
source:
Jones, Alfi (born 1904)
source:
Joseph, Aprim (born 1892)
source:
Joseph, Martha (born 1907)
source:
Khoubyar, Arby (born 1907)
source:
Khoubyar, Nina
source:
Mirza, Joel (Yoel) (born 1896)
source:
Oushana, Maryam (born 1912)
source:
Paul, Yonatan
source:
Rustam , Rabcca (1898)
source:
Sarguis, Regina
source:
Sarguiss, Maghdeleta (born 1913)
source:
Sarquis, Khat Shalim (born 1896)
source:
Schwartz, Helen (born 1910)
source:
Shabaz, Lea (born 1894)
source:
Yohannan, Helen (born 1916)
source:
Yohannan, Shlimun (born 1916)
source:
Yonan, Sam (born 1907)
source:
Yonan, Yoel (Joel) (born 1913)
source:
Andrius, Alice
Identifier/Call Number: ASSYR-OH.001.CaTurCSU
Physical Description:
42 Cassettes
Tapes consist of 52 family histories, 6 interviews with Assyrian-American political leaders, 6 interviews with non-Assyrian
university professors, city political leaders, or businesspeople, for a total of 64 interviews on 42 tapes and one flash drive.
Also included are text transcriptions of the interviews.
Physical Description:
1 USB flash drive
Physical Description:
45 Digital Files
Date (inclusive): 1979-1987
Language of Material:
English
, Syriac
.
Container: 1 of 1
Collection is open for research.
The Assyrian Oral History collection chronicles the stories of members of an Assyrian enclave in Turlock, California. The
majority of stories were recorded in the early 1980s with interviewees recounting family histories extending back to the early
part of the 20th century. According to Dr. Arianne Ishaya, preliminary research on this project began in the 1970s while
she was working on her Ph.D. dissertation at UCLA. From 1981-1982, Dr. Ishaya conducted 108 interviews with members of the
enclave on their family histories.
Dr. Ishaya has identified several characteristics of the enclave from her research: The initial colony came from Canada to
Turlock in 1910. During the 1920s, several refugees from Iran arrived following the WWI Assyrian genocide. Assyrian Americans
from the East Coast and Midwest arrived from the 1940s on. In the 1970s, refugees escaped the purging of their villages in
Northern Iraq, the historic homeland of Assyrians, while refugees fleeing the Islamic revolution in Iran arrived during the
1980s.
These varied histories document stories of brutal treatment and suffering as homeless refugees, to stories of hope and finding
a new life in the USA. Today the community continues to grow and thrive.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Assyrians
Forced migration
Oral histories
Refugees
Backus, Nina (born 1906)
Badal, Ludia (born 1907)
Bourang, Jerusha
Durna, Elia (born 1906)
Elia, Mary Jim (born 1915)
Elias, Jesse Youkhana (born 1907)
George, Abram (born 1908)
Gouryagous, David (born 1910)
Israel, John (born 1910)
Jackson, Sarah (born 1914)
Jacobs, Walter (born 1909)
Jacobs, Florence (born 1920)
James, Jerome (born 1904)
Jones, Alfi (born 1904)
Joseph, Aprim (born 1892)
Joseph, Martha (born 1907)
Khoubyar, Arby (born 1907)
Khoubyar, Nina
Mirza, Joel (Yoel) (born 1896)
Oushana, Maryam (born 1912)
Paul, Yonatan
Rustam , Rabcca (1898)
Sarguis, Regina
Sarguiss, Maghdeleta (born 1913)
Sarquis, Khat Shalim (born 1896)
Schwartz, Helen (born 1910)
Shabaz, Lea (born 1894)
Yohannan, Helen (born 1916)
Yohannan, Shlimun (born 1916)
Yonan, Sam (born 1907)
Yonan, Yoel (Joel) (born 1913)
Andrius, Alice