Ottoman Greeks of the United States Digital History Project

From May 10 to May 23, Dr. Yiorgo Topalidis from the Public History Laboratory at Flagler College interviewed descendants of Ottoman Greek migrants in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Dr. Topalidis conducted a total of 20 interviews and documented 253 artifacts. The word cloud below consists of the migrants’ places of birth and reflects the diverse geographical regions they left behind. These include the Russian cities of Adler and Krasnodar, the Georgian city of Batumi, and towns and cities throughout Anatolia, such as Sürmene (Grk. Sourmena), Istanbul (Grk. Constantinople), Izmir (Grk. Smyrna), as well as the islands of Gökçeada (Grk. Imbros) and Marmara.

Dr. Topalidis is currently developing a study-away course for Flagler students interested in theories and concepts related to migration studies, digital curation, oral history, and in-depth semi-structured interview methodologies. The course is supported by the Public History Laboratory at Flagler College and focuses on Ottoman Greek migration to the US.. Click the links below to access the daily summaries from this year’s research trip to Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.

Day 1: https://www.facebook.com/reel/459169586563557
Day 2: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1695050184235732
Day 3: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1095431774875187
Day 4: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1912684495832338
Day 5:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=837386835085982&set=a.623649446459723
Day 6:
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=837454535079212&set=a.623649446459723
Day 7:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=840066411484691&set=a.623649446459723
Day 8: https://www.facebook.com/reel/
Day 9:
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=841515254673140&set=a.623649446459723
Day 10:
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=841526914671974&set=a.623649446459723
Day 11:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=841532348004764&set=a.623649446459723

The final day of interviews finds us in Astoria, and today, we learned about the experiences of migrants from Surmena (Trk. Sürmene). The respondent’s grandfather (pictured) was a teacher whose profession took him from Surmena to Santa, the Frontēstērio of Trapezounta, Crimea, and finally to Lofos, Pieria Greece. Like, share, and follow to help us raise awareness about the experiences of Ottoman Greek migrants in the US.

(Donated by Dimitrios Molohides, OGUS Archive, 2024)

Day 10 of interviews in New Jersey and today we learned about the experiences of migrants from Parach and Karistan, villages surrounding Ankara. They migrated to Morocco for a short period and worked in a canteen before migrating to Anatolikon, a village near Ptolemaida, in Kozani, Greece. The respondent’s parents are pictured in the attached image. Like, share, and follow to help us raise awareness about the experiences of Ottoman Greek migrants in the US.

(Donated by Bertha Rubis, OGUS Archive, 2024)

Day 9

Today, we interviewed descendants of migrants from Olasa and Kapuköy, Trabzon (Grk. Trapezounta), who settled in Drama, Greece. Their children were born in villages of Drama, married there, and migrated to Jersey City, where they became founding members of the Mutual Aid Society “O Pontos” in Jersey City, New Jersey, (est. 1929). Like, share, and follow to help us raise awareness about the experiences of Ottoman Greek migrants in the US.

(Donated by Anna Kalcanides-Barout, OGUS Archive, 2024)

Day 7 of interviews. Today, we learned about a family of Imbrians who remained on the island (Trk. Gokceada) and migrated to the US in the 1960s. The gentleman pictured is the respondent's grandfather, who was from Schinoudi (Trk. Derekoy). The family initially settled in New York and then moved to New Haven, CT. Like, share, and follow to help us raise awareness about the experiences of Ottoman Greek migrants in the US.

(Donated by Nikos Yorgakaros, OGUS Archive, 2024)

Day 5 of interviews and we would like to thank the Pontian Society "Komninoi" in Astoria for their support in identifying participants. Today, we learned about the society's establishment in 1966 and the origins of its members from Ordu to Trabzon and everywhere in between.

On day 6 of interviews, we learned about one of the largest sultana raisin production companies in the Ottoman Empire, owned by the Florou family in Urla (Grk. Bourla). The family escaped ahead of the burning of Smyrna and established their company in Athens with production in Corinth.

(Donated by Manda Florou, OGUS Archive, 2024)

Heading to New York City to conduct interviews with descendants of Ottoman Greek migrants who arrived to Connecticut, New Jersey and New York in the early 20th century. Follow and share our page to learn more and help us raise awareness about their experiences. This research trip is sponsored by the Public History Laboratory at Flagler College.

Dear Friends of the OGUS Digital History Project,

We are preparing to conduct interviews in May of 2024. If your family is originally from Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace, Imbros, Tenedos, or the islands in the Sea of Marmara and you would like to contribute their experiences for academic research purposes, click on the link below. Complete the form, and we will contact you as the interview dates approach.

https://forms.gle/7bHWxwBxTtQg47P39

This image is of the donor's family from Alaçatı.

(Donated by Mary Argys, OGUS Archive, 2016)

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the project at Flagler College. These funds will be used in their entirety to support Flagler students who work on the project's various research initiatives, including:

1. Participating in research trips and conducting oral history interviews.
2. Transcribing and analyzing oral history interviews.
3. Creating academic and social media presentations of findings.
4. Curating two-and-three dimensional images and uploading them to the OGUS Archive
5. Mapping migration from the Ottoman Empire to the US using data from the Ellis Island Foundation's online archive of passenger lists.

https://giving.flagler.edu/schools/FlaglerCollege/roar-raise-2024/pages/liberalartsandsciences/OGUS/?a=1

As always, thank you for your continued support.

Dr. Yiorgo Topalidis
Project Coordinator
OGUS DHP - Public History Program
Flagler College

Ottoman Greeks of the US Digital History Project Join me in supporting the Ottoman Greeks of the US Digital History Project at Flagler College!

Dear Friends of the OGUS Digital History Project,

We are happy to announce a new collaboration with the Public History Program at Flager College in St. Augustine. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the students and staff at the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program who collaborated with the OGUS Digital History Project over the past nine years. We look forward to continuing the documentation and archiving of oral histories and artifacts provided by descendants of Ottoman Greek migrants for years to come.

Dr. Yiorgo Topalidis
Visiting Lecturer
Behavioral Sciences
Project Coordinator
OGUS Digital History Project
Flagler College - St. Augustine, FL

Dear Friends of the OGUS Digital History Project,

We are preparing to conduct interviews in May of 2024. If your family is originally from Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace, Imbros, Tenedos, or the islands in the Sea of Marmara and you would like to contribute their experiences for academic research purposes, click on the link below. Complete the form, and we will contact you as the interview dates approach.

https://forms.gle/7bHWxwBxTtQg47P39

This image includes a detail of a toddler eating koulouria (similar to thin sesame bagels) and happily sitting still for a commemorative photograph of migrants from Constantinople in Veroia, Greece.

(Donated by Lea Osborne and Ellie Theo, OGUS Archive, 2017).

Dear Friends of the OGUS Digital History Project,

We are preparing to conduct interviews in May of 2024. If your family is originally from Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace, Imbros, Tenedos or the islands in the Sea of Marmara and you would like to contribute their experiences for academic research purposes, click on the link below. Complete the form and we will contact you as interview dates approach.

https://forms.gle/7bHWxwBxTtQg47P39

Image of Descendant of Migrants from Marmara. (Jim Dimitriou Collection, OGUS Archive. University of Florida Digital Collections. 2017.)

On January 9, Dr. Yiorgo Topalidis presented his research on philanthropic activities of Ottoman Greek organizations in the Ottoman Empire and in Greece at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. The talk was cosponsored by the Gennadius Library, Flagler College and the University of Florida's Samuel Proctor Oral History Program. To view the lecture please click on the link below.

Ottoman No More: “Oi Mikrasiatai Yper tōn Deinopathountōn Adelfōn tōn” Subscribe to our E-Newsletter: https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/email-subscribeFollow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ascsathensHybrid Lecture in EnglishYio...

Dear Friends of the OGUS Digital History Project,

As we enter the final weeks of the holiday season, we kindly ask that you consider supporting our project with a donation to our Research Staff, Fieldwork, or Equipment Funds.

The OGUS Research Staff Fund allows us to hire UF students as staff members and provides them with the opportunity to not only work on our project but to also learn Oral History methodology and epistemology.

The OGUS Fieldwork Fund allows us to bring a team of UF student staff members to fieldwork sites and give them the opportunity to conduct interviews and document and curate memorabilia for UF's Digital Collections.

The OGUS Equipment Fund allows us to purchase and maintain the digital equipment used by UF student staff members during our fieldwork trips.

To donate, navigate to the following link and specify "OGUS - RS," "OGUS - E" or "OGUS - F."
https://www.uff.ufl.edu/.../000613-sam-proctor-oral.../

If you prefer, please send your tax-deductible donation to:

The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program
241 Pugh Hall
P.O. Box 115215
The University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611

Thank you for your continued support.

Happy holidays!

Dr. Yiorgo Topalidis
OGUS Project Founder and Coordinator
Samuel Proctor Oral History Program
University of Florida

Dear Friends and Supporters of the OGUS Digital History Project,

We have some great news to share.

Dr. Yiorgo Topalidis has been invited by the American School of Classical Studies Athens to present our contribution to the exhibition titled In the Name of Humanity: American Humanitarian Relief in Greece, 1918-1929. We are also working closely with my partners at ASCS to bring the exhibit to museums in Florida, including The Crisp-Ellert Art Museum at Flagler College in St. Augustine, the Harn Museum at the University of Florida, and the Tampa Museum of Art.

The presentation is titled Ottoman No More: “Oi Mikrasiatai Yper tōn Deinopathountōn Adelfōn tōn,” which roughly translates to Asiaminorites Supporting their Struggling Brethren. The presentation will be in English. Please see the registration link below.

https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/events/details/ottoman-no-more-oi-mikrasiatai-yper-tn-deinopathountn-adelfon-ton

Thank you for your continued support of the OGUS Digital History Project!

Dear Friends and Supporters of the Ottoman Greeks of the United States Digital History Project,

We have some exciting news to share.

Select items from the Ottoman Greeks of the United States Digital History Project Archive are now on display at the exhibit titled "In the Name of Humanity: American Relief Aid to Greece, 1918 - 1923." This exhibit is the result of a collaborative effort by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and the Archives of the Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, the Ottoman Greeks of the United States Digital History Project at the University of Florida's Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, and many more contributors over the past year. The exhibit will be on display until February 18.

Please click below to view the exhibit's opening presentation.
https://www.youtube.com/live/qHF_3jOyuZE?si=4OYBMyVqFqR6oG3e

Dr. Yiorgo Topalidis
Project Founder and Coordinator
Ottoman Greeks of the United States Digital History Project
Samuel Proctor Oral History Program
University of Florida

Mutual Aid Societies - Imbrian Brotherhood of NY, NY.

From time to time, we feature the social roles mutual aid societies played in the lives of Ottoman Greek migrants during their settlement in the US. As we prepare for our next fieldwork trip to western New Jersey and the five boroughs in May of 2024, we present two artifacts from the Imbrian Brotherhood of NY, NY. Imbros, Tenedos, and the city of Constantinople were exempt from the exchange of populations stipulated by the Treaty of Lausanne. However, migrants from Constantinople and the two Aegean islands, like other parts of the Ottoman Empire and Greece, arrived in the US years prior. The newspaper article is a call to a general assembly from 1920 printed by the National Herald and a photograph from 1940 of the organization’s executive officers donated by the president’s descendant. __________________
This photo is from our collection of over 50,000 images. To view a sample of the collection, click on the OGUS Archive link below.
https://lnkd.in/e_xHFy97
If you are interested in being interviewed, please contact us by completing your information in the following link. https://oral.history.ufl.edu/ottoman-greeks.../contact-us-2

They Were Not All Refugees. They Did Not All Assimilate.

With over a decade of socioeconomic and political instability in the Ottoman Empire, stories of genocide and refugeedom constitute a dominant narrative in the memories of descendants of Ottoman Greek migrants. Many of those experiences have been highlighted by our project and existing scholarship.

Today we would like to emphasize that, although not as common in our sample of descendants, some of our interviewees present evidence of a different migrant experience. That experience reveals that some Ottoman Greeks migrated for the opportunity of upward mobility only to be frustrated by the outcome. They were not refugees.

For example, "Mike's" maternal grandparents came to the US from Cesme before the catastrophe. He settled in Brooklyn. He wanted to return to Cesme but was warned not to by his compatriots because they feared for his safety. He heeded their warnings and sent for his wife and daughters instead of returning. After they arrived in the United States, upward mobility did not materialize for his wife.

Mike recalls, "[My grandmother] (seated on the left) really was not happy about the move to States...because she had a position over there and then she came to a strange country and she never really learned English. She could get around on public transportation. So, she was not happy, and also, they had help over there and no help here." In sum, though genocide and refugeedom are dominant experiences in the memories of descendants of Ottoman Greek migrants, they did not all share in those experiences.
__________________

This photo is from our collection of over 50,000 images. To view a sample of the collection, click on the OGUS Archive link below.

https://lnkd.in/e_xHFy97

If you are interested in being interviewed, please contact us by completing your information in the following link. https://oral.history.ufl.edu/ottoman-greeks-of-the-united-states-ogus/contact-us-2/

Impacts of Immigration Restriction on Ottoman Greek Migration.

The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 allowed only 3,294 Greek nationals and 2,388 Turkish nationals to enter the US in 1922, while hundreds of thousands of refugees were fleeing the Ottoman Empire during that year. These numbers were divided into 12 allotments, and migrants entered accordingly or until the quota was exhausted for the year. Any "immigrant alien" arriving after the point was deported.

After fleeing Yeni Foça (Grk. Nees Fokies), a family of Ottoman Greek refugees were caught in transit between Greece and the US, waiting for the following year's quota to open. The correspondence between family members is telling of their precarious position. US consular agents in Greece offered migration numbers to some but were pushing the quota number of one of the family's sons back year after year. Desperate to escape from the poverty he was experiencing, he considered Mexico as a place of onward migration prior to his arrival in Henrietta, Oklahoma.
__________________

This photo and letter are from our collection of over 50,000 images. To view more, click on the OGUS Archive link below.
https://ufdc.ufl.edu/collections/ogus0424
If you are interested in being interviewed, please contact Dr. Yiorgo Topalidis directly at [email protected].

Embroidery is the result of meticulous attention to detail and relentless patience. Pursued as a hobby for personal enjoyment or as a means of monetary gain, embroidery was an invaluable skill set maintained by Ottoman Greek migrant women in the Ottoman Empire, Greece and the United States.

The example presented here was produced after the migration of the donor's mother. She was just six when her and her eleven siblings escaped from Yeni Foça on the family's caïque. According to her daughter, the small boat traveled from island to island only to be turned away, "Den theloume prosfyges! Den theloume prosfyges!" (Eng. We don't want refugees! We don't want refugees!) This was repeated to her mother and brothers until they reached Mytilene where they were allowed to disembark. In her daughter's opinion, the message carried by her needlepoint recapitulates their refugee experience.

"To pepromenon fygen adynaton."

(Eng. From fate it is impossible to escape.)
______________

This needlepoint is from our collection of over 50,000 images, to view more click on the OGUS Archive link below.

https://ufdc.ufl.edu/collections/ogus0424

If you are interested in being interviewed, please contact Dr. Yiorgo Topalidis directly at [email protected].

The traumatic experiences of Ottoman Greek refugees leaving Alaçatı for the US were transgenerationally transferred to their descendants, who embody them as they recall them. The following passage constitutes an example from the OGUS archive.

"Growing up in my formative years in this section of Sommerville called Brickbottom, where there were so many Alatsatianoi who had moved to that area. It was sort of a common history, a common story for all the kids growing up and hearing about [their immigration], and some of the stories were quite harrowing. An aunt of mine was r***d by Turkish soldiers in the process of their leaving. I grew up being very much aware of the trials and tribulations that my parents's generation went through in coming here. So it always stayed with me. From what I understand, once they left Alatsata, they made a headway to Athens because they very much wanted to enter the US as Greeks as opposed to coming from Asia Minor and being considered Turks. So it was one of leaving Alatsata, getting on to Chios, and from Chios, getting to Athens and Piraeus specifically. I have in possession the steamer trunk when they came over."

You can access the OGUS Archive by clicking on the following link.

https://oral.history.ufl.edu/projects/ottoman-greeks-of-the-u-s-digital-history-project/

If you are interested in being interviewed, click on the following link.

https://forms.gle/6N1bDVkbWqULm9c96

"Mathe paidi mou grammata!" (Eng. My child, get an education!)

In a recent interview in Florida, the importance of education in the refugee experience emerged as a concept. The descendant's grandmother, born and raised in Smyrna, was encouraged by her father to go to school. She graduated as a teacher from Smyrna's Central Women's School of Saint Fotene.

During the destruction of Smyrna, her father was killed. She took her diploma with her and, with her siblings, escaped to the harbor. Pursued by a Turkish soldier on horseback, they dove into Smyrna's harbor. They swam from ship to ship, turned away from each one until an American merchant marine vessel "plucked them out of the water." The ship transported them to Samos, where she used her diploma to teach at a local school and provide for her siblings.

From Bermende (Grk. Permata) to Baltimore, turkophone Ottoman Greek immigrants brought cherished objects with them on their journey. Such objects elicit precious memories for their descendants. This coin is an example of such an object. The descendant's grandmother hid it (and others like it) in the diaper of her baby. The coins were then sold off, one by one, to support their journey to the US. All but one were sold, and once the family settled in Baltimore, they converted the last remaining coin into a pendant to commemorate the family's journey so that future generations would always remember their immigrant past.

Documenting Memories of Settlement by Descendants of Ottoman Greek Refugees in the Prefecture of Kastoria, Greece.

This pilot study aims to complement and expand upon existing scholarship by Kontogiorgi (2006) which revealed opposition to and violence against the settlement of Ottoman Greek refugees in Macedonia, Greece. A total of 15 descendants will be interviewed and main themes will be presented through an online public program series. The interviews and artifacts will be stored at the University of Florida's Digital Collections, the Center for Asia Minor Studies in Athens, Greece and the Research Institute of Eastern and Southeastern European History at the University of Macedonia.

This past week we had the honor and privilege of interviewing descendants of migrants from Bermende (Grk. Permata) who settled in Baltimore. The interviews were conducted via Zoom. After the completion of the interview, one descendant donated the above document. This is a rare find in US-based collections because it links the migrant generation to a mutual aid society established in Greece. This certificate verifies the membership of a migrant to the US with the Mutual Aid Society for Refugees at Larissa Station and the Prefecture of Piraeus. To view more examples of historical documents in the OGUS Archive, click on the following link.

https://lnkd.in/e_xHFy97

For more information about the Ottoman Greeks of the US Digital History Project, please visit our website.

https://lnkd.in/eWseSDb9

Dear Friends and Supporters of the OGUS Digital History Project,

Over the course of ten days (May 9 - May 19), I had the honor and privilege of visiting with and learning from descendants of Ottoman Greek migrants in eastern Pennsylvania. While there, I traveled 366 miles, conducted 20 interviews, and documented 540 images. I am happy to announce that ten short essays highlighting those interviews are now available on our website and that we will soon create additional short essays from years past. To view the ten short essays click on the following link.

https://oral.history.ufl.edu/2022/05/18/pennsylvania-2023/

Thank you for your continued support of the Ottoman Greeks of the US Digital History Project.

Dr. Yiorgo Topalidis
OGUS Digital History Project

In addition to photographs, documents, and two-dimensional objects, very often, descendants of Ottoman Greek migrants possess three-dimensional artifacts transferred from the Ottoman Empire to the US by their family members. Thanks to 3D scanning and modeling hardware and software designed by Occipital, these objects will soon be available in the OGUS Archive. To view currently available documents in OGUS Archive, click below.

https://ufdc.ufl.edu/collections/ogus0424

This copper pot was donated by a descendant of migrants from Ordu, Karadeniz (Grk. Kotyora, Pontos). His father was a coppersmith who smelt this pot with his hands and transported it with him first to New York City in 1913 and subsequently to Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. To "hold" the copper pot in your hand, click on the link below.

https://skfb.ly/oI6Rw

On our recent fieldwork trip, we were honored to learn the stories of a diverse group of Ottoman Greek migrants from their descendants. Some spoke English (in the US), French, Greek, Lazika, Pontian, and Turkish. Those stories came alive through the words and artifacts shared by their descendants. Today we highlight one of those artifacts which will soon hold a unique position in the Ottoman Greeks of the US Digital History Project Archive.

This hymnal was brought to West Philadelphia by migrants from the region of Cappadocia. At first glance, it appears to be an aged Greek hymnal from the late 18th century (1782), special in its own right. But a closer look reveals that the language it is written in is Karamanlidika (Turkish written in the Greek alphabet). This hymnal, and other artifacts like it, will soon be available in the University of Florida's Digital Collections. Here is the link to the Ottoman Greeks of the US Digital History Project Archive.

https://ufdc.ufl.edu/collections/ogus0424

We would like to thank St. Luke's Greek Orthodox Church of Broomall for providing access to their facilities and members of the historic community of West Philadelphia and Upper Darby for participating. Their support contributed to the successful documentation of oral history interviews and artifacts that would otherwise be lost to time.