Alice AKA Eranin Zabel

Eranin Zabel Azarian, the daughter of Abraham Azarian and Lousia Hagopian born December 9, 1914, baptized on December 27, 1914, priest, Jakob Mazarian, Godfather, Haroutias Azarian, residence Galatia (there are two other words written here that I don't understand).

LDS film #1037106, Surp Savour, Vosgeperan, Taksim, Istanbul.

See Abram Azarian and Lucy.

Note:

Alice told me that her name was changed by her school teacher in Union City.

Alice as a baby taken from the 1933 Emerson Senior Year Book

See Lucy

Alice Azarian was listed in the 1930 census in Union City with her father, Abraham, her brother, Melcon, and her sister, Mary. Go to The Azarians in the 1930 Census

Alice in the 1933 Emerson Senior Year Book

A winning way, a pleasing smile."

Alice was listed under:

• HUMER
  WHAT SENIOR
  67. Could never make use of a permanent wave? Answer, Alice Azarian
• CLASS WILL
  ALICE AZARIAN leaves her Latin vocabulary to Mr Burke.

• NEW YORK DISPATCH December 10, 1960

  Woman Playwirght Signed
  Up by Columbia
  _____________
  
  Miss Alice Azarian, authoress
  of "The Greeks Called It Mad-
  ness" has been signed up by the
  Columbia Corporation with a two
  year contract.
  She will begin work on the
  scenerio of "When the Cat's A-
  way," presently.

• CLASS COUPLETS
  AZARIAN is an obliging friend
  Her homework to you she will lend.

• SENIORS
  In Radio
  Madame Queen...........................Alice Azarian

• SENIOR DIRECTORY
  NAME Alice Azarain TITLE Always Ambitious HOBBY Helping Others ECHO This column is terrible

• $500 REWARD IF YOU SEE--
  Alice Azarian win a Latin prize.

Social Security Application

Alice's applied for her social security number on November 30, 1936. She was living at 1540 Walton Avenue in the Bronx. Her employer was Christine Pace at 415 36th Street, Union City, New Jersey. Alice must have been living with Virginia and Harry Semerjian, the address is the same as the address on Virginia's naturalization.

Marriage

Alice Azarian married John Blanck in the First Baptist Church in Hoboken, New Jersey on June 3, 1941.

The marriage certificate lists:

• John, age 24, born on July 4, 1916, living at 1108 Washington St., Hoboken, occupation, Asst. Manager at Keffel (sic) and Esser, father's name, Lewis, mother's name, Gertrude Kettler.
• Alice Azarian, age 25, born on December 8, 1915 in Istanbul, Turkey, living at 210 Palisade Avenue, Union City, New Jersey, father's name, Abraham, mother's name, Lucy Arevian.

The marriage was performed by the Reverent William E. Cusworth, pastor of the First Baptist Church, address 1233 Bloomfield St.

Witnesses were, Dorothy Blanck and Louis Blanck, both at 1108 Washington Street, Hoboken. Dorothy was John's sister, AKA Aunt Etta, and Louis was John's brother.

1. Denis Blanck was born on June 5, 1943 in St. Mary's Hospital in Hoboken, New Jersey.

   Marriage: Leona

   Child: Suzanne

   Marriage: Allison

   Marriage: Karen

   Death: Denis Blanck died April 1, 2012 in Tucson, Arizona.

   See John Blanck

2. Thomas Joseph Blanck born at 8:29 P.M. on June 9, 1944, in St. Mary's Hospital in Hoboken, New Jersey. Weight at birth 6 pounds, 15 3/4 ozs. Dr. Eugene M. Kiely was the physician.

   The baptismal certificate states that, Thomas Joseph Blanck the son of John Joseph Blanck and Alice Azarian, born in Jersey City, New Jersey on June 9, 1944 was baptized in St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Church in Union City on July 28, 1944. Sponsors were Anthony Iorio and Mary Iorio.

   Marriage: Marguerite (Maggie) Land, 1967, Madison, New Jersey

   Children:

   Damian 1971, Philadelphia, Pa.

   Tobias (Toby) 1973, Bethesda, Maryland Death: March 18, 2007, Tucson, Arizona

   Sebastian, 1976, New Haven, Conn.

In 1940 Alice filled out her Declaration of Intention to become an American citizen. She listed herself as single, 24 years old, working as a typist, living at 1418 Palisades Avenue in Union City, New Jersey. Who was Alice living with?

Alice applied for her naturalization under the name Alice Blanck, on April 9, 1943 in the Court of Common Pleas, Hudson County, New Jersey. On her application she stated that she immigrated from Patras, Greece, under the name Zabel Azarian, aboard the Calabria that arrived in New York City on May 15, 1921.

Alice became a Naturalized citizen on August 24, 1943.

When I was a child one of the family's favorite dinner time stories was how my parents met. I don't know how many times it was told over the years.

When Tom and I got engaged it seemed so natural to ask his parents how they met. I never did get a straight answer.

Alice, told me that she and John met in high school. She said John used to copy her Latin homework. Charming. But, it would appear from comments in the Emerson High School year book that a lot of people copied Alice's homework. Moreover they were both 18 when Alice graduated from Emerson High School in 1933 and 26 when they got married in 1941, eight years later.

Had they dated or seen each other all that time? Ever time I asked that question I was basically told that I was far too nosy and should mind my own business.

John only repeated what Alice said about knowing each other in High School. I asked if they had dated in high school and was given the "he copied my Latin homework reply". I got the impression that the did not "date" in high school.

After high school Alice went to Hunter College for a while and she lived with and worked for various ones of her sisters. Her social Security application indicates that she was living in the Bronx with her sister, Virginia, and working in Union City for her sister, Christine, in 1936.

In his service papers John said he graduated from Emerson High School in 1934. The 1930 census confirms that he was living at 170 Summit Avenue in Union City, so Emerson was the high school he would have attended. He is not listed anywhere in the Emerson High School yearbook of 1933, the year of Alice's graduation.

John was completely mum about his occupation and whereabouts after high school. The only thing that was ever eluded to was that he was a good tennis player and might have been a tennis "bum" for a while. His Social Security application indicates that he lived in Hoboken and worked at Keuffle and Esser in Hoboken in 1936.

No matter how I tried to approach the subject of what he did after high school and before he married Alice I was stonewalled. It was so blatant that I was convinced that he (or they) had something serious to hide.

It seemed pretty clear from hints that Alice gave that years went by between high school and when they actually started dating. But she would never answer a direct question. It was always; "We met in High School". Every few years I would make another stab at it — Never getting a real reply.

Neither one of them would ever say a word about the actual marriage ceremony other than they were married on June 3, 1941. Where? Who was there? Did they have a party? Did they have a honeymoon? I could never get an answer to anything.

I started doing the genealogy after they both had died. I found their marriage license. They were married in the First Baptist Church in Hoboken on June 3, 1941. The witnesses were John's siblings Dorothy and Louis.

I never found anything among the old photos that might have been a wedding day picture.

Alice's 1933 Emerson High School year book did confirm that they knew each other in high school. John Blanck signed near the top of the AUTOGRAPH page.