YEREVAN — The Armenian Genealogy Conference (AGC) held its fifth annual meeting from September 24-25 at the American University of Armenia (AUA). The weekend began with a book presentation by AUA President Emeritus and founding dean of the Turpanjian College of Health Sciences Dr. Haroutune Armenian. Epidemics and Mortality in the Parish Records of Diasporan Armenian Churches (1732-1982) reveals a number of breakthrough findings from Dr. Armenian’s epidemiological analysis of data taken from church parish records of the Armenian populations in 11 countries and extending over a period of 250 years.

On Saturday, after welcoming remarks by AGC founder George Aghjayan and AUA Dean of General Education Sharistan Melkonian, the conference opened with Dr. Armenian’s introduction of the story behind retrieving Armenian church records from the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) Family History Library and the significance of their usage in epidemiological studies. Dr. Armenian’s presentation detailed mortality trends, episodes of epidemics and the continuing impact of the Genocide on survivors living in refugee camps. 

The next presenter was Dr. Rafael Abrahamyan, chairman of the Armenian Historical and Genealogical Society, who spoke on the genealogy of Artsakh. Dr. Abrahamyan explained the available sources and the methodology employed for the examination of the data. He went on to…