Kartozian, Rev. H. A.

Born in Sivas, Armenia, in 1876, the Rev. H. A. Kartozian learned shoemaking in his youth before converting to evangelical Christianity through American missionaries. He pursued higher education at Marsovan College and Theological School, graduating in 1903 as an ordained Congregational minister. After serving a three-year pastorate in Tokat, Armenia, Kartozian emigrated to the United States in 1906 with his wife, Baidzar Gulian, and their young daughter, initially working for the Christian Herald in New York before ministering in Oregon, Washington, and as an itinerant evangelist across the Midwest and West.

In July 1916, Rev. Kartozian accepted the pastorate of the Armenian Congregational Church at Parlier in Fresno County. In 1917, he acquired a 43-acre improved ranch near Parlier, managing active agricultural operations devoted to peaches, Muscat grapes, Thompson Seedless grapes, and alfalfa alongside his ministerial duties. Together with his wife, who raised their five children—Isabel, Annie, Howard, Frank, and George—Rev. Kartozian established himself as a influential spiritual leader and progressive rancher within Fresno County’s Armenian-American community.