Serian, Harry S.

Harry S. Serian, born near Harpoot, Armenia, was a prosperous rancher who established a highly successful life in Fresno County, California. Arriving in the United States in 1891 at nineteen years of age, he entered the country without financial means and in debt for his passage money. He repaid his debt from his early earnings in a New York City factory and a Chicago shoe factory, while also sending money home to support his father, Sarkis, and assist his mother, Lillie, and four brothers in emigrating. His wife, Rosa Scandarian, joined him eight years after his arrival, and together they raised four children named Roxy, Moses, Serak, and Aram.

In 1897, Mr. Serian relocated to California and initially rented farmland in Parlier and north of Selma before purchasing his first eighty acres in 1901. Through subsequent land acquisitions in 1912, 1918, and 1919, he expanded his property into a fully developed 160-acre ranch located four miles east of Selma. Despite suffering a serious affliction of the optic nerve that resulted in total blindness, he maintained his agricultural business and built a fine twelve-thousand-dollar country residence on his property in 1917. His life stands as a notable example of perseverance and financial advancement among early Armenian settlers in the region.