Trick Riders on Ancestry.com
According to Irakli Makharadze in Gurian Riders in the U.S. (Gurian Riders in the U.S., 2007), the Gurian Riders first set foot on American soil on March 30, 1893, arriving aboard the S.S. Chester (1873-1893). The Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists indicate they boarded in Southampton, England en route to the Port of New York on pages 6 and 7.
The Passenger Manifest identifies them as "Russian" with "Rider" as their occupation. Though the cursive handwriting is sometimes difficult to decipher, Makharadze provides valuable context on their identities. Explicitly listed are:
- Prince Eristoff (30, line 85)
- Alexander Tsintsadze (35, line 86)
- Giorgi Maksimenishvili (33, line 93)
- Gaston Matitashvili (28, line 97)
- Rafiel Tvaladze (26, line 96)
- Prince Dimitri & Princess Frida Mgaloblishvili (25 & 23, lines 139 & 140)
Other individuals, listed as "Riders" but harder to identify due to script, appear on lines 87 (Andrew Tericuly), 89 (Lewis Straditzi), 94 (Samuel Zitlitzi), and 95 (Charles Bibini).
A second group of Gurian Riders arrived on April 11, 1893, traveling from London to the Port of New York aboard the S.S. Persian Monarch. The Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, with insights from Irakli Makharadze’s book, identify the following Georgian trick riders:
- Prince Makharadze (28, line 51)
- Kishvard Makharadze (23, line 53)
- Karaman Kalandarishvili (27, line 54)
- A. Makharadze (26, line 55)
- S. Dgebuadze (28, line 56)
- Silibistro Makharadze (30, line 57)
- Ioseb Talakhadze (24, line 59)
- Pavle Makharadze (20, line 60)
Passengers on lines 52 and 58 remain unidentified. Additionally, according to Makharadze, Luka Tchkhartishvili was also aboard this ship.
On April 11, 1896, Thomas Oliver arrived in New York City from Southampton aboard the S.S. New York, accompanied by seven Gurian Riders. With the assistance of Richard Georgian, the following individuals have been identified:
- Thomas Oliver (30, line 31)
- Luka Tchkartishvili (28, line 32)
- Nestor Khoukhounaishvili (29, line 33)
- Luka Ebralidze (26, line 34)
- Alex Tskvitishvili (27, line 37)
- Dgimshet Lomadze (31, line 38)
Passengers on lines 35 and 36 remain unidentified. Additionally, according to Richard Georgian, Alex Mourouanidze was also aboard.
Gurian Riders are also identified on April 5th, 1897 Passenger and Crew Lists from Southampton to NYC via S.S. Paris. They are 2nd Cabin passengers. On page 6 of the Passenger Manifest, we identify:
- Luka Tchkhartishvili (26, line 98)
- Dimitri Tsintsadze (25, line 99)
- V. Lomadze (24, line 100)
- Nestor Khukhunaishvili (23, line 101)
- Alex Tskvitishvili (21, line 108)
- Giorgi Tchkhaidze (25, line 109)
- Luka Ebralidze (22, line 110)
- C. ‘Tschaertischvili’ (25, line 120), possibly Constantine Tchkhartishvili.
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