Most of what we know about Sophie Babayan, née Ohanian, comes from the naturalization application of her husband, Mihran Garabed Babayan. She was born in the Ottoman Empire, likely in Constantinople. In 1899, she married Mihran, who arrived in England at the age of 32 in 1895, but returned to Constantinople for six months in 1899 to wed her.[1] They were married in the Armenian Church in Istanbul on August 30 of that year and settled in London.[2] The couple welcomed six children: Nancy Annie Elbys (August 21, 1904; later Mrs. Allen); Marguerite Sophie (June 24, 1907); Alice Archalous (February 4, 1909); Dickren Rupen Mihran (February 28, 1915); Hermine Mavis (September 25, 1916); and Peter Garabed (May 30, 1921). From October 10, 1914 to July of the following year, the family lived in New York. Once they returned to England, she and Mihran duly registered with British authorities as Ottoman (Armenians).
The couple lived off Mihran’s carpet business at 5 Victoria Avenue, London, which was fairly successful for a time. But Mihran eventually encountered financial difficulties and moved to Boscombe, Hants, where his wife Sophie opened a small business as a dealer in confectionary and fancy goods. In 1909, Mihran was adjudged bankrupt. At some point, Sophie and their married daughter Nancy Annie Elbys Allen, née Babayan, opened a separate business at 14/16 Clarendon Road, Harrow, under the style of The Ideal Carpet Co., Ltd. Mihran’s financial interest in this business, which had a nominal capital of £500, was one ordinary share of £1, to which he subscribed on the company’s formation. He was discharged from bankruptcy in 1918.
The Babayans had lived at 50 Bessborough Road, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Middlesex, since March 1919. Sophie, among the few Ottoman women who were business owners in England, was included in her husband’s naturalization certificate on June 21, 1928. Subfiles 1-10 were destroyed. Her husband’s file was originally closed until 2029 and was declassified on November 10, 2017.
[1] An error in the file, later corrected, identified her as “Sophia.”
[2] An error in the file, later corrected, gives the date August 20, 1899.