Movses and Vartouhie Tufenkjian got married in 1903, and two years later they had Makrouhie Guzelian, born on January 5, 1905 in Kharpert, Armenia, which was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time. After working as a silk weaver in Armenia, Movses became unhappy in business dealings with the Turks who would not pay their bills and were constantly harassing him, so he moved his family to America.

He brought his entire extended family, including Makrouhie. They had a long journey and landed in America on July 4, 1907. While in America, Movses worked in the silk weaving business, and they also had a baby boy, Antranig, who was born on November 10, 1907. Only a few years after Antranig was born, Movses became ill due to the climate on the east coast. The doctor told him a drier area would be better, so they made the decision to move back to Armenia, hearing that the situation with the Turks had improved.