Lebanon Trip

I'd been thinking about visiting Lebanon since my last trip in 2010, so when my cousin decided she was getting married I decided that I would kill two birds with one stone. Attend the wedding and do some research.

There was only so much research I could do online and talking to the elders, I needed to get hold of some church records or the 1932 Lebanese Census records which are kept in Tyre.

One of the first things I did when I arrived in Derdghaya was I went for a walk with my daughter around the village looking at all the old ruins and taking pictures of them. I posted a few of these on Facebook and started getting responses from people saying it was their ancestral home, others started asking if I could find their ancestral home. So I decided part of my daily ritual was to go for a walk a couple times a day seeking these houses out. My Dad came along on these walks, giving me the history of the houses and who had lived in them. From the original owners to the current owners to how long some had laid in ruins. It was fun learning the histories of these old ruins, if only the stones could talk.

I stayed in Lebanon for almost three weeks and one of the things I enjoyed the most was the constant stream of people that just popped in for a coffee and a chat at my Dads or at my Uncles. I got to meet people like the Moukhtar and the Head of the Municipality who were very insightful and free with the knowledge they had about Derdghaya's history and people.

The most valuable resource I got was the church records. I managed to get copies of the old church registries. For legal reasons I didn't copy anything newer than 70 years old as I know that's the standard for most legal documents. This way I also didn't impinge on any living persons privacy. The church records weren't totally accurate as pre 1920 they are only a collection of memories as the church was burnt down in 1920 and the records lost in the fire. Post 1920 you have the date of birth as well as the date of baptism.

These records were personally fulfilling as they listed both my grandparents date of birth. Since my last trip there had been a lot of conjecture about when they were born. Some said my grandfather was born in 1895, other 1900 and some 1905. Well it turned out he was born 2nd February 1902. My grandmothers date of birth was listed as 1910 on her tizkera (Lebanese ID card) but was born in 1906. I was also able to glean a lot of information like when my great grandmother was born and died and who her parents, siblings and uncles were. This was all unknown to me let alone my other family members. Now I have another avenue of research that I will eventually look into.

The other thing these records have done is give me a lot of information that I didn't have. I have whole new branches that I didn't know existed and will probably keep me researching for the next few years. A lot of the miscellaneous families that I didn't know who they were related to, have now been merged into the branches where they should be.

So in the end it was a trip well worth while....

Lack of Blogs

I just realised that since I started this blog in 2011 that each year I have written less and less. I don't know why because I have so much to write about, must be just laziness. I also think it might be the fact I think certain things might need to be kept private.

I try my best not to mention individuals as I think they should be kept private. I also have been told plenty of stories and tales of valour or misdeeds and think it is better not to tarnish a person or their family as who am I to judge someone over something that may have happened a century ago.

Also looking back at some of the earlier blogs, so much has changed. What I know now contradicts a lot of what I knew then and shows the journey that I have taken in the four years the blog has been alive. The thing I have enjoyed most about this blog is that it has introduced me to a lot of new family members and enlightened a few others into looking into their family roots.

I'm hoping 2015 will bring more inspiration to write many more blogs....