I started this blog nearly 5 years ago feeling brash, that I could conquer this quest to find out who I think I am. How wrong could I have been....well I do know who I am and where my roots are. But I've found its a never ending quest and more branches keep popping up of families long thought of having disappeared.
One of the biggest discoveries was where our families originated from. Derdghaya is probably about no more than 240 years old. I had always known that we came to Derdghaya from Forzol in the mountains above Zahle and before that from the Houran district in Syria but never knew the village name. Over the past couple of years I've come to know we are originally from a village named Khabbab in the Houran district. From Khabbab I know that the Rizk/Khoury family, the Badawi family and Raad family originated. I've always felt that it was important to know where the various families had originated. People had told me along the way "who cares where we are from or where they are from" but I've always wanted to know for myself as I think where you are from shows in your character traits. Plus like the saying goes "you don't know who you are, unless you know where you have been."
On my trip last year to Derdghaya I found out about a lot of history about the families and the village by just talking to people and swapping stories and information. I was starting to think there wasn't many people interested but through the Facebook and interacting with people I have found most Derdghayan's are interested but really didn't know where to get the information as there wasn't many of the older generation left. Unfortunately we are too busy with social media to worry about interacting with people on a personal level where the information is.
Having some of the most beautiful women: we have married our daughters far and wide. In modern times I can understand this as most people from the 1940's onwards have mainly lived in Beirut due to work and educational situations. But when I started looking at families I found this trend had started from the beginning of Derdghaya, where Boulos Rizk the founder would marry his daughters off on the proviso that the new son in law moved to Derdghaya. But when I started researching I found many a daughter of Derdghaya had been married off far and wide....Tibneen, Ain Ebel, Jezzine, Safad El Batikh, Rmeich, Marjeyoun, Zahle and as far as Deir El Ahmar in North Lebanon.
It is through these external marriages that I have been able to have the most fun researching. Even though the family may not be from Derdghaya there is a link that needs to be explored. Families like Farhat, Haddad, Rizk, Farhood, Ferris or Atmeh have all been associated with Derdghaya through marriage. The hard thing is linking some of these woman back to parents in Derdghaya. I have also come across families that were thought to be lost or non existent if you will, but through a slice of luck with research have found a link to them. Some of these families I didn't know of until I had looked through the church records in Derdghaya.
The church records were a fountain of information. I found when and where my great grandmother was born and baptised and where her family had lived. I found out what the proper name for some of the families originally was after having changed over time and when the smaller families arrived in Derdghaya. Most of these smaller families were farmers in places like Ter Filsay, Froun or Twairy. Not only did some of these families work these farming areas but so did our own families so this is how they met and married.
So this is the story so far....
