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Archiver > SYRIA > 2008-03 > 1206940304


From: "Lilly Martin" <>
Subject: [SYRIA] 1894 immigration from Syria
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 07:11:44 +0200
References: <20080330.161005.29823.0@webmail07.vgs.untd.com>


Dear Kay,

I am SO thrilled for you, to find your ancestor's passenger record. That is
something so precious.

I do not think that your ancestor boarded the ship in Hamburg, Germany.
That is the place the ship left from intially, but stopped at Le Havre,
FRANCE to pick up additional passengers, and that is where the Syrians got
on.

They left from Beirut on a French steamship. Got to Le Havre, France and
off loaded, passed a medical exam by doctors hired by the steamship company,
and then got on a larger steamship which was capable of crossing the
Atlantic.

Some people got stuck in France, because they were sick and did not pass the
medical, or had run out of money and did not have enough for the second leg
of the journey.

Some people got on ships they thought were going to USA, but instead they
were landed at Africa, or other places, and told to get off. The shipping
companies were not always honest or trustworthy, alot was written about this
and even the government had investigated the agents and doctors with the
French shipping companies.

Le Havre, Cherbourg, Marseille, are the main French Ports of that time, the
first 2 in the NORTH, facing England, but Marseille is in the South on the
Mediteranean , so would be the closest to Beirut.
I see there is a Port at La Rochelle, on the West coast of France , that may
have been used as well.

Kay: did you already know about Torrington, CT. ? Or was this news to you?
Do you know who he was going to meet there? Did you read the enlarged view
of the manifest?
I have heard of other Syrians who settled in Connecticut, quite a few chose
that location.
Did they have a church there? What was the reason to pick that place? I am
interested in places that Syrians picked to live at.

Best regards,
Lilly Martin
----- Original Message -----
From: <>
To: <>
Cc: <>
Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 12:10 AM
Subject: [SYRIA] a Listing of cities and villages in Syrian passengers onthe
s hip RUSSIA in 1894


> Hello everyone!
> I just found my great great grandfather on the ship RUSSIA, which arrived
> in New York at Ellis Island on August 6, 1894.
> The manifest states: "Port of Departure: Hamburg via Havre"
> Does anyone have any thoughts on how the Syrian passengers would have gone
> to Hamburg?
> Syrians (and their ages & occupation) on the ship were all male and all
> boarded at Havre. I've listed them below. I am using the spelling in the
> printout provided at the Ellis Island site (some of the names look
> different to me when I look at a copy of the manifest).
> Michel Mahmari (23 - weaver) (my great great grandfather) going to
> Torrington [Connecticut]
> Elias Yacob (27 - weaver) going to Saco, Maine
> Yoseph Elcuri (45 - shoemaker) going to NY
> Kalid Michel (45 - shoemaker) going to NY
> Michel Kaleb (14 - shoemaker) going to NY
> Fadel Yorgora (16 - farmer) going to NY
> Ybrahim Assaf (27 - farmer) going to NY
> Melhem Elhaje (35 - farmer) going to NY
> Kalid Jabour (25 - farmer) going to NY
> Georges Romana (20 - farmer) going to NY
>
> Thanks for any insight on where to look for him between Syria and Hamburg.
> Kay Mamary Daniels
>
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