1. International Day of the Lebanese Emigrant 2016 at SFU A Request to the Lebanese Diaspora: please help us in the search for Thomas family “roots” In loving memory of my wife Mary Frances Francis Saeed/Siad/Sayed/Sier/Seth George Siad Thomas Sackett By Beau Jon Sackett

2. Mary’s 1 st attempt to find her roots through LCS: 1998 Mary’s topic: “My Life as a Second Generation Lebanese in North America”

3. Meet Mary and her Thomas family Theresa (3) looks after Mary (5) following her release from the polio hospital Theresa, still looking after Mary during her 27 year fight with cancer Francis with all 3 kids in front: Mary, Michael, Theresa (picture taken by his wife, their mom) Mary, making bread with her feet

4. Thomas Grandparents Wedding Portrait: ~1897

5. Thomas Family, getting ready to leave Lebanon: late 1902, or early 1903 “Beirut Nasr Aoun Photograph” Unknown woman in middle rear Rear of photo

6. This is what we know, so far: Lebanon Grandpa “Saeed” Thomas born somewhere in Lebanon: 1874 Grandma Susan (Ferris) Thomas born somewhere in Lebanon: 1881 Marriage in Lebanon: (date and place unknown) George Thomas born to Saeed and Susan somewhere in Lebanon: 1898 Victoria Thomas born somewhere in Lebanon: 1902 Thomas family leaves Lebanon for the USA: (late 1903 or) 1904

7. Maybe they traveled on one of these ships? Port of Beirut: 1904

8. This is what we know, so far: USA Thomas family arrives in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA: 1904 9 more Thomas children born in Worcester, Mass., USA: 1905-1920 (Mary’s dad, in 1919) Grandma Susan Thomas dies in Worcester: 1922 Grandpa “Saeed” Thomas dies in Worcester: 1924 Family is split up ( some kids went to an orphanage, others fended for themselves) – “Uncle Peter Ferris” adopted Anthony and Josephine WW2 starts, three youngest brothers joined US Army together, went to Texas for “boot camp”, never rejoined family in New England after the war

9. This is what we don’t know, and need help with What village in Lebanon did the Thomas family come from? What is Grandpa Thomas’ first name, in Arabic? Is “Thomas” really “Saeed’s” family name? How is Peter Ferris related to Susan Ferris? When did Peter emigrate to Massachusetts/USA? Did Susan Ferris have any (other) siblings? What village in Lebanon did the Ferris family come from?

10. Grandparents “Parents” Great Grandparents Mary Frances Thomas 1946-2015 Mary Frances Thomas 1946-2015 1) George Thomas 1898-1970 1) George Thomas 1898-1970 Esther Anthony Peter ?? Ferris George Siad ?? Martha Teckla ?? Thomas 1874-1924 ?? Thomas 1874-1924 Susan Ferris 1881-1922 Susan Ferris 1881-1922 2) Victoria Thomas 1902-1968 2) Victoria Thomas 1902-1968 Lebanese Genealogy: Knowns and Unknowns Peter Ferris ?? 10) Francis Anthony Thomas 1919-1996 10) Francis Anthony Thomas 1919-1996 3) Michael Thomas 1905-1964 3) Michael Thomas 1905-1964 4) Alice (Uid) Thomas 1908-1985 4) Alice (Uid) Thomas 1908-1985 5) Walter Thomas 1909-1945 5) Walter Thomas 1909-1945 6) Mary Thomas ?-? 6) Mary Thomas ?-? 7) Josephine Thomas (Ferris) ?-? 7) Josephine Thomas (Ferris) ?-? 8) Philip Thomas ?-? 9) Anthony Thomas (Ferris) 1916-? 9) Anthony Thomas (Ferris) 1916-? 11) Alfred Thomas ?-? 11) Alfred Thomas ?-? Born in Lebanon Adopted ID uncertain

11. Maybe They Were From Bsharri? Clues cited so far: -Clothing styles in wedding picture -They were Maronites -The family emigrated to Worcester, Mass., at the same time as Kahlil (Khalil) Gibran, and others from Bsharri. Bsharri Sectarian map of Lebanon

12. What is Grandpa Thomas’ first name in Arabic? “First Name” in American records Where it appearsNote(s) SierUS 1920 CensusIt also notes he was illiterate (maybe only in English, though?) SaidMary’s dad’s birth certificate (next slide) “Everyone” in the family called him “Saeed” SiadHis gravestone (next slide) Sayed(nowhere – yet)Only a suggestion, because this is similar to Siad and is a common name in northern Lebanon Seth (sometimes: Seth Siad) Massachusetts family stories, from Alice (Uid) Thomas Alice’s name appears as “Uid” in the 1920 US Census.

13. Siad or Said (in official records)?

14. Is “Thomas” their real family name? Yes: it is listed that way on US records and Grandma/Grandpa Thomas gravestone No: family oral history – Siad: family name is sometimes shown this way (i.e., “Grandpa Thomas” is called “Seth Siad” in some places) in family history documents.

15. Next Steps toward eliminating “What we don’t know” slide I will: – Continue investigating North American genealogical records to fill in what can be found there. – Update this deck on the website when I find useful new information If anyone knows how to access Ottoman Empire-era Lebanese Birth/Marriage/Death records, please help by making comments below, or by contacting me one of these ways: – email info@wlcu.org (international )info@wlcu.org – Or LCSBC@wlcu.org (local)LCSBC@wlcu.org – Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wlcu.org/https://www.facebook.com/wlcu.org/

16. Credits, so far …. Dr. Nick Kahwaji in 2012 with (Dr.) Guita Hourani and Mrs. Liliane Haddad of Lebanese Emigration Research Center (LERC) at Notre Dame University – Louaize (NDU) Fr. Andraos Hannoun of http://www.libanoamerica.com/ Thank you all for your help. We’ll probably be talking again, I hope.