Lebanon Emigration and Immigration

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"Syria" and "Lebanon"in Records

'From the early 16th Century until World War I, Syria and the Mount Lebanon region were part of the Ottoman Empire. For this reason, most Lebanese and Syrians immigrating before 1918 had Turkish passports, and were grouped in U. S. Census Abstracts under the heading "Turkish" or "Asian." After the First World War, Lebanon and Syria operated under French mandate, gaining independence in the 1940s.

The close relationship of these two countries from the earliest days of recorded history helps explain a present-day puzzle. Until the 1950s, most of the immigrants referred to themselves as "Syrian" whether they came from Syria or the Mount Lebanon region. One explanation is that at the time of their heaviest immigration, "Syria" was a familiar word in the United States, and "Lebanon" was not; to simplify things, they said "Syrian." ' by Sandra Hasser Bennett, Genealogy Today

Lebanese Church Records in the United States

"According to Historian Philip Hitti, in 1924 there were 34 Maronite churches, 21 Greek Catholic churches, 24 Antiochian Greek Orthodox churches, 31 Syrian Greek Orthodox churches, and a few Mosques attending to the religious needs of Lebanese and Syrian people in the United States. by Sandra Hasser Bennett, Genealogy Today U.S. directories will be helpful in churches which are useful in finding information about your Lebanese immigrant ancestors.

"Contact the Church your relatives attended. For many immigrants, it was the center of their cultural and social lives, and may have birth, marriage or death records of your family. The Church will certainly know the history of that particular congregation, possibly even have it in writing. You will want this information because it will help in your personal research. If you contact the church by mail, enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. There may be a charge for any record they provide, but in any case, make a donation for their help." by Sandra Hasser Bennett, Genealogy Today

Lebanese Diaspora

  • The Lebanese diaspora, while historically trade-related, has more recently been linked to the Lebanese Civil War, with many Lebanese emigrating to Western countries. Because of the economic opportunities, many Lebanese have also worked in the Arab World, most notably Arab states of the Persian Gulf like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
  • France has always been an important destination for the Lebanese diaspora, because Lebanon used to be a French colony and because French language is massively spoken in Lebanon.
  • The largest concentration of Lebanese outside the Middle East is in Brazil, which has, according to some sources, at least 6 million Brazilians of Lebanese ancestry, making Brazil's population of Lebanese more than twice that of the entire population of Lebanon.
  • There are also other large Lebanese communities in Latin American countries, namely Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela, Haiti and Dominican Republic.
  • Many Lebanese have also been settled for quite some time in the United States, Australia, France, Canada, The United Kingdom, South Africa and in the European Union member states. There are also sizable populations in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore as well as francophone West Africa, particularly Ivory Coast and Ghana.[1]

For Further Reading

There are additional sources listed in the FamilySearch Catalog:

  1. "Lebanese diaspora", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_diaspora, accessed 11 July 2021.