Lebanon Adventure - Preparation

Sunday, July 5, 20009

We leave for Beirut on Friday and our prep for the 3 week adventure has been intense. Besides the research on Lebanon, flight arrangements, getting business and personal stuff taken care of, deciding what to pack, new camera, etc. I have also been trying to track down my grandparents' ancestry. Both came through Ellis Island, but their names were either misspelled or totally different than the names I knew them by as a child.....hmmmmmm. Fortunately, my first cousins, Eleanor and Ann Marie had documents that helped us get to the first steps and we found the ships and dates they both arrived. But that's as far as I've gotten, as we don't have any documentation on where they lived in Lebanon (which was Syria back then). I've tried Ancestry.com but couldn't find anything there past my grandparents. Anyone have any suggestions? I'd love to visit the towns or villages where they were born, but doubt that after more than 100 years, I could begin to track down any family ties in Lebanon. But, you never know.
Since this is my first post, it's really a test to see if I know what I'm doing. If you decide to accept my invitation to the blog, I'll be thrilled. Not sure of the internet access where we are staying, as it is in the mountains, about 45 minutes from Beirut (near Faraya and Farqa if you Google Earth it), but I'll keep writing anyway!
Love to all,
Lari