|
|
Home > My Ancestors >
Syrian-Lebanese >
Timeline: 1850-1949
- 1854:
Antun Bish'alani, reportedly the first Syrian immigrant
to the United States, arrives in Boston.
- 1863:
A church in Worcester, MA sells Syrian curios sent
by Antonius Yanni of Tripoli to support the Union
cause.
- 1878:
First Lebanese family recorded as entering the United
States.
- 1880s:
Syrian immigration increases. They first settle in
the South Cove section of Boston's South End (generally
bounded by Essex on the north, Broadway on the south,
Albany on the east, and Harrison on the west).
- 1880s-1914:
This period of Arab immigration comprised almost exclusively
Christians from Syria (which includes what is now
Lebanon). The three Christian sects are Orthodox,
Melkite, and Maronite.
- 1888:
Brothers George, Daniel and Dominic Faour immigrate
to Boston and establish themselves in Oliver Place
and later East Street Place. The money they make in
a dry goods store allows them to start the first American
Syrian-owned bank in New York in 1891.
- 1890-1900:
Approximately 5,000 Syrians enter the United States
per year.
- 1893:
First church in the Syrian community, Our Lady of
the Cedars of Lebanon, established in Boston; it is
for Maronite Christians.
- 1895:
Poet Kahlil Gilbran immigrates to Boston.
- 1896:
The first Maronite church opens in Lawrence, Massachusetts
- 1898:
A Boston social worker states, "The Syrians are
the most foreign of all our foreigners."
- 1899:
Bureau of Immigration adds Syrian to its classifications.
Paul Jabbour arrives from Sidon (in present-day Lebanon)
to serve the Fall River, MA Syrian community as a
lay Presbyterian preacher.
- 1900:
George Malouf emigrates from Lebanon to be priest
of new St. George Orthodox Church in the South Cove
(now located in West Roxbury).
- 1903:
Kahlil Gilbran
publishes his first work, "al-Musiqa." His first exhibit
of paintings and drawings is held at Wellesley College,
Wellesley, Massachusetts on May 21.
- 1904:
Boston Evening Telegraph on May 3 reviews Gilbran's
drawings complimenting the "young Syrian, who, in
his drawings, manifests the poetical and imaginative
temperament of his race."
- 1905:
The first Melkite church, St. Joseph's, opens in Lawrence,
Massachusetts.
- 1908:
The Golden Link is established in Boston; Kahlil Gilbran
often attends this organization, which allows Syrian-Lebanese
writers to meet and discuss Arabic classics.
- 1909:
Syria, the first Arabic Newspaper in Boston,
starts. Its name changes to Alarouss (the Bride)
and it soon folds because of competition from New
York papers.
- 1909-14:
90% of Syrian immigrants are Christian, 10% Muslim.
- 1910:
Census describes 2,700 Syrians in the Lawrence
(Elm/Oak/Haverhill mill area).
- 1912:
The Syrian community plays major roles in the Lawrence
Bread and Roses strike. Syrian Drum Corps lead the
parade; organizer Joseph Ettor is half-Syrian; strikers
hold meetings at a Syrian church; and Syrian soup
kitchens serve the strikers.c.
- 1912:
Syrians begin moving to West Roxbury and in the 1950s,
most of the "Little Syria" area of South Cove is relocated
to West Roxbury.
- 1914-45:
Syrian immigration declines significantly during and
between the wars.
- 1917:
Syrian Ladies' Aid Society founded in Boston and later
headquartered at 44 West Newton Street.
- 1919:
Rev. Abraham Mitrie Rihbany, a Unitarian minister
in Brookline, MA, writes America, Save the Near
East. It is not as popular as his The Syrian
Christ published three years earlier. Both works
allow an Arab-American to introduce American readers
to Syria and other Arab countries in English.
Syrians move into Shawmut Avenue in South
End (generally bounded by Dover on the north,
Rutland on the south, Albany on the east, and Tremont
on the west).
- 1920:
Syrian Education Society founded to provide scholarships
for the community.
- 1923:
Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet published.
- 1928:
Child Welfare Society established to raise money for
child welfare; it eventually buys the first Syrian
owned camp in the United States, Camp Hammond.
- 1924-65:
Immigrant Quota Act and Johnson Reed Immigration Act
hold Syrian-Lebanese immigrants to under 200/year.
- 1926:
Approximately 25,000 Syrians live in Massachusetts
and 8,000 in Boston (the third largest Arab community
in United States).
- 1929:
Habib Katibah works as a special correspondent in
the Near East for the Boston Globe.
- 1929-1930:
A social club of Syrian College students called the
Caravaneers puts on dramas.
- 1930:
Syrians of Boston protest the lowering of the immigrant
quotas, and their spokesperson is Elias F. Shamon.
The Boston Syrian Tercentenary Committee, organized
by Labeebee Hanna, presents a celebration of Syrian-Arabs
at Boston Symphony Hall.
- 1932:
Towfiek Maloof starts the Syrian American Federation
of New England in Boston at 44 West Newton Street.
This Federation is the country's first regional alliance
of Arab clubs (from Quincy, Lawrence, & Worcester,
Massachusetts and Pawtucket & Central Falls, Rhode
Island and New London, Connecticut) and is a precursor
to the National Federation, established in 1950.
- 1934:
Boston Judge Elias Shamon is appointed the first Syrian-Lebanese
judge in America.
- 1937:
Faris S. Malouf (immigrated 1907) becomes the first
Syrian-Lebanese in Boston city government as the street
commissioner.
- 1938:
Harvard University honors the one-thousandth birthday
of Arab philosopher and poet Abu Al-Ala Al-Ma'arri.
- 1942:
Jacob Saliba is appointed as a special consultant
for the Air Force, for which work he is awarded a
Legion of Merit.
- 1945-80:
More than 100,000 Arabs immigrate to the United States.
This group differs from earlier immigrants in that
large numbers come from Iraq, Egypt, Yemen, Palestine,
and Morocco. In addition, between 70% and 90% are
now Muslim.
- 1946:
The modern state of Lebanon comes into existence.
The Syrian community continues its charitable activities
with the Nicholas G. Beram Veterans' Association and
Auxiliary.
|
|
