These are Uncle Tonas's recollections excerpted from a letter he wrote to Marion Haddad Ghiz November, 1986....Norm Haddad
After preparing several notes about the history of our family here is what I have assembled to the best of my knowledge. I am not able to go back further for lack of records about our ancestors who were natives of two towns six mile apart: Your Grandfather, Radwan Haddad, was from Jib-Janneen and his wife, your Grandmother, Sadie Ayash, was from Ain-Arab.
Your Grandfather was the youngest of four brothers and sisters, and his wife, your Grandmother, was the youngest of five sisters and only one brother.
In order for you to understand who is related to whom in the history of our family, it is necessary for you to concentrate on what is read here.
The first brother was Dawood Haddad, who had two sons, Mike, who resided at Lewis Street in Charleston, WV. I am sure that you knew him and his family. The second son was the late Charles Haddad, who resided at Marietta, and he had a son. Dawood had two daughters who did not come to the United States, and all are dead.
The second brother of you grandfather was the late Makoul Haddd, father of Nathan, Simon, Joe, James and Nick Haddad, all of whom are know to you and to your siblings. I do not know their ages for a lack of records.
The third brother of your Grandfather was Elias Haddad, Sr. who had a son, Elias Haddd, Jr. None of this family came to the United States, and both are dead. Elias Haddad, Sr. had a daughter, Zahia Abood, who was married to the late George Abood and resided at Charleston, WV. Zahia used to operate a bakery in Charleston for making flat Syrian bread. (Note: my parents used to buy this bread and ship it to us when Robert and Greg were small because they loved it so much. -- Norman) I think she is still living and operating the bakery in Charleston.
Elias Haddd, Sr. has a grandson who was brought to this country with the help of Nathan. His name is Fred Haddad and he operated a shoe repair shop in Parkersburg, WV. I am sure he is known to you (Marion Ghiz) and Ted.
I have no records related to the date of marriage of Radwan and Sadie Ayash, but it was probably 1880-1881. They had three children in this order: Sam Haddad, Najeeby Haddad, who later became Mrs. George Ellis of Sioux City, Iowa, and the third child is your Uncle George, who was born in 1895.
After the birth of George, your Grandfather emigrated to the United States for the first time, leaving his wife and his children soon after the birth of your Uncle George. His brother-in-law, Mr. Joseph Ayash, emigrated with him to the United States. Both of them went to the western states to be near some of their relatives, but it never came to my knowledge in which state in particular they were settled.
To my knowledge, both of them returned to the Old Country together around the year 1903. Mr. Ayash, Jr., was ordained a priest of Ain-Arab, and he became a Saintly Priest, because he never turned down anyone who wanted to borrow money from him. One of the couples who got money from him was the parents of Mr. Nathan Haddad who, like other debtors, never paid back to this saintly and popular priest the money owed to him. He died in 1909. His Mother survived him and I remember her well (naturally, she is my Grandmother).
I was born in 1904, and shortly after my birth, when I was an infant, your Grandfather set sail again to the United States. this time, he took with him the oldest of his children, Sam your (Marion's) Father. It seems to me that you know where he was settled because he told you sometime ago that he was in South Dakota, but your Grandfather settled in Iowa where some of our relatives resided.
He became a friend with a man, native of our home town in the Old Country and they became friends. So he promised this friend, who was still a bachelor, to send for his daughter Najeeby to come to the United States for the purpose of giving her in marriage to this friend, who was no other than the late George Ellis.
I still remember well when she left home for the last time on a full moon night, when, accompanied by our Mother, she insisted to carry me on her arms a half- mile outside town to where a caravan of people from neighboring towns were waiting for her to join them on mules and donkeys (the means of transportation in those days), and some of these people were emigrants to the United States - like her, whose first destination was the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, where they will board a ship coming to the United States.
George, our Mother, and I were left behind. We made a living raising wheat from a parcel of land. George used to be a part time carpenter. When I grew up I got employed by one of my Uncles, Dawood Haddd, helping in his wheat fields, using old tools like the sickles. Also, your Grandfather, who was still in the United States, used to send us some money.
My first education was attending the primary American school, which was established by the American Presbyterian Missionaries, where I did well. The three of us lived happily for sometime, until your Uncle George had an accident, injuring his leg, while performing carpentry work, which made him limp the rest of his life.
World War I started in 1914. Before civil sea travel was stopped, your Grandfather returned to the Old Country. His last residence in the United States was in Clothier, West Virginia. The War ended in November, 1918, and the next year, 1919, a universal epidemic (Swine Flu) spread all over the world, including the United States, and millions died and many got handicaps seriously, but who survived. I am one of them by losing my hearing, therefore, I am not able to know more about the history of our family, by going deeper to our roots.
In the year 1920, your grandmother died, as we did not know the cause of her death because there were no doctors around to treat her while she was sick or to diagnose the cause of her death. I did not have any idea how old she was when she died.
While the Old Country was still ravaged by destruction caused by the War, and while the Old Country roads were still plagued by roaming bandits and criminals, your Grandmother, who for a long time did visit or see her sisters and families in her home town, Ain-Arab. Shortly before her death, she dared to travel the six miles alone and on foot as if God sent her to bid them farewell. The next day she came home, she fell sick and four days later she died. I never knew her age, nor that of your Grandfather.
Her brother, the priest, taught her to memorize several prayers which she recited daily. When she awoke in the morning and before going to bed. You should know that you (Marion) greatly resemble her and look like her as if she willed her features to you, except she was some inches taller.
After a year, your Grandfather remarried and within about a month I left home in the year 1923 when I emigrated to Cuba with hope to make it to the United States sometime. Being unable to come because the U. S. Immigrations Laws were tough. Your Uncle George went to Cuba for me and could bring me on a student visa in 1929, which means I must leave the United States anytime I leave school.
Being unable to get money to attend any college after I graduated from Scott High School (I also attended Charleston High School for two years more - 1934-1935). The next year the government ordered me to leave the United States.
So, on January 6, 1936, I left the United States and went back to Cuba, and worked for some people who had employed me before. But I kept in mind to come back here again. While I was still attending Scott High School in Madison, and in the year 1932, your Uncle George told me the news that your Grandfather died in the Old Country of a heart attack.
The following information is about your Grandmother’s four sisters and her only brother (the Priest) and their families, because many of their sons and daughters came to the United States a long time ago and have families of their own.
First sister: Maiden name Mariana Ayash married to Mr. Whiby in Ain-Arab had three sons who came to this Country between 1910 and 1912. Joseph Whiby, George Whiby and Charles Whiby, another son who did not come to the United States. To daughters, one named Mary Whiby (maiden name) married Mr. Abdnoor and settled in South Dakota whose American son James Abdnoor was elected a Congressman and a Senator (unluckily he was defeated earlier this month - November 1986 elections) because many Dakota citizens failed to go to the polls to vote.
Mariana Whiby had another son who did not make it to the United States. He stayed behind and died a long time ago. Also, she had a daughter who still lives at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and whose age is the same as mine - 82 years old.
A second sister to your Grandmother whose name was Sabat (in English it means Elizabeth) Ayash who was married to a Mr. Stephan. She became the mother, grandmother and great grandmother to many Stephan in this country resided mainly in the western states like Iowa, Arkansas and Nebraska.
A third sister named Barbara (Ayash) Nimea had only one daughter who came to this country after the was of 1914. She resided with her husband in Oklahoma.
A fourth sister whose maiden name is Mary Ayash married and her married name was Mary Atyah. She had only one child, a daughter. All the members of this family are dead.
The Priest had three sons, all of whom are dead. The oldest emigrated to the United States. He returned to the old Country and was not allowed to return to the United States because the immigration laws became tough against him. He emigrated to Mexico and died there. He had a daughter who is married and lives in Brownsville, Texas.
Well!! that is all that I can remember of our family history. Pardon my grammatical mistakes. If you want to ask any other questions, please do it and I’ll try to answer them to the best of my knowledge. So help me God.
Regards,
Your loving Uncle, Tonas
