Syria Compiled Genealogies

Compiled Genealogies
The term genealogy is used in this Wiki article and in the FamilySearch Catalog to describe a variety of records containing family information previously gathered by other researchers, societies, or archives. These records can include pedigree charts, compiled data on families, correspondence, ancestor lists, research exchange files, record abstracts, and collections of original or copied documents. These can be excellent sources of information that can save you valuable time. Because they are secondary sources of information, however, they must be carefully evaluated for accuracy.

Family Trees

 * FamilySearch Genealogies Click on "+ Collections". From the drop-down menu, select "Oral Genealogies".
 * Ancestry.com Public Member Trees ($)

Digital Books

 * FamilySearch Books
 * Google Books
 * World Cat
 * HathiTrust
 * Internet Archive

FamilySearch Catalog
Many family histories can be found on the FamilySearch Catalog by performing a surname search:


 * Go to the FamilySearch Catalog
 * Click on the Surname link
 * Type in the search field the last name of the family that you are researching

OR to filter by location and surname:


 * Go to the FamilySearch Catalog
 * Click on the Keyword link
 * Type in the search field the country of residence and last name of the family that you are researching

Oral Genealogies
Oral genealogies are spoken lineages that are common in certain parts of the world. Oral Genealogies can be especially useful in localities where few if any written records exist and in some cultures are the main genealogical tool for researchers. The following are resources for finding Oral Genealogies for Syria.
 * For more background information, see Oral Genealogies.

Online Records
These collections are for Syrian families who emigrated to the United States. The Arab American National Museum launched the Family History Archive of Syrian and Lebanese Families in the American South at the 2014 convention of the Southern Federation of Syrian-Lebanese American Clubs (SFSLAC) in Houston, TX. The museum continued the project at the 2015 and 2016 conventions. For the project, the AANM invited participants to bring in family photographs and documents to be digitized and record oral histories about their family journeys in and through the American South. The current collection is comprised of 36 recorded oral histories and includes former Federation presidents, board members, and elders. As the 2015 convention was a joint event with the Midwest Federation of American-Syrian Lebanese Clubs, the collection also includes stories from Midwest members. The format for the interviews follows the StoryCorps model, as relatives converse about their family history, recalling memories of immigrants who first came to the U.S as well as telling stories of their own lives.
 * Family History Archive: Syrian and Lebanese Families in the American South

Alixa Naff (September 15, 1919 – June 1, 2013) was a Lebanese-born American historian. She focused much of her research on the first wave of Arab American immigration to the United States at the turn of the 20th Century. Naff documented Arab immigration to the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This first wave of mostly Christian immigrants was the first major emigration from the Middle East to the U.S. Naff donated her collection of artifacts and oral histories from early Arab immigrants to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. Naff had driven throughout the nation to collect oral histories and family heirlooms for the collection. She amassed more than 450 oral histories, 2,000 photographs, and more than 500 artifacts.
 * Arab-American NAFF Collection