Bath Khouri Youssef

Bath Bou Ibrahim

Bath Bou Youssef

Bath Khouri Jeres

Different races had settled in Kfarsghab, starting with the Heathens, to the Syriac people, to the Ottomans, and finally the Shiite Hamade family in the 17^th Century.

Deeb el Bahri came to Kfarsghab. He is the Great-Grandfather of Kfarsghabians, and was a hard-working man loved by all villagers. He met and married a girl named Marina, and had three boys who became the first three families:

Youssef: (Bou Mansour)

Khoury Youssef: (a Maronite priest whose name is mentioned in many historical documents in the Patriarchal archives).

Sleiman: (Bou Ibrahim)

Later, another family came:

Bou Youssef: Bou Youssef Elias, known as Bou Youssef, is the origin of this family, and he came to Kfarsghab in the beginning of the last quarter of the 17^th Century, from the Jbeil area (Byblos) of Lebanon. Believed to be well-educated and a descendant of a noble family, he met the sons of Deeb el Bahri, and later married one of their daughters, however, it is still unknown which one. Due to his education, he became the legal representative of the village towards the Hamade family (authorities of the Maronite areas of that time). With accordance with his brothers-in-law, he decided to buy the winter village, the Morh, from the Hamade family.

How did Bou Youssef Elias take power?

In 1759 he participated in the Battle that liberated the Jebbe, (the Maronite region from Ehden to Bcharre), from the Shiite Hamade family. This event is documented in the history of Syria written by Bishop Youssef el Debs, a Maronite historian.

Abou Youssef’s son’s are:

1. Moussi

2. Hanna: (he went to Tourza, a neighboring village)

3. Estephan (Grandfather of the Stephan family)

Estephan had a son named Joseph. Joseph had a son named Antonious (1856-1895). Antonious had two sons, Youssef and Sayed. Youssef never married and lived from 1890 to 1947. Sayed had two sons, Antoine (1916-1957) and Marcel (1918-1954). Antoine had a daughter. Marcel had Sayed, Jebrayel, and Ibrahim. Sayed had Marcel and Joseph.

Khoury Jeres: Khouri Jeres Habouk was the last of the five families to come to Kfarsghab in the beginning of the 18^th Century. They came from the Metn area of Lebanon, specifically from the village of Jeeta, according to village elders. Two brothers came, with their third brother who was a monk in Deir Qozayah, and decided to stay. Monasteries owned a lot of land (they still do), and the monk asked one of the brothers to take care of their farms in Ban, a neighboring village, and the other brother took care of their land in Sekrieh, just below Mar Awtel church. The second brother became the ancestor of Khouri Jeres family and his name was Habouk.

Do you know which family you are from? Would you like to know?

We are communicating with the village historians, and will continue to post more detailed information about Deeb el Bahri, and each of these Five Families, in addition to pictures of Morh Kfarsghab and other documented and historical information about our beloved village…stay tuned…..