Family History And Family Tree

First to board were 162 first class passengers followed by 184 second class passengers. They stood on the top decks waiving to those on shore as over 2000 steerage class passengers made their way into the hold of the ship and settled into stacked cots and bunks below deck. Soon the vibration from the giant engines gave final confirmation that the voyage to America had begun.

Excitement was ever present among ship's immigrants as each day brought them closer to America. Below deck, the languages were as varied as the faces. Elias made friends easily because in addition to his native Arabic, he also could read and write the universal language: English. This would be his head start in the land of opportunity.

Most of the passengers naturally grouped together according to native language and heritage. Elias quickly found the other Syrians onboard. Families such as the Kouris, Naifes, Jabaras, and Rachaeds to name a few (Note 2). These were friendly and familiar families, and it reminded Elias of his family at home in the region of Marjyoum, Syria.

There was ample time for reflection, especially in his bunk at night. Like his brother Michael before him, Elias was taking flight to a new opportunity in a strange and far away land. How appropriate for a Tayar, for the name itself means "flier".

Elias was a friendly lad with an honest and outgoing demeanor. He enjoyed talking with the other passengers and made friends easily. Among those were Said and Tssaf Sobbie who were traveling to America to live with Said's brother George in Bloomington Illinois. What a small place America must be, thought Elias, for he too was going to nearby Springfield Illinois to live with Michael.

Traveling with the Sobbies, was a young teenaged girl who introduced herself as Chabine Jacobs. She loved to hear stories and one long afternoon somewhere in the mid-Atlantic, Ellias entertained the young girl with the story of how his name "Tayar" came to be.

"You see", he explained:

"Two hundred years earlier the Tayar name came to be because of a flight to safety by four brothers in the region near Marjashod, Lebanon in the late 17th century. At that time the region was controlled by the Turks, who ruled the territory with an iron grip that was often oppressive and sometimes brutal. Control was maintained using fear as the primary weapon. Perhaps it was inevitable, but one of four brothers from the Amam family (Note 3) fought and killed the local tyrant during the night and although the local people might have considered this justified, or perhaps even a blessing, the facts of the case would remain irrelevant once the authorities arrived for punishment by death would be instantly administered.

In the morning the authorities rode into town to bring in the head of one or all the Amam brothers. By then the brothers has crossed into Syria, having flown in the night to the safety of a distant land, each eventually settling into a different area of Syria, and each becoming known as "Tayar" or flier. My ancestor was the Tayar brother who settled in Marjyoum. (Note 4) His flight allowed him a long and fruitful life, as evidenced by the many Tayar's in this region of Syria."

Chabine explained that she was on her way to America to live with her father in Bloomington, Illinois. She too had an interesting family story to tell:

Although her father was named Habib Jacobs in Syria his actual name was Sabeh. When he came to America, he couldn't spell Sebeh in English and the immigration officials did not know the name or it's translation. When asked for him name again, he gave the name Jacobs, which was a more common name and the name of his step father.

In much the same way, Chabine was actually named Sebeha and her actual family name was Sabeh. Listening to Chabine Jacobs, or Sehaha Sebeh, Elias scratched his head but tried to keep abreast of the convoluted story.

She continued:

"Sabeh when translated into English is Lyons. It was given as a family name to rare individuals who showed extraordinary courage, and the strength of a lion. Her ancestor has been given this name many years before for his feat of bravery.

Warring factions in the desert of Syria longed for peace but the long feud continued. One of the tribes has settled down into their tents for the night, with the leader protected in the center of the encampment. During the night a young warrior from the rival tribe made his way past the guard into the Syrian leader's tent for what would certainly had been the perfect murder of the rival leader. Instead the young warrior entered the tent and moved a candle fro the head to the food of the leader's bed to prove that he had been there, and also to prove that he could have easily have killed the leader, but in the name of peace chose not to.

The next morning the Syrian leader awoke to discover that his life had been spared in the name of peace. The young warrior was summoned, and although he might have been killed, he returned to the rival leader in the day. Instead the leader dubbed the warrior with a new name Sabeh, for having the bravery of a lion, and peace prevailed, at least for a time."

Soon New York harbor would come into view, and on that final night Elias's thoughts bounced between the exciting opportunity that lie just ahead, then the family and friends that were now almost half a world away. His siblings were divided right down the middle by the need to establish roots in the old country and the desire to fly away to America. The four older siblings would stay: Brother Monsour, had settled down and married a nice local woman named Hama Shadid. Sisters Fahda, Kahy, and Schaad would also stay, two of whom took husbands also with the last name of Tayar. (Note 5) But brother Michael Tayar had broken new ground when he left for America and both brothers after him, Elias, and Nickolas would also make the trip to America. They were all Tayar's but the traveling gene invested itself in the younger Tayar boys.