Concordia University OpenSearch Plugin (Created by Me, Ahmed Karam)

3 thoughts on “Concordia University OpenSearch Plugin (Created by Me, Ahmed Karam)”

1. Dear Ahmed:

   My name is Kenneth Joseph Bodzioch. Although my name doesn’t sound very Lebanese (my father is Polish), my mother is Jennie Agnes Karam, daughter of Shaheen Boutros Karam and Almaz Fayad El-Kareh. My mother was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1912. My great grandfather, Boutros Boutros Karam emigrated to the United States of America in 1889 from Zgharta/Ehden, North Lebanon. He settled on Ferry Street, in Springfield, Massachusetts, and helped found an enclave of Lebanese Immigrants. His sons, Raffoul Boutros Karam and Shaheen Boutros Karam followed him with their wives and at least some of their children in 1908. My grandfather Shaheen left three children behind in Zgharta: Jamil Shaheen Karam, Emil Shaheen Karam, and Bahia Shaheen Karam all married and raised families in Lebanon. Some of Jamil’s children went to Venezuela, and at least one went to Australia (he’s a Maronite Priest of the Antonine Order in Sydney).
   After my mother passed away in 2002, I became very interested in the genealogy and history of the Karam Family. I started a Family Tree which has grown to over 3,000 people and goes back to 1700 with good accuracy, to about 1575 with some speculation and a few gaps, and back to 1098 with a lot of legend and storytelling. My great grandfather Boutros is a first cousin, once removed of Youssef Bey Karam, the Hero of Lebanon.

   I understand that the Karam Family is huge. I have also collected about 250 other branches of the Karam Family Tree from 28 of the 50 United States, and 40 foreign countries including Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Ghana, Cameroon, Dominica, to name just a few. Some of these branches have 13 generations, and some have only three or four generations. Some can be traced to Kartaba, Khirbet Kanafar, Mazraat et Toufah, Miziara, Syr el Dannieh, Menjez, Beirut, Qnat, and other villages in Lebanon, as well as Zgharta and Ehden. In my heart, I believe that all Karams are related, if you go back far enough in time. Of course, there are Karams who took the name, and are not really related, just as there are Karams that took other names and are related. I am trying to construct a world-wide Karam Family Tree, and I’m willing to share information with any Karam who is willing to help.

   I am 58 years old. I’m married (for 37 years, my wife is Irish) and I have two daughters, two sons, and four grandsons. I retired as the Chief Engineer for what was formerly the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), and I live in Medford, New Jersey, in the United States of America. I am Maronite. I was baptized, had First Communion, Confirmation, and was married in St. Anthony’s Maronite Catholic Church in Springfield, Massachusetts which was founded by my grandfather and other Lebanese Immigrants from the Ferry Street enclave around 1908. The Church building burned to the ground around 1968, and a beautiful, naturally lit circular Church was built to replace it in 1970. My wife and I were the first couple married in the new Church on May 31, 1970.

   Please, if you can help, don’t hesitate to correspond with me. All information is valuable, even if it seems unimportant to you at the moment. Building the world-wide Karam Family Tree is like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle – you have no idea how many pieces there are, and you can’t tell what the picture will look like when you are done (I may never be done!) I’m grateful for any help you can give me. It’s something that I believe has to be written down before it’s forgotten. I’m sorry that I didn’t listen better to my mother while she was still alive – she was a wealth of knowledge about the Karam Family. However, I’m doing my best to make up for lost time, and I would appreciate your help. Please don’t dismiss the possibility that your help could be the key to adding an entire branch to the world-wide Karam Family Tree.

   God Bless you and your family. I’ll be anxiously waiting to hear from you. Let’s have fun putting this puzzle together!

   Sincerely,

   Ken

   • Hello Kenneth, is it possible to see your family tree. My grandparents are immigrants from Zgharta as well and I believe related to Karam.

     Thank You

     John Gustin
     760-809-5081

2. I am interested in seeing the family tree. My father that just passed away had an old family tree but some of the names are in arabic. please contact me through my email so we may share our information. Thanks!

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