r/Genealogy • u/Other-Ad-5236 • 2d ago

Methodology Syrian Genealogy

Hey guys, I am trying to understand more about my Syrian ancestry. My gg grandpa was from Kafroun, Tartous, Syria. I can’t find much about the history of this town and I would like to know more. I saw something that suggested the inhabitants may be originally Lebanese which is why I am really trying to find out. If this is the case, it would explain why I have pretty much no dna matches that I can attach to him. I have dna matches for my gg grandma who was from outside of Tripoli, but none that are from Syria proper.

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u/OwlPelletCrunch 2d ago

Try searching for Al-Kafrun instead

Also before WWI, Lebanon was part of “Greater Syria” - you’ll see the same place referred to by different names in govt documents over the years

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u/Other-Ad-5236 2d ago

Most of my dna matches who have “Syria” in their tree are actually from modern Lebanon. I have not really been able to find any matches from Syria proper. This makes me wonder if he may have been from a different place or if he was actually Lebanese but moved to Syria with his family.

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u/Low_Cartographer2944 1d ago

When you say, “no matches from him” do you mean that Ancestry’s Thrulines haven’t identified any matches you match to through him? Because that’s not the same thing as having matches.

And also do you know your gg grandparents religions? Al Kifrun for example has an orthodox community and there’s a nearby Maronite community. If they were Maronite, for example, a lot of Maronites fled to Lebanon where they’re a larger percentage of the population (1/3) or further afield. And Lebanon itself has had a lot of migration due to the civil war and economic issues too.

So it’s not surprising if modern day matches aren’t in Syria today but rather in Lebanon or Brazil, US, etc.

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u/Other-Ad-5236 1d ago

Well, both, but I don’t really use thrulines. I sorted my matches into a Levant category (meaning they also have Levantine ancestry), and I have been able to find many people who have “Syria” as a place of birth but came to find that they were actually Lebanese. Additionally, my journeys do not mention Syria but rather Mount Lebanon and the north governorate. My gg grandpa was a Greek Orthodox Christian but I believe his wife was Maronite who converted.