Written by staff blogger Vicky
It takes bravery to leave home.
Breaking away from the normal and the familiar is scary, even if it's something you know you have to do. That is especially true when the journey separates you from your family and friends, and takes you halfway around the world to a strange new place.
Members of the Al-Molky family of Lebanon once made such a journey. Thankfully, many of them were able to reunite in Halifax, and make the city their home.
Lebanon as part of the Ottoman Empire
It is nearly impossible to condense 300+ years of history into a few paragraphs. The history of Lebanon is intricate and complex, and the factors discussed below are merely small pieces of a much larger puzzle.
Lebanon became a part of the Ottoman Empire in 1516 after being conquered by Selim I. At that time, the area was known as Mount Lebanon and was a part of the country of Syria. While the Ottomans were the overall ruling body, Mount Lebanon was able to be semi-autonomous with its own leadership that functioned both outside of and in cooperation with the Empire (Lebanon Unsettled).
While the Ottoman Empire was frequently in a state of flux that lead to internal conflict, there were some specific issues that fed unrest in Mount Lebanon throughout the 19th century.
In the mountains, a feudal-like governing system called iqta' had developed:
The system of vassalage and the institution of the fief, the idea of the personal bond, the hereditary and hierarchical nature of social relations, patron-client ties and obligations, decentralization of the power of the state and the consequent autonomy of feudal chiefs in the appropriation of justice, collection of taxes, and maintenance of law and order. These and other attributes were similar to the predominant form of European feudalism.
Khalaf, pg. 64
This system was run by notable families, or muqata'jis, who served an amir, or hakim. The muqata'jis had a great deal of influence over who was chosen as amir, and so the two often worked hand in hand. The Ottoman government often kept their distance from Mount Lebanon affairs, and were happy to let the muqata'jis and amirs do as they pleased as long as the yearly miri, or tribute, was paid.
How was that tribute paid?
By collecting taxes, of course!
Land taxes! Poll taxes! Head taxes!
You get the idea.
Plus, there were the presents!
Wait, what? Presents?
Yes, presents.
As was the case with the European feudal system, many of the people in Lebanon were peasants, and these people did the work. Metayers, or sharecroppers, were farmers who paid rent to a landowner to use their property for cultivation. Rent was typically paid in coin, or with the crops they grew (Khalaf, pg. 66). While this system wasn't inherently problematic, the abuse of it was.
The landowners dictated much of the metayers' lives, including what they could plant, when they could leave the property, and whether or not they were allowed to marry (if permission was given, they would also have to pay a fee) (Khalaf, pg. 66). Under the practice of corvée, the landowners could also demand that the metayers work for free to build roads, forts, and other public works projects. They were also expected to give their landlords gifts, or idiyya, for holidays, weddings, and other important occasions to show their loyalty.
In addition, if a metayer or other member of the lower class wanted to broaden their opportunities in life, or seek a higher social standing, they were out of luck. Mirroring its neighbours to the north-west, the class system in Lebanon was a lock with no key: "A person's status as a nobleman or commoner was determined by birth..." (Issawi), and there was no real way to change it. If you were born poor, you and your children and your children's children would also be poor.
The governing power also used religion as a tool against its own citizens. During the 19th century there were three main sects:
- Sunni Muslims - a traditionalist branch of Islam
- Druze - an offshoot of Shi'ah Islam
- Maronites - an offshoot of Christianity that was eventually integrated into Roman Catholicism
In the early 1800s, Prince Bashir II came to power with major support from the Druze community. In the 1830s, his power was threatened by an occupying Egyptian force. The Prince made an alliance with the Egyptian troops to keep his place by promising to limit the influence the Druze had over the country. At the same time, the Maronite population was on the rise and were gaining more political power. Although Lebanon had historically been a place of religious peace, these factors caused friction that would eventually lead to bloodshed.
The treatment of the peasant class combined with political betrayals and religious unrest resulted in a number of uprisings during the 1800s including the Ammiyyas of 1821 and 1840, the Kisrawan Peasant Rebellion of 1858-1861, and the massacre of Maronites in 1860. The violence and disorder prompted citizens - particularly the Maronite community - to emigrate from Lebanon hoping that destinations like Europe and North America would provide both safety and prosperity. Emigration began slowly, but by the turn of the century movement began in earnest. Between 1882-1907, around 7,000 migrants had come to Canada seeking a better life (Canadian Arab Institute). Amongst those was George Al-Molky.
Hitting the High Seas
George Faris Al-Molky was born on July 15, 1874 in Mount Lebanon to Feris, or Faris and Hellen Al-Molky. Very little is known about George's youth, but we do know that around 1890 at approximately 16 years of age George left Lebanon. His first adventure was in the South Pacific where he traveled to Australia and lived there, as well as in New Zealand. It's possible that George was drawn to that area as Australia was experiencing a gold rush at the end of the 19th Century, but that has not been confirmed. In fact, exactly what George was doing and where he was living is incredibly difficult to determine as he does not appear in available city directories or census records of the time.
However, in 1904 George reemerges in the public record as a passenger aboard a steamship.
After spending 14 years in Australia and New Zealand, George boarded the SS Sierra, a 6000 ton commercial passenger ship built in 1900 by William Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia. The ship was used in the service of the Oceanic Steamship Company to complete voyages between San Francisco and Australia by way of Hawaii. On the passenger list from the Sierra, George is listed as having most recently lived in Wellington, New Zealand, and that he had been working as a draper. A "draper" is an old British term for a cloth merchant.
He boarded the SS Sierra in Auckland, New Zealand with a steerage - or third class - ticket. This would not have made for a particularly comfortable or enjoyable voyage:
The old-type steerage is the one whose horrors have been so often described. It is, unfortunately, still found in a majority of the vessels bringing immigrants to the United States. ... The persons carried are looked upon as so much freight. ... The berths are in two tiers, with an interval of 2 feet and 6 inches above each. They consist of an iron framework containing a mattress, a pillow, or more often a life-preserver as a substitute, and a blanket. The mattress and pillow, if there is one, are filled with straw or seaweed... Generally the passenger must retire almost completely dressed to keep worm. ... Sweeping is the only form of cleaning done... No sick cans are furnished, and not even large receptacles for waste. The vomitings of the seasick are often permitted to remain a long time before being removed. The floors, when iron, are continually damp, and when of wood they reek with foul odor because they are not washed.... The open deck available to the steerage is very limited... The food may be generally described as fair in quality and sufficient in quantity, and yet it is neither; fairly good materials are usually spoiled by being wretchedly prepared... The experience of a single crossing is enough to change bad standards of living to worse. It is abundant opportunity to weaken the body and emplant there germs to develop later.
Reports of the Immigration Commission, Dr. Dillingham Washington, Government Printing Office, 1911, RootsWeb
Although the above quote describes steerage conditions when crossing the Atlantic, the conditions on the Pacific were no doubt very similar.
What's worse was that the trip was not a short one. In May 1876, the Daily Alta California newspaper out of San Francisco reported the steamship Zealandia made the journey from Sydney to San Francisco via Honolulu in 28 days (Maritime Heritage). Even today the voyage by ship is not quick. On a modern cruise ship the journey takes upwards of 22 days if one includes stops in ports along the way (Cruise Way). In any case, the trip was long and uncomfortable to say the least.
But even upon landing in San Francisco, George's journey was not over. His final destination according to the passenger list was Vancouver, and while that may have been George's original intent, there's no evidence to suggest he stayed in Vancouver for very long. By 1905, George was living/working at 34-36 Maitland Street in Halifax as a general merchant. His shop and home were located just before the corner of Maitland and Cornwallis Street (now Nora Bernard Street).
Making Halifax Home
Once in Halifax, George did not take long to settle down. By 1907 he was well established as a dry goods merchant on Maitland Street, which was not an easy feat; competition was fierce. The Al-Molky store was one of 50 other dry goods business on the Halifax peninsula (1907 Directory, pg. 48).
On August 3, 1908, George married Shems (Shamis) Laba. Shems was the daughter of Joseph and Yamina (Yamna) Laba. Records debate Shems' place of birth, some indicating it was Tripoli, Libya, others stating it was Syria/Lebanon; it was likely the latter.
How George and Shems met is not entirely clear. Some census documents state that Shems was living in Canada as early as 1895, while others say she did not arrive until 1904. While city directories of the time were unlikely to list a young woman living on her own, there is also no record to show her parents living in Halifax until 1908. In that year, Shems' mother is listed as living at 36 Maitland Street, George's address. This does not mean that Shems and her family were not in Canada prior to 1908, but it is unlikely they were in Halifax.
Perhaps George and Shems met just as she and her mother arrived in Halifax and the two were quickly married.
It is also possible that George and Shems had an arranged marriage:
Arranged marriages were an important social norm for most of the early Arab Christian immigrants. The majority of the Arab Christians in the early 1900s arrived as single men. Syrian men either married single women immigrants from the same community or went back to Syria to return with their brides
Othman
As this was a common practice, it is possible that Shems and her mother did not immigrate to Nova Scotia until after the marriage contract had been finalized.
On March 10, 1909, George and Shems welcomed their daughter Mary Helen into the world.
The More the Merrier
Back in Lebanon was George's brother Abraham (Ibrahim). He and his wife Helen (Heleana/Halsa) had a large family of eight children. Over time, many of these children made their way to Halifax.
Naseem Al-Molky was the first to arrive. Naseem begins to appear in City Directories in 1910. Like his uncle, he too established a dry goods shop, but his was located on Gottingen Street very near to where the Guardian Pharmacy stands today. The City Directory also shows Naseem living at 36 Maitland Street, his Uncle's address, but his Uncle George was no longer living there.
George had relocated his shop to nearby Barrington Street and his home to Cornwallis Street. The business at 437-439 Barrington would have been the last building on the eastern side of Barrington Street just before Cornwallis street; his home at 16 Cornwallis Street only a short distance away. When Naseem arrived in the city, he and his uncle must have made some arrangement regarding the Maitland Street property. However it came about, the businesses and the families were very near to one another. Perhaps this was a reflection of their close family bond.
Within a year of setting up his shop on Gottingen Street, Naseem began growing his family. On November 23, 1911 he married Catherine (Katie) Cameron. She was the daughter of a Scottish farmer and had come to Nova Scotia earlier that year. Naseem and Katie would have many children together, including Margaret Helen, Assad, Norman, Naseem, and Abraham. Tragically, at least eight other children were born to Naseem and Katie, but they passed away in infancy.
1911 also saw the arrival of Saleem, Naseem's brother. However, it is possible that Naseem was in the City prior to 1911. Travel documents state that he brought his mother, Helen, to Halifax in 1907 aboard the ship Victorian, but is not known if Saseem stayed in Halifax from that time forward, or if he traveled back to Lebanon.
Regardless, Saleem and Naseem joined forces to rebrand their store as N & S Al-Molky, dry goods. The shop on Gottingen Street was closed, and the business moved back to 34 Maitland Street. The brothers also opened a location at 102 Barrington Street, which would have been close to the Duke Street intersection. After a few years, the store expanded from dry goods to furniture, clothing, jewelry, and more.
Saleem took a little longer than his brother and uncle to put down family roots in Halifax. It wasn't until 1934 that he married Charlotte McDonald, a telephone operator from Halifax. Saleem and Charlotte would have six children: David, Shirley, Saleem Jr (otherwise known as Sam), Kenneth, Charlotte, and Michael.
By the late 1920s, the brothers had begun to diversify their business enterprises. Naseem opened a confectionary on Quinpool Road next door to the West End Baptist Church. Saleem decided to open a ladies furnishings store at 177 Brunswick Street. This shop would have been just the other side of Jacob Street which was destroyed during the construction of the Scotia Square Mall in the late 1960s.
By 1927, another of George's nephews had come to Halifax: William Abraham Al-Molky. According to the 1931 Canada Census, William's wife Genevieve and their youngest child Joseph had been in Halifax since 1923; William, along with three other children - Shaf, John, and Marie - arrived between 1927 and 1928. Their address is listed as 16 Cornwallis Street. Incredibly, George and his family had moved yet again potentially to accommodate another nephew. George and his family moved to 230 Oxford Street near the Quinpool Road intersection.
At least two other family members would ultimately make their way to Halifax: George's nieces Jameela (Jamila) and Wadia. They would go on to marry Frederick Majaess and Anthony Saab respectively.
Getting Down to Business
The Al-Molky's landed in Halifax ready to invest in themselves and the city. Members of the Al-Molky family owned and operated businesses all across the peninsula between the early 1900s and the 1960s:
- George Al-Molky, Dry Goods - 34-36 Maitland Street
- George Al-Molky, Dry Goods - 437-439 Barrington Street
- Naseem Al-Molky, Dry Goods - 47 Gottingen Street
- Naseem and Saleem Al-Molky, M&S Al-Molky Dry Goods (later renamed Al-Molky Brothers) - 102 Barrington Street, later 57 Duke Street
- Naseem Al-Molky, Confectionary - 204 Quinpool Road
- Naseem Al-Molky, Post Master - 204 Quinpool Road
- Saleem Al-Molky, Ladies Furnishings - 177 Brunswick Street
- Samuel Al-Molky (possible Saleem's son), Dry Goods - 30 Spring Garden Road
- William Al-Molky, Al-Molky Groceries - 53 Cogswell Street
- Saleem and Wadia Al-Molky, Union Ice Cream Parlour - location unclear
- Genevieve Al-Molky, Boarding House - 23 Cogswell Street
- Shaf (William's son), Fruit and Confectionary - 181 Brunswick Street/217 Brunswick Street
- John (William's son), Fruit, Confectionary, and Shoe Repair - 49 Cogswell Street
By the 1960's/1970's, members of the Al-Molky family were supporting the city in other ways. Shirley, one of Saleem's daughters, went on to work as a clinic assistant for the Red Cross; his other daughter Charlotte became a private branch exchange operator for City Hall. Naseem's son Abraham would work for the Halifax Dockyard, and William's son John would go on to work for the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission, just to name a few.
But life isn't just work. The Al-Molkys became a part of the community at large. Many people in the Al-Molky family were dedicated members of Saint Patrick's Catholic Church and associated organizations like the Knights of Columbus. Others served their country overseas during the Second World War and the Korean War.
William Al-Molky even sponsored a hockey team in the late 1940's/1950's. (This William is believed to be William Al-Molky Jr.)
However the original Al-Molky family members may have felt about leaving their homes in Lebanon, they were determined to make Halifax their home away from home. And so, they did.
The Finishing Lines
The Al-Molky's are not alone in their immigration journey. Many people come to Canada seeking a life that offers some guarantee of safety and success. These are feelings every human being can understand. This Asian Heritage Month, take a moment to think about the immigrants from across Asia that have helped make our city, our province, and our country a better place.
Library Sources
Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, City Directory
Additional Sources
9 Beginnings: Mount Lebanon before 1840, Ozan Ozavci, Oxford Academic
Arab Canadians, The Canadian Encyclopedia
Cedars of Lebanon, Francis Frith, 1857, Internet Archive
Charlotte Jennett Coulson (Al-Molky), Obituary, The Chronicle Herald
Civil and Uncivil Violence in Lebanon, Samir Khalaf, Columbia University
The Early Lebanese in America: A Demographic Portrait, 1880-1930, NC State University
The Expansion of the Ottoman Empire, Encyclopedia Britannica
Frederick Khalil Majaess, Obituary, Dignity Memorial
Halifax Sub Office No. 3, Government of Canada
The Historical Background of Lebanese Emigration, 1800-1914, World Lebanese Cultural Union
Immigrants and the Steamship Steerage Rate Wars, 1904, GG Archives
The Independent, January 12, 1904, evols, University of Hawaii
The Independent, July 1, 1904, eVols, University of Hawaii
The Independent, August 22, 1904, eVols, University of Hawaii
Lebanon Before Independence, Arab America
Lebanon in the Middle Ages, Encyclopedia Britannica
Lebanon's Popular Uprisings ('ammiyyat) 1820-1861, Lebanon Unsettled
Mail and Early Tourism, Images of Old Hawai'i
Oceanic Steamship Company Archival Collection, GG Archives
Ottoman Empire 40 Para 1859, Katz Auction
Rare Photos of Lebanon in the 1800s, the 961
Saf. Al-Molky Confectionery Tabaccos, Fruits Matchbook, eBay
Saint Patrick's Church, National Trust Canada
Shipboard: the 19th century emigrant experience, State Library New South Wales
The Sierra, Auckland Council Libraries
SS Australia, Passengers: San Francisco 1800s, Maritime Heritage
The Steerage Experience, Rootsweb
Sunni, Encyclopedia Britannica
Timeline of Arabs in Canada, Canadian Arab Institute
Transpacific from Sydney, Australia with the Carnival Luminosa, Cruise Away
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