I am 50% lebanese, and I want to know more about my background?

Question

My last name is Shaluly. I cant ever find stuff out about my background, tips?

Answer 1

The important question for you before we can answer is where did they settle in the US and were they Orthodox, Chaldean, Maronite or Islamic?

Answer 2

if you can read arabic then you can get an encyclopedia about lebanese family names and there origines. last time i found one at a bookstore in beirut i dont know if it is available online. if you would like more recent history then you can get your  original home town(if you are a lebanese citizen) or that of your fathers. and if you find the family registration number then it will be extremely easy  to pinpoint any siblings and relatives in Lebanon

Answer 3

Network, my friend... network.  Talk to others who have researched there.  Most resources online are for US or European sources, just as a reality of demand.  Expectations here are different, I think.  

http://genforum.genealogy.com/lebanon/me...

(meant to link you to the entire forum, but got one message instead.  What I did was scan for someone who seemed to answer lots of questions.. if knowledgeable, then I go through other replies from him/her, which may give me leads before I ask).

My advice is generic, also.. to be sure that you utilize all sources here (assuming US, but could be otherwise, forgive me).. example, if Grandpa is the immigrant ancestor, you can find records of that, which can give you explicit info about his exact place of origin.  

Instead of thinking in terms of your surname.. think in terms of sources for birth certificates, churches, libraries.. WHAT are the places that you may use for finding info? Even in US searching, I find that it is very helpful to have some broad knowledge of a locality.. ie when was this state settled? Was it under some other jurisdiction prior to statehood?

One more lead

http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index...

I like email lists, since they are more interactive than websites.