INTRODUCTION

Winston Churchill once said, “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see”. So many of us have lived our lives without much reflection on our past. As a result, we have missed out on so much rich and interesting history of our ancestors, the community they lived in and the social and economic condition of the time.

It’s after we get older that we begin to think about the past, only to find that much of the important information goes to the grave with the passing of our loved ones. There has been a great deal of interest lately in the field of genealogy and many resources have been developed to enable us to do a much better job of writing our family history.

My greatest regret is that I did not ask my parents more questions about their past history so that I could pass it on to my children for their future reflection and enjoyment. Fortunately I have a fair amount of information and recollections of my grandparents, my aunts and uncles. I have attempted to put as much as possible in writing with as many interesting pictures as I was able to obtain. It is my hope that the next generation will appreciate this effort and use it to continue their history for their children and grandchildren.

This book is written in four parts:

The FIRST part begins with my great-grandfather Habib Zakem, grandfather Joseph, my father Albert, my aunts, uncles and cousins.

The SECOND part consists of my maternal great grandfather Habib Marji, grandfather Abraham Marji, my mother Haniya and my aunts, uncles and cousins from the Marji side. Also in this section will be some information about Mary Lubra Marji and Joseph Marji (spelt Mariage in the USA), sister and brother of my grandfather Abraham Marji. Other spelling for Marji include: Margi, Margy, and El Margi.

The THIRD section consists of Shaheen Zakem. He was brother to my great grandfather Habib Zakem. Shaheen had six children. The three of the four male children, Hanna, Kisma and Sadd had many descendents that came to Canada and the United States. I was able to get a lot of information when I went to the Zakem reunion in Detroit, Michigan in 1992.

The FOURTH section deals with Abdullah Zakem, grandfather of my wife Janet (Kousaie). At the time of writing I have been able to determine that Abdullah’s grandfather and the father of Shaheen and Habib Zakem were brothers but I have not been able to find the first names of Abdullah’s father or his grandfather. My hunch is the Shaheen and Abdullah branch were from Rashaya and the Habib branch was from Kfeir.

You will find ZAKEMS in different parts of the world including: Canada, United States, Brazil, Australia, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Africa. There are many variations of spelling other than Zakem: Abou Zakem, Zackhem, Zakham,Zakhem, Zakim, Zakhim, Zachem,