Do geneological records for Palestinian families exist?

Question:

Do geneological records for Palestinian families exist?

My mother's family is Palestinian, and I'm interested in our geneology. I was wondering whether there are geneological records for Palestinian families. Her family, from what I understand, was a fairly prominent Christian merchant family. Because of the conflict, however, few of them still live there. Any ideas?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: If they were Islamic, then the records would be limited. But if they were Orthodox or Catholic, you can research them through sacramental records. The first thing to find is the hometown. Then you need to locate the parish(es) that were in existence when they lived there. From there, you need to write a letter requesting baptismal, marriage and sepulture/burial records on your ancestors.

In Orthodoxy, many of the sacraments are combined into one called "chrismation". It combines what the Church of Rome breaks out as baptism, communion, penance and confirmation all in one master sacrament. Chrismation is a very important sacrament and is usually carried out within a week of birth. It's also recorded forever.

The hard part is that there is also a gray area between Rome and Orthodoxy. During the Great Schism, several local churches were asked to decide between allegiance to Rome or to the Sister Churches of the East (Jerusalem, Constantinople, Antioch, etc). Each of the Sister Churches had a presence in Palestine, plus those churches wishing to continue allegiance to Rome, but also continue the ways of the Sister Churches were allowed to create what are called the Eastern Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. So they are Catholic, but with a sacramental system that's more closely Orthodox.

I mention this because as you start looking for churches you need to understand what they practice, how they practice, and what you can expect from them. You'll need to do your homework and probably approach a priest from each of the various denominations here in the US (and there are many...even the Antiochian Orthodox) to get help in contacting the priests in the Near East for records.

When you track via religious records, keep in mind that the parish of baptism/chrismation is very special for the entire life of the person. That's their home parish and the priest of that parish is responsible both for tracking where people go and if they remain in a state of grace with the Church. So the home parish is just as important as the parish where someone was married or buried. It's wise to request information not only about the sacraments, but also about the parish of baptism/chrismation for each of these people as you get records. That way you can find the clustered information and have a more concrete set of dates (the closer the recording of the event, the more reliable the information...the later recording of dates tends to get skewed by foggy memories).

If you need a place to start, and assuming they left Palestine in the 20th century, then look first at passenger records for a hometown or last residence, then look for Naturalization papers.

I hope this helps...good luck in your search.