Independent Lebanese-Newfoundland Women: Julia al-Ghossain and Her Daughters

Sepia portrait of woman with dark hair and eyes wearing dark clothes. The woman has her hair up and is sitting in a chair. She is centred in the oval shape of the photo though there is someone next to her.

Julia Al-Ghossain.

Julia Younis al-Ghossain (1847-1918) was among the first generation of Lebanese immigrants to arrive in Newfoundland in the 1890s. Julia was the widow of George al-Ghossain. She had three daughters, Howa, Marina, and Annie, and two sons, Andrew and George.

From at least 1904 until her death in 1918, Julia ran a boarding house at 402 Water Street in St. John’s. Her boarding house was a lively spot and a gathering place for lodgers and the Lebanese community. Many of the lodgers were seamen, including those who were injured or sick and who needed a place to recuperate before their next voyage. Original crew lists from the time give Julia’s address as home for many seamen, including Swedish, Norwegian, American, and Danish sailors.

Black and white streetscape. Snow covered street and sidewalks with stone and brick row houses and townhouses on either side as well as utility poles. Approximately twelve people are on the sidewalk. There is one man on the street on the right side in the foreground of the photo. There is another man on the right side of the street leading a horse. A snow plow is clearing the left side of the street.

Water Street West. Al-Ghossain shop and boarding house on right. 402 Water Street, St. John’s. Circa 1904

The flavour of the happenings at 402 Water Street was captured in a newspaper article from 1908. During an unfortunate shooting during a game of cards, a courageous Annie chased the assailant, and “grabbed him by the collar and it was only when the shirt was torn that he got free from her grasp.” She continued to follow him until she located a police officer.

Julia’s sons, George and Andrew, eventually left the province and, unfortunately, contact with them was lost. Julia’s matriarchal line continued in Newfoundland and Labrador through her three daughters.

A common theme emerges for many of these women – juggling widowhood and single parenthood with running a small business venture. Howa (1868-1948/50) married Michael Daniels, and had two children before his death in 1905. She remarried Stephen Fitzpatrick in 1908 and had one daughter. Marina Joseph (1880-1958) married Mansour Joseph (Sharlette). By 1925, Marina was widowed, and operated a confectionery store on 184 Gower Street.

Black and white portrait of a woman with dark hair and dark eyes wearing dark clothes, and a flower necklace with her hair up.

Annie (née Gossine) Ringman.

Annie George (1886-1964) helped in Julia’s shop and boarding house. She began as a peddler, taking a pack boarding the train and travelling outside the city, selling items. She married Axel Ringman in 1920 and had two children. Annie was left widowed in 1923 when Axel, a Swedish seaman, was lost at sea. Annie continued to operate at 402 Water Street as late as 1936, before moving and running a shop at 23 New Gower Street. She, along with many of her family and shopkeepers in the area, was displaced in the mid-1960s when New Gower Street properties were taken over as part of the city’s urban-renewal scheme.

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