Meet the Boulos Brothers

Meet Michael, Joseph, Dominic, and Edward Boulos Chedraoui. These brothers were some of the first Lebanese-Newfoundlanders who arrived in the 1890s and early 1900s. They were four of the seven children of Boulos “Paul” Chedraoui, of the Hadath el Jebbeh, Mount Lebanon, in North Lebanon.

Black and white portrait. Woman wearing a dark dress holds a baby. Man wearing a dark suit holds a toddler. Both the woman and man are sitting on chairs.

Michael and Julia Boulos, and two of their children. Circa 1901.

Michael Boulos (1868-1938)

Michael was the first brother to travel to North America in the very early 1890s. He worked as a peddler in the United States. He married Jamila Seide in Lebanon, and moved to St. John’s around 1897. In 1904, Michael and his family relocated from St. John’s to Clarke’s Beach, Conception Bay. In 1910-1911, they moved to Millertown Junction, where he built a home and general store. Michael went back to St. John’s in the early 1920s, where he and Jamila operated a small confectionery store on Water Street. The pair left the Millertown Junction business to their two older sons. That business ran until the 1950s.

Sepia streetscape. A three storey building is in the centre of the image. It has three windows on the second, and three windows on the third floor. The main floor has two doors, and a large shop window. Above the main floor entrance a sign reads N 194 Michael. Boulos. N 194. The building is attached to a shorter building on the right side, and on the left side you can see a building on the street behind.

Michael Boulos’ Water Street store at 590 Water Street, St. John’s. Circa 1930s.

Joseph Boulos (1871-1941)

Joseph and Dominic worked as peddlers in New York before moving to Halifax in 1895. Both brothers married women from Mount Lebanon. In 1908-1909, Joseph ran a general store on Water Street in St. John’s. By 1910-1911, Joseph, wife Annie (née Labba), and their family were living and conducting a general store business in Glenwood. After that, they made their final move to Badger. In Badger, Joseph set up a general store in 1912-1913. He ran the store until his death in 1941. Two or three of his six daughters operated the store for a number of years after. His daughter Margaret opened and ran a substantial restaurant and store in Stephenville in the early 1940s, known as the “Boulos Restaurant,” while her husband, George Basha, operated a theatre in Stephenville.

Dominic Boulos (1877-1963)

In 1904, Dominic and his wife Jalili (née Nichols) were operating a dry goods business on New Gower Street, St. John’s. They moved to Glenwood around 1905, building a home and general store. They also kept cattle and farmed. He then moved to Clarke’s Beach, ran a small business there for about six months, then moved to Bell Island in 1908. He built another home and store on Bell Island, and ran a dry goods business. In 1911, he moved with his family to Grand Falls, where his brother Edward was already established in business. He built yet another house and store in neighbouring Windsor. He kept livestock, and acquired 30 acres of land from the Crown. He started a farm and sold the produce at his store. In the mid-1940s, Dominic passed over the dry goods store to his son Albert (1919-2008). Dominic then ran a pool room for a number of years before his full retirement.

Edward Boulos (1881-1946)

Black and white portrait. A man in a dark suit and fedora with a dark moustache stands on a step with a younger woman with dark hair in a white dress and white shoes. The man is on the left, the woman on the right. The pair stand on the front step in front of a shop. The window behind them reflects the buildings across the street from the store.

Edward and Martha’s children, Peter and Doris in front of the Princess Store. Circa 1940s.

Youngest brother Edward arrived at Ellis Island, New York, in 1897. He joined his older brothers in Halifax before moving to St. John’s. By March 1903, Edward was operating a dry goods store, “Edward Boulos & Brother,” with his brother Joseph. In 1909-1910, Edward, his wife Martha (née Noah), and their daughter moved to Grand Falls. They ran a dry goods store until October 1924, when the business premises was destroyed by fire. They returned to St. John’s in 1925, where he opened a general dry goods store on New Gower Street. He eventually opened a confectionery shop called the “Princess Store”. During the 1940s, he also bought the Crescent Theatre on Water Street. He and his children ran the theatre until his death in 1946.

Black and white portrait of family against forest backdrop. Left to right: a seated girl in a light dress and stockings, a standing teenage boy in a suit, a seated young girl in a light dress and stockings, a standing toddler in a light outfit, a man (father) in a dark suit with his right hand on the toddler, a seated young boy in a dark sailor suit, a seated woman (mother) in a light dress, and a young woman in a light outfit. The name Holloway is signed in the bottom right corner.

Edward and Martha Boulos and their family. Circa 1926.

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