Oussani and Fuleihan Family Papers 1880s-2003

The materials in this collection are primarily in English, with some in Arabic, French, and Turkish.

Joseph Oussani was born in 1965 and lived until 1934. In 1893, Joseph's father Tannous “Thomas” Oussani sent his two sons, Joseph and Yak Oussani, to the World’s Fair in Chicago. Afterwards, the two brothers decided to move to New York and establish businesses. One brother sold tobacco products and the other sold "Oriental goods."

On May 23, 1896, Joseph Oussani married Margaret Shea. A few years later around 1899 Joseph began purchasing land in Pocantico Hills, New York, to establish the family home. The couple had two daughters together: Margaret Oussani, born in 1904, and Isabel Oussani, born in 1906. Margaret Shea Oussani passed away at age 29 on March 7, 1907. Around 1912, Joseph remarried the children’s nanny, Gladys Holmes. The couple had one child, Leonard. Isabel Oussani married Nasri Fuleihan, an engineer originally from Cyprus. The couple married in 1925 and had two children, Dorothy and Neville Fuleihan. Nasri’s brother, Anis Fuleihan, was a famous pianist and music composer.

The Oussani and Fuleihan Family Papers consists of materials related to the family and descendants of Joseph Oussani. The collection contains photographs of the Oussani and Fuleihan families dating from the 1880s to the early 2000s. The collection also contains letters, sheet music, newspaper clippings, maps, and other documents. In addition to photographs and documents, the collection includes jewelry and fabric sold in the Oussani stores at the turn of the twentieth century.

This collection is arranged in series:

1. Documents

2. Photographs

3. Objects

The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.

[Identification of item], Oussani and Fuleihan Family Papers, KC 0042, Hoda Z. Nassour and Herbert R. Nassour Jr., MD, Archive of Lebanese Diaspora

Gift of Gail O'Keefe Edson, Francis P. O'Keefe, Jr., and Patrick Fuleihan, 2018 (Accession No. 2018.008).

Processed by Khayrallah Center staff. Finding aid content contributed by Khayrallah Center staff and updated by Allison Hall, 2023 December. Finding aid created by Allison Hall, 2023 December.