My branch of the Herro Family Tree:

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While searching the Internet for information on my family, I came across a church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that published a very good web page on Syrian-Lebanese immigrants to Milwaukee in the late 1880's.   I thoroughly enjoyed reading this page and other information available at this site.  I have added an excerpt below that mentions my family name several times.   The church is St. George Melkite (Byzantine) Greek Catholic Church from  Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Here is an excerpt, please visit the Church's web site to read the entire article:

Syrian-Lebanese Melkites in Milwaukee

The American agents were bewildered at the sight of impoverished peasants living in the midst of the magnificent ruins. Baalbek was dominated by the crumbling remnants of the massive ancient Temple of Bacchus and the nearby 1,500 ton monolith called ''The Stone of the Pregnant Woman.'' Over the many centuries the city had declined to little more than a few hundred houses nestled in a lush grove of fruit trees. It was, however, exactly the type of exotic scene the Chicago Fair's sponsors wanted to display on the ''Midway Plaisance of Nations.''

In the shadow of the snow-capped Mount Lebanon, the field agents found a tiny village filled with friendly Christians, who were more than willing to extend ''saa-id'' to the weary travelers. Just ''a cigarette's walk'' from Baalbek the agents rested in the tiny settlement of Ain Bourdai. The land was poor and the people had suffered greatly from foreign conquests, but the twenty-eight homes in the village were a model of average Middle Eastern life. Volunteers from the tiny village would show the world what life in Palestine was like.

... <Seven paragraphs snipped...  Please visit this site to read the entire article>

By 1900 Milwaukee's Syrians had begun to leave the Third Ward. New arrivals had come from all parts of Palestine including Zahle, Haifa, and Jerusalem. With increased earnings and a better understanding of English, the community began to drift into the Fourth Ward, around Second Street at Kinnickinnic Avenue. Many of the earlier Syrians worked in the grocery and produce business. At first they worked for the city's Greek and Italian merchants but as their knowledge of American business customs improved, the Syrians began their own businesses. Generally they avoided the heavy, manual, industrial labor that was the staple of Milwaukee immigrants. It was not at all uncommon to open the door to a Syrian street merchant with his oil cloth shoulder sack stuffed full of notions and yardgoods. The Syrian women stayed at home making the fine linen and woolen products which the men peddled daily on the streets of Milwaukee. Slowly the merchant class established stores for their thread, cloth, rugs, and vegetables. Some of the Syrians did move into manufacturing, most notably Frank Ayoob, Mike Malik, and some members of the Herro family.

The social lifestyle of these immigrants was set by the patterns of life led by the Barrocks, Herros, Metterys, and Nabkeys. The women continued to stay home, not integrating into the society. Though they were not barred from education few women attended public schools. Formal education was largely reserved for the male members of the family. For many years the language barrier continued to isolate the Syrian community from Milwaukee's other immigrants. The people were generally referred to as ''peaceable and harmlessly inclined.'' Male socialization consisted of heated conversations in the business places and on the front stoops of Milwaukee homes. After singing their native folk songs, there were long silences as the men inhaled on their improvised narghiles; the traditional long stemmed water pipes. In many ways their accent set them apart. A Milwaukee Journal reporter characterized their speech as a 'weird tongue,' with the men 'jabbering away like magpies.' James Arrieh was typical of the hundred and fifty Middle Easterners who settled in Wisconsin in the early years. Arrieh came looking for a better life. The twelve year old first lived with an uncle who was of the Herro family. The boy went immediately to work at a fruit stand for $15 a month and board. Though the life was difficult the Syrian immigrants obtained their goals; the opportunity to work and the chance to make a good living.

By 1910 Wisconsin was home to 791 persons from the Middle East. About five hundred Syrian-Lebanese lived in the greater Milwaukee area. Since most still intended to return to their homeland, wives were frequently brought over from the Bekka Valley. Life in America was becoming more and more settled. There were carpet merchants and grocers with established clients and some in the Syrian community were even buy homes. Imperceptibly the migration was becoming permanent. The new community was shifting west so that the center of activities was no on Fifth Street between Wisconsin and Wells. Life was peaceful, content, and profitable; but something fundamentally important was missing - the faith of their fathers.

View the initial Family Tree Page.

Music Midi file:  Coming to America