Jirjis Yūsuf Abī Sa’b

Biography
Mr. Jirjis Yūsuf Abī Sa’b was born in 1867 in Tuḥūm, Northern Governorate, Lebanon.

Jirjis became a shoemaker and got married to Martā Fāris Antūn Khalīfah with who he had six children. Four sons, and two daughters, born between 1896 and 1911. In the 1890's, Jirjis spent years living in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, where he worked hard to build a better future for his family. In 1911, he left to settle back in Tuḥūm along with his cousin Sha'nīnah Wihbah, who had to take care of her ill son. Once they arrived, Shawneene found that her son had died and she wanted to go back to Youngstown to fetch the rest of her children she had left behind. Jirjis also felt like he had more work to do back in America so, along with Bannūrah Ayyūb-Dāhir, a relative, Ṭannūs Dāhir, a cousin, Ḥannā Ṭannūs Mu'awwad and his son Ṭannūs Ḥannā Mu'awwad and Sha'nīnah, he set back for a trip to America.

The group said their goodbyes to their village and took off, traveling on donkeys for a few days before reaching the port of Beirut. From there, they took a ship that brought them to Marseille and a train ride to Saint-Lazare Station in Paris before taking a another six hour train ride to Cherbourg. On Wednesday, April 10th, 1912, the group boarded the famous R.M.S. Titanic as third class passengers. Jirjis had bought ticket 2685, which cost him £7, 4s, 6d. Compared to the other third class men who were lodged in the bow of the ship, the Lebanese ones were lodged with the rest of the Lebanese women and children at the stern of the ship. This was due to the language barrier that separated them from everyone else.

On the night of the sinking, Jirjis had already been asleep with Ṭannūs, Ḥannā and Ṭannūs when they were awokened by the impact of the iceberg. They got dressed, packed some stuff and followed the crowd to the third class communal areas, waiting for their female relatives to join them. Sadly, young Ṭannūs was lost in the crowd and after Sha'nīnah and Bannūrah arrived, his father Ḥannā went to search him only for Ṭannūs to appear from the next staircase. Bannūrah adviced him that his father had gone to fetch him and Ṭannūs went back down to find him. They would never be seen again. The small group eventually managed to get up on deck as the last lifeboats were being launched. Jirjis and Ṭannūs managed to place Sha'nīnah and Bannūrah in collapsible C before gunshots got fired and they had to step back in the crowd never to be seen again. Jirjis perished in the sinking and his body was later discovered by the C.S. Minia as the 312th body recovered, the 6th one by the Minia. He was buried at the Mount Olivet Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on May 10th, 1912. His widow and children later benefited from the Titanic Relief Fund.