Ilyās Dībū

Mr Ilyās Dībū (Paul Elias Dibo) was born in Tripoli, Syria (now Lebanon) around 1883.

He was the son of John Dībū Antar (b. circa 1865) and Mary Nader (b. 1860) ¹. He had four known siblings: brothers William (1888-1948), Edward (1890-1975) and Richard (1892-1975), and a sister Bahīyah (1883-1947).

Many family members, including his mother and several siblings, had emigrated and settled in Texas. Brother Ed had emigrated around 1905 and brother William in 1910. His sister Bahīyah Anawaty lived in Houston with her husband Antonio (1875-1929) and their children and it is believed that Ilyās Dībū had made at least one trip to Texas prior to 1912. In America the family name became "Debo."

His mother died in Houston on 17 June 1911, reportedly as the result of a house fire. This apparently compelled Ilyās to make plans to return to America.

Dībū boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as a third class passenger (ticket number 2674 which had cost £7, 4s, 6d) and he was headed for Houston, Texas. Described as a married labourer on passenger manifests, Elias (2011) and her interviews with relatives contest this, stating that he was involved in teaching back in Lebanon and unmarried.

Ilyās Dībū died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified.

Back in Texas his sister Bahīyah gave birth to a daughter Mary on 9 November 1912. His father died on 19 March 1917 and he was buried near Ilyās' mother in Hollywood Cemetery in Houston.

Ilyās' sister Bahīyah died in Galveston, Texas on 3 January 1947. His brother William died in Houston in 1948. Two brothers, Ed and Richard, both died in Texas in 1975.