Mr Rashīd Al-Hāj 'Adb al-Husayn Bazzī (Rachid al-Hakk Abdul Hussein Bazzi) was born around 1880 in Bint Jbayl near Tibnīn in Ottoman Syria (modern-day Lebanon).
He was the son of 'Abd a-Husayn Al-Hāj Sulaymān Bazzī (Hussein Bazzi) and Fatīma Sulayman (Fatima Solomon). It is possible, but not certain, that the family were Shia Muslims.
His known siblings were: Joseph (b. circa 1881), Nahim (b. 15 May 1883), Assad (b. circa 1884), Kamel (b. circa 1890) and Mohammed (b. 25 July 1891). He may have had an additional two siblings, Mūsá and Habīb.
In 1909 three of his brothers－Nahim, Joseph and Kamel－emigrated to the USA, settling in the greater Detroit area. Rashīd followed in 1910, travelling aboard SS Couraine to a brother in Michigan City, Indiana; he was then described as a labourer aged 30 and standing at 5’ 8” and with auburn hair.
By 1912, Rashīd had evidently returned to Syria, where he reportedly had a wife and two children, although their identities are not known.1
Mr Bazzī boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as a third-class passenger (ticket number 2629, which cost £7, 4s, 7d). He was travelling to Detroit where he already had family.
Rashīd Bazzī died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified. His widow and two children later received financial assistance from various Titanic relief funds.
Rashīd’s younger brother Mohammed also emigrated, firstly to Buenos Aires before making his home in Dearborn, Michigan, becoming a US citizen in 1939.
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