The Christian Maronite Jumayyil family (Fr., Gemayel; Ar., al-Jumayyil) hails from the village of Bikfayā in the upper Matn region of Mount Lebanon. Members of the family have been involved in local politics and served the Maronite Church for centuries. Philibos Gemayel (Fīlībus al-Jumayyil) (1740-96) served as Maronite Patriarch for a few months in 1795-6; several other members of the family served as bishops at various times. Lebanese emigration, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, touched the Jumayyil family, some of whose members emigrated to Egypt,