Among the civic responsibilities assumed by some of our ancestors was the opportunity to serve on a jury in a court of law. The Φ.Ε.Κ. or Government Gazette (the Official Newspaper of the Government of Greece) publishes official laws, decrees and appointments (see this previous SpartanRoots post). Its supplemental issues includes names of men called into military duty and men who were qualified to serve as jurors.

In its Catalog under Greece, FamilySearch has digitized microfilms of early Φ.Ε.Κ. newspapers. Juror’s  lists are found in film numbers: 1038847  and  1039000  and  08053376 (viewable at a Family History Center or affiliate library near you). These lists were organized by region, then prefecture, then village, then men’s names.

As noted above, men’s ages, annual incomes and occupations were given. Here is an example of a Juror’s List of men, predominantly from my village of Agios Ioannis, Sparta, in 1894:

FamilySearch has Jurors Lists from 1849-1860. I extracted the names of men from Agios Ioannis as noted below. It is interesting to look at the ages. From 1849-1857, the same age is given; it is not until 1858 that the age increases by one year during each succeeding year. Note the clerk’s error in the entry for Kokkonis, Dim. Th. who jumps from age 44 in 1860 to 55 in 1861.

The men listed above were estate owners with varying incomes ranging from 800-1,800 drachmas. If you would the income of a specific person, contact me.

Any document, especially the earliest ones of the modern Greek state, can provide important information about our Agios Ioannis families. I am eager to see what new information will be forthcoming in the months and years ahead.