Two days ago, I was thrilled to find the name of my 3rd great-grandmother: Panagiota. For too many years, her entry on my family tree was “Mrs. Spyridon Lerikos.” Born around 1810 in the village of Agios Ioannis, Sparta, she grew up and married during the Ottoman occupation of Greece. Thus, no Greek records exist for her.¹ Even the Sparta Marriages 1835-1935² collection begins after her marriage around 1829³. With no hope of ever finding a marriage record for Spyridon, I had also given up hope of ever knowing the name of his wife. Until this week.

I’ve recently embarked on a quest to “re-research” the families of my direct-line ancestors. With a growing number of online records in both Greece⁴, the U.S. and Canada, I am finding new relatives: third and fourth cousins, infants who died, second marriages. My tree is growing!

Spyridon and Panagiota’s daughter, Georgitsa Lerikos, married Andreas Zaglanikas in 1870. Their marriage is recorded in the marriage index book kept at the Metropolis of Sparta and digitized as referenced above. However, the Sparta Marriage collection at MyHeritage ALSO contains supplemental documentation which was required of every marriage.⁵ Many of these documents have (thankfully) survived and are linked to the marriage index books.

For some time, I have had Georgitsa and Andreas’ record in the marriage index book (line 365, second entry down from the top).

The information is what would be expected in an index:

Metropolis of Sparta, Marriage Index Book Sparta, 1866-1872; Year: 1870; Entries 364-370
Entry  #365
License Date: November 7, 1870
Marriage Date: not given
Groom:  Andreas Zaglanikas; no father listed; residence: Alaimbey
Bride:  Georgitsa Lerikou; father: S., residence: Alaimbey
Church Name:  not given
First marriage for both bride and groom

However, by taking the time to “re-research” Georgitsa, which entailed not only searching for new documents, but also looking again at every document and its source, I found that MyHeritage had linked to the index the Bishop’s letter granting permission for them to marry.

Sparta Marriages 1835-1935
Groom:  Andreas Zagalanikas, age 23
Birth:  Alaimpei of Agios Ioannis
Father: Ioannis Zaglanikas
Bride: Georgitsa Lerikou, age 20
Birth: Alaimpei of Agios Ioannis
Father: S. Lerikou [deceased]
Mother: Panagiota, widow of Spyridon
Ordinal Number: 365
Marriage  Date: Nov 9 1870
https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10843-12911/ανδρέας-σαγαλανικος-andreas-sagalanikos-in-greece-sparta-marriages

This letter has so much more information than the indexed record: the exact marriage date, the ages and exact birth location of the bride and groom [Alaimpei was a settlement within Agios Ioannis, which is critical in distinguishing families with the same name who lived in the same village] and the names of the parents of the bride and groom.

These older records always provide the father’s name–never the mother’s. The record gives Ioannis as the name of Andreas’ father. However, when Georgitsa married, her father had died; therefore, her mother was listed as the parent of the bride: Panagiota, widow of Spyridon. Seeing the name Παναγιώτα [feminine] instead of Παναγιώτις [masculine] caught my attention. The next words, χήρα Σπύριδον Λερίκος, widow of Spyridon Lerikos, caused me to jump as I realized that, for the first time, I was looking at the name of my third great-grandmother.

For my Greek friends who are new to genealogy, please understand:
1. Panagiota’s name was not found in the most obvious record that would have this information–her own marriage record.
2. Panagiota’s daughter, Georgitsa is not my direct ancestor; she is the sister of my second great-grandfather, Panagiotis. If I had limited my research to only Panagiotis, I would not have found his mother’s name. It’s a given in basic genealogy practice to extend your search to the entire family, which often yields the breakthrough you need. That’s what happened here.
3. You don’t have to be fluent in Greek. Just learn some basic words. My ability to decipher old Greek script is non-existent but I can now recognize names, places, and basic genealogy terms.
4. Our dive into Greek records is challenging, but help is available!
* Explore GreekAncestry.net and the Greek collections at MyHeritage. Names are indexed in both English and Greek.
* Visit our Hellenic Genealogy Geek Facebook page or contact my colleage Gregory Kontos at GreekAncestry.net.

Finally, don’t ever give up! Your breakthrough may be in the next document you explore.

¹ Records created by the modern Greek state begin after the War of Independence which officially concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Constantinople in May 1832.
² I digitized these records at the Metropolis of Sparta in 2017-2018, and they are now online here at MyHeritage. Note that records of the earliest years are sparse but improve after 1840.
³ Marriage year estimated at one year prior to birth of oldest child, Nikolaos Spyridon, in 1830.
⁴ See GreekAncestry.net and the Greek collections at MyHeritage.
⁵ From the MyHeritage description of the Sparta Marriage collection: Upon receiving a marriage application, the Metropolis would examine whether the prospective marriage was legitimate and, if so, it would issue a license. The issued licenses were then registered in an index book. MyHeritage has digitized and indexed both types of records (licenses and indexes), which in many cases complement each other. For instance, in those cases where the licenses have not been preserved, indexes provide the necessary information. Records may also include other sorts of documentation, such as the original marriage application, municipal certifications or even dowry contracts. We recognize and thank Carol Kostakos Petranek and Greg Kontos for their invaluable contributions to the publication of this collection.