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.

When 18-year-old John Nicholas Doukas (Ιωάννης Νικολάος Δούκας) stepped off the S.S. Obdam and onto the Ellis Island pier on April 12, 1892, he had no concept of the dramatic turn that his life would take. Arriving with 12 compatriots from the rural settlement of Fregkras, Greece,¹ he had $1.25² in his pocket. He knew no English and had no family in America. He skipped buying himself dinner his first night in order to purchase bananas the next morning. For long hours, he peddled the fruit on the streets of Manhattan and Harlem, continuously reinvesting his daily profits. It wasn’t long before he had accumulated enough money to start a fruit stand. In 1895, merely three years after his arrival, he had saved enough to open a candy store at 59 Avenue B in Manhattan. With no education³, no mentor and no support, John augmented hard work with his innate business sense and inherent morals, making his rise as a businessman astounding.

John’s first candy store, The Alexandria, was a resounding success and after some years, he opened a second establishment, Temple of Delight. People flocked to these stores for the high quality confections and to enjoy kind, generous personal attention from its owner. John supported his neighborhood by actively participating and holding offices in local organizations.

John’s philosophy was to give away his money to the needy and to “die poor.”⁴ He was an orphan, and the poverty of his childhood rested in his soul. He was reminded of his own sufferings when he saw the needs of others, and he resolved to do what was within his purview to alleviate the heaviness and bring a glimmer of joy to those who suffered. “We cannot take our money away with us. We have it only for a time. Health and happiness alone matter. After all, money is bad because it causes too much worry,” he stated in an interview.⁵

From his earliest years, John made giving his priority. “I want to throw some sunshine into the lives of the poor, for I know how dull and drab life may seem to them,” he told his wife, Constantina.⁶ He began sharing his wealth via annual charity sprees. “During a whole week, his activities are confined in distributing the profits made during the preceding fifty-one weeks. Thousands of thousands of boxes of candy are given away, the neighborhood is decorated, and music, dancing and refreshments are given away to all,” was reported by the National Business Review.⁷ Donations of 10-15,000 boxes of candy as well as toys, merchandise and cash were distributed to charitable institutions around the city: homes for the aged, hospitals, orphanages and institutions. Soon, newspapers began reporting on his philanthropic activities.

John’s penchant for giving caused him legal woes in 1920. He was arrested for “conducting a lottery” when he tucked $1 bills into boxes of candy to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his business! One can only laugh…

John’s generosity extended beyond Manhattan to his village in Greece. In 1918, he founded the Prophet Elias Society in Manhattan, whose mission was to benefit poor and orphaned children in the area of Zarakas, Lakonia, Greece, where his settlement was situated. He erected a village school and sent sufficient money to establish an orphanage that housed 400 children in sixteen counties around Sparta.⁸

Around 1902, John married Constantina Gavaris who had immigrated from the Lakonian village of Anavryti. They had eight children; one died in infancy. Their son, Angelo John, married my father’s sister, Georgia Kostakos, which gives me a kinship-via-marriage relationship to this amazing man!

By 1919, John was a thriving businesman who had obtained wealth and social status. He hosted state and local officials at his home in Woodhaven, and received letters from U.S. Presidents Hoover and Coolidge. But of paramount importance, he was revered by thousands as a kind and generous benefactor who “threw sunshine” upon the needy on both sides of the Atlantic. His story not only surpasses the American dream, but also reveals the soul of a truly great man.

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¹Fregkras is now Lampokapos, Zarakas, Lakonia, Greece, about 70 miles southeast of Sparta
²The passenger ship manifest lists $12 as his arrival sum, but subsequent interviews of John relate that he disembarked with $1.25
³John had no schooling; he signed his World War I Draft Registration with an “x”
⁴“Confectioner Spreads Cheer,” The New York American, December 27, 1925, page 4
⁵“Greek Confectioner is Off on His Annual Charity Spree”, New York Evening Journal, June 22, 1925, page 2
⁶“Came over in Steerage Broke-Found Wealth in New York,” The Evening World, Tuesday, June 6, 1922, page 24
⁷“The Golden Rule in Business,” National Business Review. Undated article, in possession of Carol Kostakos Petranek and Neil B. Dukas
⁸Ibid

My sincere appreciation to Neil B. Dukas for chronicling John’s story, establishing a website, and sharing information with me.

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Below are links to a few of the news articles about John:

1906 April – San Francisco Earthquake contribution
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3H2-J9V1-2?view=fullText

1913 Sep 7 – $200 Diamond in Ice Cream
https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10449-7947294/the-sun

1919 July 22 – Rihioton Society meeting at estate of John Doukas
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-N3CR-SDPP

1919 August 6 – Baby Christening
https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10449-1046358/new-york-tribune

1919 Aug 6 – Bishop to Christen Baby
https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10449-8046384/the-sun

1920 January 19 – Tavales Church Art
https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10449-8051273/the-sun

1920 April 21, Arrested
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-N3Z2-YX7N?view=fullText

1920 Poor Children to Receive Candy
https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10449-7749775/the-evening-world

1922 June 6 Paino & Doukas Stories
https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10449-7760322/the-evening-world

1925 June 22 – Confectioner Spending Spree
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-J38F-ZLX

1925 June 22 – Doukas Goes on His Annual Charity Spree
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-N3ZM-J4WS

1921 December 21 – 15,000 boxes candy Christmas donation
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-F3CR-SVFL

1925 December 23 – Generous Santa
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-J38F-ZLX

1925 December 27 – Confectioner Spreads Cheer
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-N3CR-SJP2

Standard genealogical research methodology just doesn’t work for me. As a Spartan Greek, ancestral research is extraordinarily challenging. Using “low-lying fruit” to find my ancestors is impossible. Census records, military registrations, city directories, the Social Security Death Index, tax lists and obituaries simply do not exist in Greek records—either in accessible repositories or online. DNA testing? A great tool, but only if people take a test. Mine don’t.

I’ve sat through hundreds of genealogy lectures, seminars, programs, and RootsTech presentations that present various research techniques. I understand the GPS (Genealogical Proof Standard) but it’s tough to apply when one can’t conduct  “reasonably exhaustive research” due to lack of records, or “analyze and correlate” how sources relate when sources are limited or do not exist.   

What I could, and did, do was to talk to every living relative and write to Archives and Church Metropolis Offices in Greece. Answers tooks months to receive, and I was thrilled when a record arrived. But clerks are busy and I was limited to one request per letter. I felt  stuck and frustrated.

Thankfully, a few years ago four things changed everything:

1. I attended several sessions on using negative or indirect evidence to establish relationships. This prompted a paradigm shift or “lightbulb moment,” and steered my mindset from conventional to unconventional. I learned that there are alternate ways to determine relationships when direct evidence does not exist (see, for example, Dr. Thomas W. Jones’  Using Indirect and Negative Evidence to Prove Unrecorded Events  and its corresponding handout). Learning the theory transformed my thinking; but without records, there is no evidence—direct, indirect, or negative. 
2. So…I took a research trip to Sparta in 2016. My colleague, Gregory Kontos, guided me to the Sparta office of the General State Archives of Greece, the Metropolis (diocese) of Lakonia, and the City of Sparta Town Hall. We found which records are available onsite. I made a list and returned every summer to obtain whatever extant records existed for my village(s). I got many! I also suggested to Greg that we offer to preserve, free of charge, the marriage records at the Metropolis of Sparta and the village church books of Lakonia. These projects were approved by the Bishop. Working under Greg’s direction, I spent three summers in Sparta digitizing these records. The collections are now available at MyHeritage; they were among the first accessible Greek records online.

3. In 2020, Greg founded GreekAncestry.net, the first online Greek genealogy website. His mission is to preserve and make available genealogical records in all areas of Greece. He locates relevant collections which his team name indexes and makes them available on his website. His work is an enormous breakthrough in Greek genealogy, not only for me but also for thousands of researchers worldwide.

4. Finally, I stopped wishing that someone would set up social media for my primary village and did this myself: a Facebook group and website for Agios Ioannis, Sparta. Waiting for others was wasting my time; I just did it.   

I absolutely recognize that not everyone can travel to their ancestral place of origin to obtain information not available online. That’s where social media can help and why I created the sites for Agios Ioannis. In Europe, village-centered Facebook groups are immensely popular. People have strong ties to their villages and have access to families who live there as well as repositories that exist there. They can translate records, provide contacts for archives and churches, give insights on the history of the area, and ask around for information about your family. Try it! A breakthrough may be waiting for you.

Finally, I have accepted Genealogy Ying-and-Yang: to be both proactive and patient.
Ying: Do all I can to find what’s available, document everything and everyone, and share, share, share.
Yang:  Trust that new records will continue to emerge and that technology will make them available.