Category Archives: Zaharakis

Visiting the Villages: Theologos and the Zacharakis Reunion

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The road leading to Theologos winds around a verdant mountain, filled with thousands of olive trees. “The trees on this mountain belong to the families of the village,” my cousin, Nikos explains. “Years ago [around the early 1900s], just a few families owned all of these trees. Now, every family has an olive grove.” I stared out the car window, looking for a some type of sign or marker to delineate one owner’s property from another. I saw none. So I asked, “How do the families know which trees are theirs?” Nikos smiled. “Every family known how many trees they have, and exactly where they are.”

At one time, there were two olive processing plants in this small village. In recent years when stricter safety regulations were passed, the facilities closed and people now take their harvest to Sparta.

Left: a former oil processing plant in Theologos; upper right: mountainside with the olive groves of Theologos; center: Dimos Οinountos, Theologou; bottom right: stone used in olive press

The homes of the families are constructed of stone, and they are literally built into the mountainside. Houses remain in families for generations. They are beautifully maintained and constantly being updated with modern conveniences. Living on a mountain means that there are steps everywhere, and they are steep! You can’t leave your house, or enter another, without walking up a flight. The village roads are precipitous and narrow, yet people are adept at maneuvering and parking their cars and trucks. The plateia appears to have the only flat surface in the village.

Houses, steps, and the flat plateia

The village priest, “Papa” Panagiotis Kotsos, presides over the church of Agios Ioannis Theologos. It is incredibly beautiful and filled with historic icons. I was honored to be shown several holy relics, too sacred to photograph. It’s amazing that a small village church at the top of a mountain would have such treasures.

The Church of Agios Ioannis Theologos and its priest, “Papa” Panagiotis Kotsos

What I love most about returning to the village is to gather with my cousins of the Zacharakis family. My great-grandmother, Stathoula Zacharakis, was born in Theologos1. As I researched her lineage, I created a family tree which documents the various branches of the family. Whenever I visit, I bring the “updated” Zacharakis tree which is spread out along the benches at the perimeter of the plateia. People add and correct information, and we enjoy an evening of reunion and reminiscing. It has become a joyful tradition.

Checking out the family tree! June 23, 2023
Back left-right: Antonios Karagiannis, Aggelos Sarantakis, Niki Zacharakis Sarantakis, Asimina Zacharakis, Pepi Vartsaki Zacharakis, Nikos Zacharakis, Panagiota Zacharakis. Front left-right: Ioanna Karagiannis, Panagiotis Karagiannis, Argyro Bebetsos, Anthi Karagiannis, Lygeri Zacharakis Zacharakis, Anastasia Kantzioris, Rozi Kritsepis Zacharakis, John Rakis, Carol Kostakos Petranek, Alexandra Rakis, Konstantina Dariotis Zacharakis, Roula Zacharakis, Pavlos Zacharakis, Amalia Iliopoulos Zacharakis

I love these dear people and am so very grateful for their kinship and friendship. Being together in an ancestral village brings a feeling of generational connectedness. Our ancestors walked these streets, built the churches, and gathered in the plateia. Now it is our turn.

1Previous Spartan Roots posts about the Zacharakis family:
Stories from the Village: Theologos
Putting Together the Zacharakis Family Tree
The Zacharakis Family of Theologos
Greece 2017. Part Six: Theologos
Ioannis Zacharakis, Hero from Theologos

A Signature, An Ancestor

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Letter of Consent to Marriage of Giannoula P. Zarafonitis and Dimitrios Nikolaos Zacharakis, April 18, 1869 in Sklavochori (now Amykles), Lakonia, Greece

This letter granting permission for the marriage of my second great-grandparents, Giannoula Zarafonitis and Dimitrios N. Zacharakis, was signed by Giannoula’s father, Panagiotis G. Zarafonitis. By adding the “G” in his signature, Panagiotis (my third great-grandfather born 1821) provided the first initial of his father which took my lineage back one more generation to my fourth great-grandfather! In this area of Sparta and for my family, the initial “G” would most likely indicate the name of Georgios.

P. G. Zarafonitis

I am thrilled that this document –so meaningful to me–is one that I digitized with my own hands. During the summers of 2019, 2018 and 2017, I volunteered to work with Gregory Kontos of GreekAncestry.net to preserve, through the digitization process, marriage books and documents at the Metropolis of Sparta for the years 1835-1935.

It is incredibly emotional for me to see the signature of my third great-grandfather, Panagiotis, and to know that through my work, his handwriting and mark of mortality has been saved and is now viewable by his descendants. And I am especially grateful to him for choosing to include that most important initial of G.

Translation of marriage letter*:

Metropolis of Sparta and Monemvasia
Marrriage #89
The consent of the parents and other relatives of the future groom and bride, Dimitriou Zacharakis of the village, Theologos of Dimos Sellasias, and Giannoula daughter of Panagiotou Zarafonitou of the Dimos Sparta and village of Sklavochori, affirming that there is no kinship between the future couple nor any other impediment for them to join in matrimony, both for the first time, with the signature of two guarantors and two witnesses.

In Sklavochori on 18 April 1869

Signatures, left side:
Relatives of the groom:
N. Papastratis
Priest, S. Dimitropoulos
For the bride:
P. G. Zarafonitis

Signatures, right side:
Guarantors:
P. Anagnostakos
P. Iliopoulos
Witnesses:
M. Michalalopoulos
Ioannis Chatzikos

________
*Translation by Gregory Kontos, GreekAncestry.net

Beyond the Basics: Aristeia Awards, 1821 Revolution

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March 25 is a day of celebration and pride for Hellenes throughout the world, as we celebrate the commencement of the War of Independence from 400 hundred years of Ottoman rule. Men throughout Greece banded as brothers to battle for the freedom of their homeland. Those who fought with exemplary actions and bravery were awarded an aristeia (αριστείο). The word άριστος (aristos) means excellence; and the award is one of great prestige and distinction.* Men who received an aristeia displayed exceptional bravery in battle and were considered heroes.

There are three levels of Aristeia awards: silver, iron, and bronze. These are on display at the War Museum in Athens, which I visited in 2017 with my friend and guide, Giannis Mihalakakos. (Take a virtual tour of the museum here.)

War of Independence Awards, display of Aristeia awards

Many fighters of the Revolution received aristeia awards from the Government of Greece. Among them are members of my extended family. In a previous post, I wrote about Ioannis Zaharakis, born circa 1798 in Theologos, who received an Aristeia for his service. I have since learned of others, and on this commemorative day, I recognize these men of my family with honor and pride:

  • Mihail Aridakos / Aridas of Agios Ioannis
  • Efstratios and Dimitrios Iliopoulos of Agios Ioannis
  • Christos Kostakos of Anavryti
  • Georgios Christakos of Agios Ioannis
  • Christos Lerikos of Agios Ioannis
  • Dimitrios, Vasileios and Nikolaos Maltziniotis of Agios Ioannis
  • Kalogeros Papagiannakos of Agios Ioannis
  • Ioannis Zaharakis of Sellasia/Theologos
  • Dimitrios, Ioannis and Georgios Zarafonitis of Sklavohori

This image shows recipients Kalogeros Papagiannakos (line 42) and Georgios Christakos (line 51) of Agios Ioannis who received the Iron Medal.

Aristeia Awards, Line 42: Kalogeros Pappagiannakis; Line 51: Georgios Christakos, both of Agios Ioannis, Sparta. Research by Konstandinos Koutsodontis, 2020

The General State Archives of Greece is the repository for Aristeia Records. It has thousands of lists, each filled with thousands of names. There are files online at the GAK , but working through them to locate villages and names is beyond my ability. Researching in this collection is best left to Greek genealogy professionals. Those who have examined these archives for me are: Gregory Kontos of GreekAncestry.net, Konstandinos Koutsodontis of Greek Genealogist, and Giannis Mihalakakos of Maniatika. I am grateful to each of them, my colleagues and friends. 🙂

Next year on March 25, 2021, and throughout the year, the 200th anniversary of the Revolution will be celebrated. Konstandinos, Gregory and Giannis will be writing about the men who freed Greece from captivity. Use their resources to find the heroes in your family, and contact them for research help. Gregory Kontos’ “Tracing Freedom: 1821” collection has just launched with searchable lists of captives from Lakonia.

Your ancestors fought and secured the freedom of Greece, thus securing a sovereign nation for the birth of your family. They deserve to be recognized and honored.

*A Hellenic historian shared the following: Aristeia is an ancient Greek word meaning “prize for excellence, prowess, the best and the bravest.”

Greece 2019 – Putting Together the Zacharakis Family Tree

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Stathoula Zaharaki Eftaxias

This is my maternal great-grandmother, Stathoula Zacharakis Eftaxias. Her photo sits on my desk and every day, she inspires me to keep going with my research.

Stathoula was born in the village of Theologos, Laconia which is 10 kilometers from Sparta and 6 kilometers up a mountain. Her parents were Dimitrios Zacharakis of Theologos, and Giannoula Zarafonitis of Amykles.

For the past two summers, we have had Zacharakis cousins’ reunions in the platea of Theologos. Last year, they asked me to bring their family tree. This year, I did.

Pavlos, John and Joanna discuss their family tree

Preparing this information sent me hunting for the Zacharakis name in:  Male Registers (Mitroon Arrenon), Town Registers (Dimotologion), Election Lists of 1872, and school, church and marriage records at the village, town hall and metropolis levels. I think I have all the bases covered for vital records from Theologos. What I am missing, though, is a history book of the village. Librarians at the Central Library of Sparta said that one does not exist but I will keep looking.

I maintain all my data in a RootsMagic genealogy database and Excel spreadsheets, and I enter every name that I find, whether or not I can connect him/her to a specific line. For example, the 1872 Election Lists give a man’s name, birth year, father’s name and occupation. But if his father is Theodoros and there are several Theodoros’ in the village, I sometimes can’t determine which one he belongs to.

1872 Election List for  Theologos. Zaharakis family:  line 460: Anastasios, age 34, son of Theodoros; line 472: Georgios, age 33, son of Nikolaos; line 480: Dimitrios, age 45, son of Georgios.

I especially ran into problems with the earliest generations. In this Election List, were Theodoros, Nikolaos and Dimitrios brothers or cousins? I spent hours staring at computer screens, flipping between spreadsheets and multiple family group sheets to determine what made sense. When I became utterly confused, I tried a different tactic:  paper.

Sorting out the Zaharakis generations–on paper!

I began by writing on paper the men’s first names, fathers’ initials and birth years. Then using birth years, I sorted them into generations moving from youngest to oldest. The tactile experience of holding a pen, writing a name, and moving pieces of paper around until the families made sense helped everything “click” in my brain. After just a few minutes, the descendants were in place.

Example of one chart using Dimitrios born c. 1760

Using RootsMagic and lots of tape, I printed and put together the following trees:

  • Dimitrios, born abt. 1760
  • Theodoros, born abt. 1764
  • Ioannis, born abt. 1798 (no known descendants, but he received an Aristeia award for fighting in the 1821 Revolution; blogpost here)
  • Georgios, born abt. 1802
  • Panagiotis, born abt. 1805
  • Nikolaos, born abt. 1814
  • Konstandinos, born abt. 1842
  • Dimitrios, born 1844 (my maternal great-great grandfather)
  • Dimitrios, born c.1848

Certainly the three youngest are sons of the oldest, but who belongs to who? We won’t know in this life; the paper trail has stopped.

As the cousins looked for their names on the trees, I asked them to correct and add information.

Pavlos and his son, Thanassis, examine their tree

It was interesting to see that everyone there, except three people including me, were descended from Panagiotis born 1805. That tree was on the longest table and had the most activity.

The largest tree was for the descendants of Panagiotis Zaharakis, born abt. 1805

I am very grateful for the support of the village priest, Papa Panagiotis Kotsos, who was the host of the evening. He contacted family, shared information on the church Facebook page, and got people dancing. He is young and fun!

Papa Panagiotis Kotsos, host of the evening

Papa Panagiotis leads the Greek dancing

And of course there is food!

Waiting for dinner

And a group photo 🙂

Zacharakis Reunion in Theologos, July 2019

The large tree behind us has a plaque which reads:  “The generation that lived in Theologos during the years 1879-1880 have planted this sycamore tree and watered it but God made it grow.”

Plaque on the sycamore tree in the platea of Theologos

My great-grandmother, Stathoula, was born in 1870. She was a child when her parents, Dimitrios and Giannoula, helped plant the tree. Now we, the descendants of the earliest Zacharakis’, can gather under it and share the joy of family.

Greece 2017. Archives Research: Kalamata

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My research trips are super-intensive. This is due in part to my personality, and in part to the limited working hours at Greek repositories. Archives and libraries’ hours of operation are 8:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., and unlike shops, they do not reopen after 6:30. None are open on Saturdays, not even the Central Library of Sparta.

So, my weekday work schedule looks like this:
7:00 – wake up
8:00 – be at the repository
2:30 – leave (or get kicked out)
2:30-6:00 – go someplace that is open: a cemetery, an archaeological or historical site, or take a drive through a village. It’s beastly hot in mid-afternoon in July, but I won’t waste three precious hours.
6:00-midnight – change clothes, visit family or friends for dinner which usually begins around 9:00

Honestly, I came home more tired than when I left. But I also came home with tons of new information.

I was anxious to return to the Archives in Kalamata. During my visit of July 2016, the office was moving to a new location and everything was packed in boxes, which made research impossible. I was thrilled to see its new home: a stunning neoclassical building constructed in the 1880’s and rebuilt after the earthquake of 1986.

General Archives of Greece, Kalamata, Messinia

I am ever grateful for the help and kindness of my friend, Giota Siora, who met me in Kalamata and escorted me to the Archives. Giota knows the archivist, Anastasia Milioni, who was eager to assist us in any way possible. My goal was to search for information about two families with possible early ties to the Kalamata region: Eftaxias (prior to relocating to Mystras) and Zaharakis (prior to relocating to Theologos).

GAK, Kalamata: Giota Siora; Anastasia Milioni, Archivist; Carol Kostakos Petranek, July 2017

In 2016, Mrs. Milioni had given me a print-out of contracts with the Eftaxias name. There were three for Georgios Eftaxias who was in Kalamata in 1859.

Eftaxias contracts, 1859. General Archives of Greece, Kalamata, Messinia

After the contracts were retrieved, Giota amazed me with her ability to read the documents. They were not written in typical old Greek script, but in a specific type of calligraphy used by lawyers and high government officials in the 1800’s.

Below are page one and the signature page of Contract 727 for Georgios Eftaxias, along with a synopsis by Giota.

Eftaxias, Georgios; Contract 727 p.1. Kalamata, Messinia. July 2017

Eftaxias, Georgios; Contract 727 p.3 – signatures.. Kalamata, Messinia. July 2017

Contract 727 Georgios Eftaxias in Kalamata 1859
Final payment on land purchase
Georgios Eftaxias bought a field at Mavria (on the border of Messinia and Laconia). He paid 60 drachmas on the balance due. He bought the land from Michail Koumoutsas who was a lime maker. One of the owners of land bordering his is Haralambos Eftaxias.

With three contracts for Georgios Eftaxias, I now have proof that a family was in Kalamata. But is this my family? Possibly yes, possibly no.

  • I have an Eftaxias “DNA cousin,” Peter, who was born in a village adjacent to Mystras. His father said that their Eftaxias family came from Kalamata. This is definitely his family. Since we have a genetic connection, this is one point on the “yes” side.
  • The very name, Eftaxias, has ecclesiastical connotations. Gregory Kontos sent me this definition: the one that is in charge of the good order of the church:   good=ευ order=τάξη. So, this could be an example of families who had worked in a church and adopted the position title as a surname. This is one point on the “no” side.

Another twist:  the Election Lists of 1875 show a Michalis Eftaxias who was born around 1800, fought in the Revolution, and lived in Lagia. That is 117 km from Kalamata, a 39-hour walk! Is it possible these two families are related? Not impossible, but perhaps improbable. This could be an example of the second bullet–someone working in a church, taking the ευταξη title as a surname.

So, the definite answer to my question is, “I don’t know.”

Lagia to Kalamata is 117 kilometers

The Archives in Kalamata has a one-of-a-kind collection created by Μίμη Iλ. Φερέτος (Dimitris or Mimi Il. Feretos).  Giannis Michalakakos described Mr. Feretos as a journalist and writer who gathered information on fighters of the 1821 Revolution. In the early 1900’s, he interviewed people who had fought (or whose relatives fought) in the War of Independence. Mr. Feretos created a surname index which include brief notes and reference sources to find the original documentation. The GAK in Kalamata has a bookcase filled with Mr. Feretos’ notebooks. They are arranged in alphabetical order, and Giota easily found the Eftaxias and Zaharakis surnames.

This is a copy of one of the Feretos pages for Zaharakis. I found it fascinating to see how Mr. Feretos compiled and annotated information, long before the computer age.

Zaharakis surname, notes from the files of Mimis Il. Feretos, GAK Kalamata, July 2017

A simple translation of this document, with my thanks to Giannis: M. Zaharakis, born in Sitsova [now known as Alagonia on the border of Messinia and Laconia]. He fought in the Revolution under George Vasilakos, in the main battles until 1823. Afterwards, he fought in the war under the Giatrakos family. In some documents, he is referred to as Zaharopoulos.

This document reveals two important things: first, M. Zaharakis is not my family; he was born in a region far from Theologos at a time when my Zaharakis are found in documents in Theologos. Second, M. Zaharakis was also known as Zaharopoulos. This is a critical piece of information because there is a long-standing (and frustrating!) pattern of Greeks changing their names. Having written proof that Zaharakis and Zaharopoulos in Kalamata are the same family, saves years and tears for the serious researcher.

For anyone researching in Messinia, the Archives in Kalamata is an essential repository. The staff is actively digitizing as much of its collection as possible. They are friendly, helpful and supportive in every way.

Digitization underway at the Messinia Archives in Kalamata

Here are links to access the Archives website; its online digital collections; and its YouTube channel.This link is especially helpful, as it shows the collections in the Archives.

Was my research trip to Kalamata a success? Yes! I did not find the definitive information I was seeking to link my families in Laconia to the ones in Kalamata. However, I explored a new Archive, discovered the Feretos collection, found documentation to prove (and disprove) some of my theories. I visited the Kalamata Museum, filled with incredible antiquities and artifacts. Most importantly, I spent a delightful day with Giota, who inspires me with her continual desire to help and teach. Thank you, my friend!