On a clear and lovely day this June, Nicholas Prevas took me to the sacred and historic resting place of the earliest Greek immigrants in Baltimore, Maryland. We were welcomed by flocks of geese as we drove the gently winding road past a rippling lake to the “Greek Circle,” situated at the pinnacle of Woodlawn Cemetery. So named because the 1,000 square foot parcel of land is in the shape of a circle, this hallowed ground holds the stories of families who left their rural villages and thrived in the teeming city of Baltimore in the early 1900s.

Nick is the Parish Historian of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation which owns the Greek Circle. The parishioners of the Church, which was established in 1906, secured this plot in January 1912. The Greek Circle was the first of four parcels (collectively known as the Greek Section) purchased by the Church in the North Avon area of Woodlawn.

The Greek Circle is arranged in rows of five. This fascinating diagram of burials is from the Archives of the Woodlawn Cemetery Company.

As we stood before each headstone, Nick told me the stories of the families. All were immigrants, many from Lakonian villages. They were pillars of the community, forming the backbone of the Cathedral of the Annunciation and making significant contributions to their Baltimore neighborhoods. Despite their successes and prosperities in their new homeland, they were not immune to the vicissitudes and tragedies of mortality: accidents, drownings, and infant deaths permeated their lives. The Greek Circle holds 45 interments; of those, 25 are children under the age of 18. I could sense the spirits of these people and almost feel sorrows of their families as I stood before each grave. It was a holy moment for me.

In honor of the lives and in memory of those at rest in the Greek Circle, their names, ages, and dates of interment are listed below.

Row 1:
Kerasiotis, Nicholas, age 3 days – March 4, 1919
Barbas, John K., age 9 months – July 7, 1913
Kousouris [King], Christopher J., stillborn – November 5, 1913
Sakelos, Athanasios, age 11 mos., 29 days – April 1, 1914
Constant, James B., age 9 months – May 15, 1915
Poulitsas, Athanasios G., age 8 months – December 7, 1915
Stathopoulos, Leonidas H., age 2-1/2 months – May 28, 1916
Prevas, Infant, stillborn – December 11, 1916
Prevas, Infant, age 2 days – May 23, 1919
Chambers, Pauline Mary, age 3 days – July 21, 1919

Row 2:
Chambers, Frances, age 12 days – August 16, 1916
Mavromihalis, Evangelos, age 1 year – December 6, 1916
Mavris, Constantine, age 46 – September 13, 1915
Mbourzos, Theodore, age 29 – October 7, 1915
Stavropoulos, Patra, age 30 – February 12, 1916
Christen, Peter, age 70 – March 24, 1916
Stavropoulos, Georgia, age 65 – May 30, 1916
Konstantopoulou, Eleni K., age 37 – August 1, 1916
Pavleros, Dimitrios, age 15 – October 15, 1916

Row 3:
Zogalsin, Rose, age 20 – May 13, 1914
Petrohilos, Stylianos, age 39 – November 19, 1914
Kritharis, Minas, age 21 – May 26, 1915
Yarca, Marie S., age 45 – June 8, 1915
Metaxas, Paul, age 55 – October 21, 1916
Johnson, Nicholas, age 52 – August 30, 1916
Dendrinos, Spiros, age 35 – October 18, 1915
Lambros, Michael, age 17 – January 22, 1916
Leos, John, age 23 – March 7, 1916

Row 4:
Mamais, Dimitrios, age 72 – June 3, 1912
Nifakos, Efrosene S., age 16 – July 8, 1912
Koniditsiotis, Dimitrios, age 60 – October 29, 1912
Katsaros, Vasilios P., age 23 – May 4, 1913
Plakas, Constantine, age 38 – May 28, 1913
Doukas, Petros K., age 14-1/2 – January 13, 1914
Kouroupis, Michael, age 35 – October 16, 1929
Zafirakis, Dimitrios, age 29 – January 17, 1914
Gianakis, Harry, age 31 – August 22, 1916

Row 5:
Thiamengos, Dimitrios E., age 4 years – October 18, 1916
Vulgaris, John J., age 1 year – February 1, 1912
Vlahos, Nicholas, age 1 year – July 24, 1912
Velcovitz, Maria, age 3 months – August 21, 1912
Vasilakos, Epaminondas E., age 2 – January 18, 1912 (1st burial in Greek Circle)
Konstantopoulos, Antonia, age 1 day – May 6, 1913
Konstantopoulos, Areti, age 22 days – May 6, 1913
Manolias, Stavroula G., age 4 months – June 27, 1913
Coroneos, Infant, stillborn – October 28, 1912

Woodlawn Cemetery burials can be accessed at FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/81791/woodlawn-cemetery

A Note of Appreciation:
Nicholas Prevas, the Parish Historian of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunication, has selflessly dedicated years of his life to documenting and preserving the history of the Church and its members. He has authored three comprehensive volumes: History of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation (1982), House of God…Gateway to Heaven (2007), and Gone But Not Forgotten, A Definitive History of the Greek Section of Woodlawn Cemetery (2001) which has been referenced in this post.

In this book, Nicholas has meticulously written the history of the Greek Circle and the entire Greek Section at Woodlawn Cemetery. Every burial is recorded with notations from both parish and cemetery records. He has included biographical sketches and photos of many families whose members are interred in the cemetery. These photos are of the earliest immigrant families, making them both rare and precious. Nick’s work is historically significant and genealogically vital. The Baltimore Greek community is blessed to have Nick in its “circle,” and I am blessed to have him as a cherished friend. Copies of Nick’s books can be purchased through the author.