Among the oldest records of genealogical value in the modern Greek state are the Election Registers of 1844 and 1872, which are lists of men eligible to vote. These records are now name indexed and available online (1844 at GreekAncestry.net; 1872-3 at MyHeritage). These Registers are critical for identifying which families resided in specific villages at specific points in time. In 2012, long before these records were name indexed and posted online, Georgia Stryker Keilman undertook the task of translating these registers from many villages in the Peloponnese, and her work can be found here.

I have Eftaxias ancestors from Mystras, which sent me to the 1872 Election Registers for that village. Mystras had been the seat of Byzantium in the Peloponnese until overtaken by Ottoman Rule. After the Greek Revolution for Independence, the population of Mystras began to decline as people descended from the castle area on the mountain top. Some formed the village of Mystras in the valley while others relocated to the emerging city of modern Sparta.

When the Election Registers of 1872 were created, a man had to be at least 21 years old to vote. The number of men in Mystras on the election list was 268 and their average age was 38 years.

The “new” village of Mystras needed a mix of tradesmen, laborers, landowners and professionals to meet the needs of its population. The chart below, which lists the occupations of the voters, reveals that the village had the requisite composition to support its residents.

occupation	number
Baker	7
Bailiff	17
Bricklayer	1
Butcher	4
Clerk	3
Coachman/driver	1
Cobbler	4
Coffee seller	2
Court official	1
Doctor	2
Farmer	27
Farrier	1
Gardener	10
Gendarme	4
Grocer	12
Laborer	30
Landowner	53
Lawyer	1
Magistrate	2
Mason	2
Mayor	1
Merchant	3
Mule driver	7
Unemployed	2
Official / Clerk	3
Pharmacist	1
Police Inspector	1
Quilt Maker	1
Rag Seller	2
Retailer	1
Sandal Maker	3
Servant	7
Shepherd	23
Shoemaker	1
Soldier	7
Student	10
Superintendent	1
Surgeon	1
Tailor	4
Trader	1
Veteran	1
Wine Sales	2

Which families are found in the village during this time? This chart lists the names of the voters, their ages and occupations in alphabetical order. Some surnames have “disappeared” over time, but many are found in Mystras today.

This is the Register in Greek.

My great-grandfather, Konstantinos Eftaxias, is found on line 573. This Register gave me his father’s name, Ioannis, and his occupation as a shepherd. Also listed are Georgios, who were identified in the 1873 Election Register as being the son of Ioannis.

Although the father of Dimitrios is not listed, further research indicated that there was only one Eftaxias family in Mystras during this period.These Eftaxias examples show the importance of trying to find your ancestors in every available record.