Tag Archives: Genealogy

Introducing G(r)eek Talk: The Premier Vidcast for Greek Genealogy Enthusiasts!

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First broadcast: Wednesday, February 14 at 12:00 noon Eastern Time (9AM PT)

Greek Ancestry founder, Gregory Kontos, unveils an exciting new venture for the Greek genealogy community – G(r)eek Talk. This biweekly vidcast (video podcast) will be a dynamic and relevant platform for all things related to Greek family history research. It will offer insightful discussions, featured guests, and the latest news pertinent to the community.

G(r)eek Talk will be hosted by Gregory Kontos and cohosted by Georgia Stryker Keilman of the Hellenic Genealogy Geek website and Facebook group, and Carol Kostakos Petranek of the Spartan Roots website. Each episode will kick off with updates in the field, then move on to spotlight a specific theme. The group will dive into topics ranging from tracing ancestral roots to delving into less known aspects of Greek history and archival heritage. Guest speakers will bring viewers a wealth of varied perspectives and insights, expanding their knowledge and broadening their understanding of the lives and times of their ancestors.

Gregory Kontos expresses his excitement about the launch, stating, “Through our vidcast discussions, Carol, Georgia and I are looking forward to sharing knowledge, opinions and questions about all things Greek genealogy and family history, enhancing our field like never before and strengthening our community bonds.”

The inaugural episode of G(r)eek Talk will air on Wednesday, February 14 at 12:00 noon Eastern Time (9AM PT). Each episode will be live-streamed and recorded on the Greek Ancestry YouTube channel; and available for viewing on demand. The schedule for the first three vidcasts is:

2/14: “Greek Document and Photo Treasures for Sale Online”
2/28: “The Diary of Pantelis Karatasakis” (guest: Alec P. Karys)
3/13: “Memorable Ancestral Research Trips”

Tune in to G(r)eek Talk to join us, and other Greek genealogy enthusiasts, as we take this next step together in learning about our Greek ancestry!

Papa Georgiou’s Family Tree

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I always enjoy talking with the priests who pop in and out of the room where I am working. Many are young and will spend a couple of years at the Sparta Mitropolis before they are assigned to a church. Others may spend a lifetime in service there. One of the longest serving priests in the Mitropolis is Papa Georgiou. For 50 years, he has daily and faithfully fulfilled his responsibilities and served five different Bishops. His eyes are kind, he is gentle, and he has maintained the Orthodox tradition of not cutting his hair or beard after being ordained a priest (today, priests can choose whether or not to follow this pattern).

One day when Papa Georgiou stopped by to say hello, we talked (using lots of hand gestures due to my broken Greek) about the importance of the digitization project — to preserve marriage records and eventually make them available to researchers around the world. Amazingly, my message was understood and his eyes lit up. With much enthusiasm, he began talking rapidly about his family and the research he had done. I had a hard time following him and must have looked a bit confused. He said he had something to show me.

He left the room, and returned with a scroll. As he began to unroll it, I could see he needed help. I held one end and continued to move backwards until it was fully unwound. I was truly speechless when I realized the scroll documented his family history research, and it stretched about 20 feet!

Papa Georgiou unrolls his family tree scroll, June 2018

Papa Georgiou has worked on his family history throughout his life. Yet, even though he has access to any and all records that are available in Sparta, he could go back no further than his great-grandfather, Konstandinos Blathras born 1790, died 1881. That’s about the time frame where most of us are brick-walled as well.

Papa Georgiou did not limit his research to Greece. He has family in America and traveled there many times to visit and gather the names of his kin. I was surprised to see that the data was typed in English. He explained that his nephew in America entered all his research into a computer and had the scroll printed. A perfect blend of old and new (a pattern I see everywhere around me in Greece).

To say that Papa Georgiou is proud of his family history research is an understatement. This is one of his crowning achievements. Just look at the joy in his face! My goal is to follow his example and leave such a legacy for my posterity.

Family history brings us joy!

The Genealogist’s Dictionary

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At some point in the research process, most of us will have to leave the comfort of our native language and enter the new world of a foreign vocabulary. For those whose plunge is into a language which uses non-Roman letters, this can be intimidating and even scary. Because I spoke Greek before English and spent many restless childhood hours in Greek school, I thought my ultra-rudimentary grasp of the language would give me a good base to jump into Greek records. I was right–and I was wrong!

Reading old Greek handwriting and learning more sophisticated genealogical terminology was difficult. I continue to struggle. But, now there is a new and extremely useful booklet, The Genealogist’s Dictionary, which has been developed by my friend and fellow researcher, Gregory Kontos. The description reads:

One of the hardest aspects of Greek genealogy is reading and translating the old Greek records. Based on our team’s research experience, this dictionary was created to help English-speaking researchers translate and understand basic lines of an old Greek document. Using a wide variety of 19th century records, we managed to create a wide database of more than 400 words, which, expanding geographically and socially, wishes to cover the most crucial translational needs of a Hellenic genealogist.

This 24-page guide will help both the new and experienced Hellenic researcher. It is divided into two sections:

Part 1:  The Greek Alphabet, typed and handwritten; Numbers, cardinal and ordinal; Units of Time, days, months

Part 2:  Words and phrases for general records; school records; and professions/occupations

A sample page:

genealogists-dictionary

The Genealogist’s Dictionary is priced at $12.00 and is a pdf download from Lulu.com. The URL is: http://www.lulu.com/shop/gkfamilytrees/the-genealogists-dictionary/ebook/product-22958289.html

Gregory Kontos can be reached at: gkfamilytrees.wordpress.com, or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Gkfamilytrees.

I trust that this guide will be as great a help to researchers as it is to me.

Aridas or Mihalakakos?

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My paternal grandmother, Hariklia Aridas (Χαρικλεια Αριδας), was born in the village of Agios Ioannis (St. Johns), just outside Sparta. As I began my research, people would comment that Aridas was an unusual Greek name — one they had not come across in the past. My curiosity was raised, especially when I received a Town Register from St. Johns that listed an Aridas family and saw that one of the names in this family was Konstandinos Mihalakakos (see below). I just assumed that Konstandinos was a relative who was living with the family.

Until… sometime later, I connected online with another Aridas descendant who sent me an email with the following: “As for Kosta Mihalakakos, that is Kosta Aridas. My uncle wrote my mother back in the late 940’s that he had uncovered the real name for Aridas as Mihalakakos. He said that one of the ancestors had long legs (αριβας) which is what Aridas translates to from arida (leg). It was a nickname that stuck.”

Well, that is fascinating information but now I’m really stumped. Who knows how far back the name was changed, and in which village the family was living when it was changed? Did all of the family change their name, or only the descendants of the “ancestor with the long legs?”

So, where do I go from here? Do I look for both Mihalakakos and Aridas names? I think that’s a good start. There are few digitized online records through the Greek Archives (http://arxeiomnimon.gak.gr/index.html). I looked at the 1872 Electoral Rolls from Agios Ioannis, and there is no Aridas or Mihalakakos listed. Not a good sign. For now, I’m stumped. Stay tuned…

Getting Started

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This is the home village of three of my grandparents.

This is my first post on my new blog! My name is Carol Harriet Kostakos Petranek, and I am of Greek-American ancestry. I was baptized Hariklia Kostakou (Χαρικλια Κοστακου) after the traditional Greek naming patterns: as the first child, I named after my father’s mother, Hariklia (Aridas) Kostakos. Although Hariklia is a beautiful Greek name, my mother was not enamoured of its English translation, Harriet. I had the good fortune of being born on Christmas Eve which gave my mother the opportunity to name me Carol. However, my dear grandparents called me Hariklia until the day they died.

I was born in Brooklyn, New York, and lived in a predominantly Greek neighborhood. My grandparents and other family members were within walking distance, and my earliest years were spent surrounded by family. When I was five, we moved to a small town in New Jersey and when I was 13, we moved to a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C. I have always felt a strong love for family and this has manifested in a passion for genealogical research.

My purpose in writing this blog is to preserve a path of my Greek genealogical research, and to share what I have learned with others. This is not an easy road to follow. Records are not readily available and the Greek language can be a barrier to many people. However, we can keep learning and progressing, one step at a time, in reaching a worthy goal — to discover, preserve and share our family history with others.

Please join me on this exciting journey! And don’t hesitate to contact me at anytime. I’m looking forward to making many new friends, and — hopefully — finding many new family members!