Tag Archives: Vlachogiannis Collection

MyHeritage Releases Three Greek Record Collections

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I am thrilled to announce that today, MyHeritage has published three Greek genealogical collections which will be of inestimable value to researchers. Descriptive information about the collections below is taken from the official press release which can be found here.

These collections are name indexed and searchable in both Greek and English. MyHeritage employs automatic translation, which means you can type a name in English and the Greek record will be found.

Click on the record title below to go directly to that collection.

Sparta Marriages, 1835-1935

This consists of 179,411 records which include images of the couple’s marriage license and their listing in the marriage register. The records in this collection list the full names of the bride and groom, the date of marriage, their fathers’ names, the birthplace of the bride and groom, and occasionally the names of witnesses to the marriage. The images in this collection were photographed, digitized, and indexed by MyHeritage from the original paper documents, in cooperation with the Metropolis of Monemvasia and Sparta.

Example:  A search in English for Panagiotis Iliopoulos, marriage to Maria Minakaki:

Marriage Sep 13 1925
Sparta, Greece (Σπάρτα, Ελλάδα)
Groom Name: Παναγιώτης Ηλιόπουλος (Panagiotis Iliopoulos)
Birth: Μαχμούμπεϊ (Machmoumpei)
Father: Ηλίας Ηλιόπουλος (Ilias Iliopoulos)
Bride Name: Μαρία Μηνακάκη (Maria Minakaki)
Birth: Σοχά (Socha)
Father: Ευστράτιος Μηνακάκη (Eystratios Minakaki)
Ordinal Number 436
Church Εισόδια της Θεοτόκου (Eisodia Tis Theotokou)

Iliopoulos-Minakaki marriage, 1925

Corfu Vital Records, 1841-1932

This consist of 646,807 birth, marriage, and death records. The records were collected by the civil authorities in Corfu and document the life events of all residents of the island regardless of their ethnicity or religion. Birth records from this collection may contain the child’s given name and surname, birthdate and place of birth, name and age of both parents, and the given names of the child’s grandfathers. A marriage record from this collection may include the date of marriage, groom’s given name and surname, age, place of birth, residence, and his father’s name. Similar information is recorded about the bride and her father. Death records in this collection may include the name of the deceased, date of death, age at death, place of birth, residence, and parents’ names. The indexed collection of Corfu Vital Records includes scans of the original documents and is available exclusively on MyHeritage.

Example:  A search in English for a death record for Georgios Milou:

Name Γεώργιος Μήλου (Georgios Milou)
Record type Death
Birth Κέρκυρα (Kerkyra)
Death Jan 13 1921
Κέρκυρα, Ελλάδα (Corfu, Greece)
Residence Ορφανοτροφείο, Ελλάδα (Orfanotrofeio, Greece)
Father άγνωστος (Agnostos)
Mother άγνωστη (Agnosti)

Civil death record for Γεώργιος Μήλου (Georgios Milou)

Election Registers from the Vlachogiannis collection, 1863-1924

This consists of 1,006,594 records and provide nationwide coverage of males ages 21 and up who were eligible to vote. They list the voter’s given name, surname, father’s name, age, and occupation. Each record includes the individual’s name in Greek, and a Latinized transliteration of the name that follows the standard adopted by the Greek government. MyHeritage translated many of the occupations from Greek to English and expanded many given names, which are often abbreviated in the original records. This new collection includes scans of the original documents and is the most extensive index of Greek electoral rolls currently available anywhere.

Example:  A search in English for Georgios Gritis:

Name Γεώργιος Γρίτης (Georgios Gritis)
Age 47
Birth (implied) Circa 1825
Occupation Κτηματίας (Landowner)
Voter registration
Year: 1872
Residence: Άγιος Ιωάννης, Σπάρτης, Λακεδαίμονος, Ελλάδα (Agios Ioannis, Spartis, Lakedaimonos, Greece)
Serial #: 1733

Georgios Gritis, line 1733

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the past five summers, I have worked at the Metropolis of Sparta to digitize these Sparta marriage index books and marriage documents, as well as the village church books of Lakonia. Now that these records are beginning to come online, I am thrilled beyond words, knowing that they will help countless people in years to come. Finding one’s ancestors and learning more about our family history brings joy and meaning to us and our families. I wish you success in your research!

Navigating the GAK Archive to Locate Election Lists

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The Greek War of Independence (1821-1829) resulted in liberation after 400 years of Turkish rule. During the War and immediately after, a series of elections were held to form assemblies and draft constitutions. The Kingdom of Greece was officially established by Bavarian King Otto in 1832; however, an autocracy, not a democracy, ruled the new nation. It was not until 1844 that a the Greek Constitution was passed, a constitutional monarchy was formed, and elections were held for the first regular parliament.

This table shows that parliamentary legislative elections were thereafter held on a regular basis: (the full table can be accessed at Wikipedia here).

Wikipedia: Parliamentary Elections in Greece

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fortunately for historians and genealogists, the General Archives of Greece has published online digitized copies of some Election Lists. The lists are organized by location and contain the names and ages of men over the age of 25, who were eligible to vote. Some lists include the name of the voter’s father as well as the voter’s occupation. As some of the earliest available documents from the formation of the country, these are valuable genealogical resources.

Georgia Stryker Keilman, founder of the website, Hellenic Genealogy Geek and its companion Facebook page, has been translating the Vlachogiannis collection into English. Her monumental work is ongoing, and the translations can be accessed on her website by clicking on the following links for the Index to Greece Historic Election List Archives:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Three collections of Electoral Registers are available on the GAK website as follows (click on each name to access the collection):
1.  Vlachogiannis Collection – covers 1864-1925; mostly 1871-2, and 1875. This is the only collection that is typewritten.
2.  Collection of the Parliament – covers 1844-1893 & 1915; mostly 1870,1880,1890 (handwritten – difficult to read)
3.  Ladas Collection – covers 1843-1873; most records are 1843-1862 .(handwritten – difficult to read)

This is an example from the Vlachogiannis collection, File 25:

1872 Election List, Sparta Vlachogiannis collection (Image 25_393)

 

This is an example from the Parliament collection, File 26:

1844 Election List, Parliament Collection,, Oinountos (Image 26_421)

 

This is an example from the Ladas collection, File 22:

1843-44 Election List, Sparta, Ladas Collection, (Image 53)

Accessing information on the GAK website is not intuitive, and can be rather challenging. I have written step-by-step instructions in a pdf file, which can be downloaded here.

Remember also, that help is available from the HellenicGenealogyGeek Facebook page. Our 12,456 members are supportive and helpful, and are happy to answer questions.

We can hope that in the future, more digitized records will be forthcoming. For now, we must work with what we have!