Family History

The month of July in Sparta, Greece, is hot and dry. Cool breezes from the towering Taygetus mountains occasionally sweep through the city that is spread below. But I was too excited to notice the heat. Finally, after months of preparation, my Greek research friend, Gregory, and I stood at the doorstep of the Sparta office of the General Archives of Greece.

General Archives of Greece, 174 Vrasidou Street, Sparta

Inside were friends who were awaiting our visit – Mihalis and Maria. We had connected across the ocean via Greek genealogy Facebook pages. As archivists, their job is to help people find the exact information needed to research their families. As a patron, my job is to bring them what I know so they can best assist me. It is a win-win!

Maria and Gregory look through a file of contracts.

I had sent Maria an email in advance of our visit, letting her know the day and time that we would be arriving. I included the surnames and villages I was searching. She had the appropriate register books ready for us. I was thrilled to open an oversized book containing Family Registers (Dimotologion) from Agios Ioannis (St. Johns). This is the village where three of my grandparents were born.

Dimotologion for Agios Ioannis, Sparta

Fortunately, the handwriting was clear enough for me to be able to read the surnames which were in alphabetical order. The records list husband, wife and children with their birth dates and other information. The names of the parents of the husband and wife are also written. This is comparable to a U.S. census record. Because three of my lines came from Agios Ioannis, most of the pages in the Dimotologion had names with which I was connected. It didn’t take me long to find the Kostakos, Aridas, and Papagiannakos families.

Kostakos families, Dimotologion

I had permission to take digital photographs of any pages that contained information on my family. Gregory and I were quite busy, as we photographed most of this book as well as pages from additional Dimotologion from other villages.

We then looked through books of the Mitroon Arrenon, or Male Registers. Villages are required to record the birth of every male for eventual military conscription. The entries in these books contain the birth date and place of the infant, his father’s name and occupation. The entries were typed which made it easy for me to find my people.

Entry for my great-grandfather: Line 422: Eftaxias, Ioannis; father Konstandinos; born 1876 in Mystras.

Gregory and I spent one and a half days at the Archives—days that were both productive and fulfilling. Handling these old books and witnessing my ancestors’ names within them was a transformational experience: I went from belief to knowledge. This emotion, plus the archivists’ sincere efforts to help us, made this experience a treasured one.

I had received advance permission from the Greek Orthodox Bishop of Sparta to view marriage books kept at the Church office, known as the Mitropolis. As Gregory and I entered that impressive building and were greeted by black-robed priests, we felt a bit intimidated. But that feeling quickly dissipated as we were treated with respect and courtesy.

Large books were again placed before us but my heart sank when I saw them. These treasured records were in poor condition. Pages were falling out of the spine and edges were tattered. When I opened one and saw the 19^th century script, I realized that would not be able to read the records. It was all up to Gregory.

The books were in chronological order and covered the entire metropolis of Sparta. One could not narrow a search by villages or surname. Gregory patiently read through volumes that covered the approximate years of my great-grandparents’ marriages. I was thrilled when he found the marriage record for my maternal great-grandparents: Panagiotis Nikolaos Papagiannakos and Aikaterini Eliopoulou, married December 2, 1867!

Panagiotis Nikolaos Papagiannakos and Aikaterini Eliopoulou, married December 2, 1867

Gregory located additional marriage records, but we quickly realized that a thorough search would take days. I was grateful for what we did find and left with an appreciation for the efforts of my friend and the kindness of the priests.

My goal—to go back one or two generations from my great-grandparents—required baptismal and death records which are kept in each village church. These were not accessible on this trip, but there is always next time! For now, I have plenty to keep me busy. This winter, I will spend many happy and productive hours reading the records we digitized and piecing together my extended family.

Carol Kostakos Petranek is a Co-Director of the Washington DC Family History Center, a FamilySearch Volunteer Coordinator, and a Citizen Archivist at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.