After months of intense preparation and mounting excitement, I returned to Greece this past July. This was my second trip; the first was almost 18 years ago. So much has changed, and so much has stayed the same! The internet has brought the world into the life of the simple villager. No longer are mountain towns isolated; the world is now in their homes. Orders for goods, reservations for hotels, and even a table at the local tavern are now just a mouse click or a cell phone call away.
My daughter and two granddaughters came with me and I was delighted to watch them experience their ancestral homeland. We explored ruins, toured cities, met family, and visited beaches and small towns.
Kathy, Elizabeth and Christine at Vordonia, the village of Kathy’s paternal great-grandfather.
After their return to the States, my research trip began. Can you imagine how thrilled I was to stand on the doorstep of the General Archives of Greece in Sparta on a warm and brilliant afternoon in July? In this building was the information that would shed light on my grandparents’ families who were from St. Johns and Mystras, villages in the heart of Laconia.
General Archives of Greece, Sparta
My research companion and I were greeted with much warmth and enthusiasm by the staff, whom we had come to know through online Greek genealogy sites. I had contacted them in advance with the date of our arrival, and they were ready for us. We spent some time discussing a research strategy and identifying the records that would be of most help to me. We worked in a spacious research room with a large table, perfect for spreading out the oversized volumes.
Research room, Archives office, Sparta
It is one thing to receive a copy of a document in the mail, and quite another to actually hold the records in your hands! Seeing the beautiful handwriting and touching the pages almost brings your ancestors to life.
Kostakos families, Dimotologion
I found three Kostakos families in the Dimotologion (Town Register) book for St. Johns. These records are similar to our U.S. census, as they list the head of household and his family, along with birth dates, places and other information. These records appear to have been created in the early 1900’s, as most of the parents were born in the late 1800’s and their children about twenty years later.
The Mitroon Arrenon (Male Registers) are official Greek civil records of male births. They list the name, birth date and place of every male born in every village. Often, the father’s name is listed as well.
Mitroon Arrenon (Male Register)
On line #422 in the Male Register for Mystras is the entry for my granduncle, Ioannis Eftaxias, born in 1876. Konstandinos, my great-grandfather, is named as Ioannis’ father.
I found records in various villages for all of my surnames, both collateral and direct-line. I was exceptionally grateful to receive permission to take digital copies of anything with information about my family. My companion and I spent almost two days snapping photos and digging deeper into the records. I left the Archives, thrilled to have copies of the civil records that are helping me piece together the various branches of my family tree.
I spent almost three weeks in Greece; sometimes touring with my own family, sometimes meeting new cousins, and sometimes exploring with friends. I left as a different woman –more rooted, more connected, more appreciative of my heritage and those who made it possible for me to have a mortal life. This is not simply an emotional feeling; it is a tangible change in my physical being. I walked, touched, smelled and tasted what my ancestors experienced. They are real to me, and we are one family. Together, we are blessed.
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.
