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“Amykles Villages History Project”: Interview with Paula Antonakos & Diane Gotses
By Carol Kostakos Petranek As 13 and 28 year olds respectively, Paula Antonakos-Boswell and Diane Gotses Jackson dove into family history research with youthful enthusiasm. “I was the kid who sat at the table with the grownups listening to their stories and writing...
Newsletter – November 2021
New Records Release, Our Photo Contest, Upcoming Conference, Carol’s Research Tips and… Lots More!
Newsletter – October 2021
New Records Release, New VHPI Grant Beneficiary, Jennifer Aniston’s Hero Ancestor, Our Photo Contest, Carol’s Research Tips and… Lots More!
Beneficiary Chosen for Village History Project Initiative (VHPI) Grant
Greek Ancestry is excited to announce that “Amykles Villages – Χωριά των Αμυκλών History Project” has been awarded the third Village History Project Initiative (VHPI) grant!
Newsletter – September 2021
Find out what’s new on Greek Ancestry!
“Peplos (History and Genealogy)”: Interview with Ioannis Papachristou, Recipient of Second VHPI Grant
By Carol Kostakos Petranek “If you want to do history, start with the history of your family.” When Ioannis Papachristou first heard these words from Prof. Agamemnon Tselikas, they sank deep into his soul. At that time, he was a university student studying philosophy...
AHEPA
By George Zimmar In my years at Hyde Park High School in Chicago, I was not a model student, as evidenced by my three expulsions: two for fist fights and one for smoking in the park across from the school. Hondo, the eagle-eyed cop, spied the canopy of cigarette smoke...
Goblins in Maniot Tradition
“We are goblins, we are out and about after normal hours, we want the lalagia, we take the children, give us the rooster or the hen, or we’ll break the door!”
Earliest Memories
By George Zimmar Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us Oscar Wilde A visit to my Uncle Tom Zoumaras’s store involved a series of transit switches from the southeast side of Chicago to the northwest section of the city. We would walk from Drexel...
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Καλωσήρθες! Welcome to the Greek Genealogy Guide!
Here you can learn everything you need to know about Greek genealogy and family history.
Written by
Gregory Kontos
and
Carol Kostakos Petranek
Hellenic ancestry is a source of extraordinary pride and unique identity. Learning the country’s history and understanding the life of its people is a continual journey of knowledge and discovery. Perhaps this is most evident in pursuing the study of one’s Greek family history. Fostering a connectedness to family can stretch beyond the living to include the departed, but only when information about them can be ascertained. What were the names of our second or third great-grandparents? How many children did they have? What were their occupations? And, most important—how do I even begin to access records about them?
Prior to now, answering these questions has been challenging. But the doors of Greek genealogy have now opened to reveal a new era in research. The work being done by Gregory Kontos of Greek Ancestry is groundbreaking and exciting. With the advent of online translated, name-indexed and searchable records from Greece, finding one’s ancestors is not only possible—it is highly probable!
By consulting this Guide, one can navigate the complexities of Greek genealogy and find the correct resources to both access and request relevant documentation for his or her ancestors. It is the beginning of an exciting journey of discovery—and love.
Carol Kostakos Petranek
January 31, 2021