5 Tricks In Researching Your Greek Ancestry

Exploring your family lineage through generations of Greek ancestry is undoubtedly thrilling but challenging if you need to be more resourceful and patient. Simply put, Greek genealogists need more basic tool sets which are more widely available to those of German, Irish, or Italian heritage, for example. But despite limited resources, tracing Greek ancestry can still be successful if you know where to look. Below is a comprehensive guide of tricks and tips to help you navigate your genealogy search. Gather basic information from relatives. This may lower family history research costs if you can obtain enough accurate information. Discussing the family basics with your relatives is the first step and should be done with paper, pen, and some recording device for extra documentation. You can accomplish this with any willing relative, including parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Generally, grandparents or the following oldest relatives will have the most reliable family information, and most families typically have a relative who's invested in genealogy research services. So it would be best if you start by finding the following information from the eldest family members: Your relatives’ full name, birthday, and birthplace. This might include nicknames and English name translations if they immigrated from a foreign country. This is all beneficial information for document retrieval. The birthday and birthplace of any siblings. This may include their children's and grandchildren's birthdays and birth locations, if applicable. The names, dates, and places of birth of their parents. If the women's maiden names are known, it's crucial to document them. Unfortunately, a common problem in genealogy research is seldom enough information about mothers and grandmothers, and only their first names are recorded in most cases. Sometimes, even a first name is missing. Information on their grandparents and great-grandparents. Information at this point may be sketching or missing key elements, but anything you obtain can be a possible clue into forgotten family lore. This may require the advanced assistance of professional genealogy services or a family historian. Discuss emigration history: Find out who originally arrived in your family's home country. Whether they traveled solo or with other relatives is relevant too. Ask if they remember stories, people, or specific details about their arrival. Investigate local sources. Once the basics of your family history have been verified, local sources are the next reliable option. These include regional publications for reports on your family and the surrounding area. In addition, personal stories, birth reports, and obituaries are commonly found in historical newspapers. You can uncover crucial information about a deceased ancestor in an obituary, which documents essential information regarding their life, along with the names of their relatives. However, additional information may require assistance from a librarian or family historian since the internet only provides some possible genealogy information. Another helpful resource found at libraries, called "mug books," may be available at local libraries. Communities and commercial vendors commonly publish books containing residents' information, photos, and descriptions of the community's origins. However, embellished content within these books could result in decreased accuracy. Contributors, often individuals of higher financial status, were obligated to pay for these books or, at the least, pay towards the publishing cost. Start a photo collection. The first step would be gathering all family photos you currently have, then reaching out to relatives to inquire about what they have. Gather all images into a single collection and document essential information about each (such as names, family relations, photo setting, date, etc.) Afterward, invest in a scanner to achieve the best photo quality possible. Not only can a scanner create large files, but they can be printed and edited to your liking. Alternatively, you can use a smartphone with a high-resolution camera to document family photos. You can utilize photo editing software to ensure they are sharp, adequately bright, and free of glare. Research the Greek Census and Dimotologion. A census is a government tally and description of a regional population. Although it isn’t a source of genealogical information, Greek census records are centered around statistical data, including the total number of people within families or villages. The following should be taken into consideration when researching Greek Census records: Information may contain inaccuracies Carefully consider all ages you read, especially in older census records Vital records names and given names may mismatch You should search surrounding regions if your family isn't located at their suspected address After discovering your family in a particular census, additional relatives may be found while investigating the exact location in different census records. The Dimotologion was brought forth in 1834 as an administrative resource and among the most comprehensive preserved documents. A close inspection of the texts within the dimotologia of Piraeus reveals how the registration system articulated Greek heritage to people. This historical resource is abundant in its various uses, including researching nobility, family history, citizenship relations, and the articulation to Greece. Find documents related to Greek family structure. Typically, most Greek families are nuclear and live in one household, but they keep close ties with extended family by living nearby and visiting frequently. As a result, it's common for multiple generations to live under one roof when aging grandparents need live-in care by the primary family unit. While retrieving relevant documents, look for the words ‘γιαγιά’ (translated to grandmother) and ‘pappoús’ (translated to grandfather). Grandparents often play a secondary parent role when the mother and father are unavailable. Greek families often assign godparents to their children at the time of birth. Be on the lookout for ‘noná’ (translated to godmother) and ‘nonós’ (translated to godfather).

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