Constantine Stavros Panagakos (1895 - 1979)

Descendants

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Birth 1.2 Immigration 1.3 Military Service 1.4 Marriage 1.5 Death 2 Sources 2.1 Acknowledgement

Biography

Birth

Constantine Stavros Panagakos (birth name Κωνσταντῖνος Σταύρος Παναγακος) was born on 20 Oct 1895 in Πετρίνας (Petrina), Λακωνία (Lakonia), Πελοπόννησος (Peloponnese), Ελλάς (Greece).^[1][2] He was the third of five children and the second son born to Stavros Dimitrios Panagakos and Efrosinia Dimitrios Kapasulios.^[3]

Immigration

Constantine left his hometown of Petrina, Greece when he was only 16. His family sold farm goods to supplement the money his brother Vasilios sent home to pay for his third-class ship passage to America. His mother sewed money in the cuff of his pants so he would not be robbed. On the morning of 19 Apr 1912 he and his father loaded his few belongings on the family donkey and walked for three hours from Petrina to the port town of Gytheion. He boarded the "S.S. Patris" to America and never saw his family again. ^[3]

Gus's ship arrived at Ellis Island, New York, on 6 May 1912.^[1] He lived in a small room in New York City for the first few months and earned a living shining shoes. As soon as he earned enough money for a train ticket he took the train to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He took a cab (horse and buggy) from the train station to the Presto Lunch where his brother Bill worked as a waiter. Gus moved into an apartment on Bennett Street with his brother and Jim Apastolakos, a chef at the Presto Lunch. He worked at 16 East Market Street shining shoes until he got a job as a waiter at the Presto Lunch.^[3]

Military Service

Gus enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private on 24 Jul 1918 at Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne, Pennsylvania under the name of Gustantine Steve Panagakos. He served as a cook in the Bakers and Cooks School at Camp Lee, Virginia during World War I. He did not serve overseas.^[4][5] When I asked Grandpa what he did during the Great War, he replied that he was a cook and he taught others to cook.^[3] On 18 Sep 1919 he was awarded the Victory Medal and received an honorable discharge at Camp Lee, Virginia. From there he boarded the Norfolk & Western Railroad train to return home to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.^[4][5][6] He became a naturalized U.S. citizen on 10 Dec 1919 as a result of his military service.^[7]

Marriage

When I asked Grandpa how he met Grandma, he said it was when they both worked at the Presto Lunch restaurant. He said she was a hard worker and was strong as a bull. When I asked him if that was why he married her, he said no – he married her because she was pretty!^[3]

Gus and Cora May Oakes were married at Kingston, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, on 3 Sep 1937 by William H. Roberts, Justice of the Peace. ^[8] They were remarried by Rev. Dionysios Papadatos at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in Wilkes-Barre on 20 Feb 1957.^[3] The couple raised seven children:^[3][9][10]

1. Sylvia Constantine Panagakos
2. Steve Constantine Panagakos
3. Frossine Constantine Panagakos
4. Vaselo Constantine Panagakos
5. William Constantine Panagakos
6. Ana Constantine Panagakos
7. George Constantine Panagakos

Gus and Cora initially rented a home at 68 Jefferson Lane, Wilkes-Barre, where they lived for five years. In 1930 they bought a row home at 45 Meyers Court in Wilkes-Barre, where they lived for the rest of their married lives.^[3][11]

Death

Gus died from pneumonia on 13 Apr 1979 at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne, Pennsylvania. Funeral arrangements were handled by Kniffen Funeral Home, 465 South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre.^[12][2] The funeral was held at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in Wilkes-Barre on 16 Apr 1979.^[11] He was buried in Row #12, grave #46 of the Greek Orthodox Section of Oak Lawn Cemetery, Hanover Township, Luzerne, Pennsylvania.^[13][14]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JJ59-G6T : 6 December 2014), Constantinos Panagacos, 06 May 1912; citing departure port Ghythion, arrival port New York, ship name Patris, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). Note: listed as age 18 in 1912
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/J2Q3-QZ6 : 20 May 2014), Gus Panagakos, Apr 1979; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7} Panagakos, Constantine S., Macungie, Pennsylvania. Interview by Star Kline, 27 June 1976; transcript privately held by interviewer.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Application for WWI Compensation, Record Group: 19.91, Repository: Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg, PA, Record Info: level 4, slot 1298, carton 332, file #86890 – Gustantine S. Panagakos
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} "United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7BLS-D1W2 : Sat Mar 09 15:39:01 UTC 2024), Entry for Gustantine Steve Panagakos, 18 September 1919.
6. ↑ WWI Military Service File for Constantine Stavros Panagakos
7. ↑ Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Court of Common Pleas, no. 1243915, Gustantine Steve Panagakos, 10 December 1919, Certificate of Naturalization.
8. ↑ "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KHFQ-T9N : accessed 29 February 2016), Gus Panagakos and Cora Oakes, 03 Sep 1937; citing Marriage, Pennsylvania, county courthouses, Pennsylvania; FHL microfilm 2,224,605.
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH7H-Z3K : accessed 29 February 2016), Gus Panagakos, Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 0236, sheet 2B, family 42, line 51, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2073; FHL microfilm 2,341,807.
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KQD5-X5X : accessed 6 July 2014), Gus Panagakos, Ward 5, Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes-Barre City, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 40-291, sheet 3B, family 68, NARA digital publication T627 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012), roll 3562.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} personal recollection of Star Kline.
12. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Health, death certificate no. 1021041, Gustantine (Gus) S. Panagakos (1979); Local Registrar of Vital Statistics, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
13. ↑ Oak Lawn Cemetery Office (Hanover Township, Pennsylvania), undated burial records, citing PANAGAKOS, Constantine (Gus), burial no. 10419.
14. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 11 April 2019), memorial page for Constantine Stavros “Gus” Panagakos (20 Oct 1895–13 Apr 1979), Find A Grave: Memorial #25969952, citing Oak Lawn Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hanover, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Star Kline (contributor 46964248).

See also:

• R. L. Polk & Co's Buyers' Guide of Greater Wilkes-Barre, 1917 (Wilkes-Barre: R. L. Polk & Company, 1917), 651.
• "United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VQN3-TNP : 7 April 2016), Gustantine Steve Panagakos, 1942; citing NARA microfilm publication M1936, M1937, M1939, M1951, M1962, M1964, M1986, M2090, and M2097 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• "United States 1950 Census", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XBR-C4MZ : Mon Mar 18 23:14:31 UTC 2024), Entry for Steve Panagakos and Cora Panagakos, 13 April 1950.

Acknowledgement

This profile was originally created by Star Kline, Gus's granddaughter, on 29 June 2014.