Question of the Week: Do you have Greek roots?

Question

Do you have any ancestors from Greece?

Please tell us about them below, on Facebook, or on any other social media site by sharing the question image.

Comments

My husband’s mother’s family is from Kalamata, Greece. Try getting info without knowing Greek, what a challenge

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as a note there IS a Greek roots project.. I have been following.. my wifes grandfather is Greek..   Greek roots project link

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My husband is Greek from the island of Kos in the Dodecanese. We live in the USA now but we go back every summer. His last name is Kaloudis. A ton of relatives over there and none over here, unfortunately. That is of course except our son, his wife and kids, and our daughter.

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How nice that your husband married a woman named Penelope! (if one knows Greek mythology, the reason should be obvious)

Answer 1

Yes, I'm half Greek. My mother is full Greek. My grandfather, Dimitrios Hilaris, was born in Leonidion. His father was John Hilaris, mother was Stamatina Zervas (possibly Zorias). I haven't added them to the tree yet and I cannot find any information on them. My grandmother, Evangelia Koures, was full Greek but born in Pawtucket, RI. Her father, Panayiotes Koures, was born in Kalamata, Greece. His father, George Koures, was born in Kalamata, and his mother was Panayiota Kotsometopoulos but I don't know where she was born. My grandmother's mother, Katina Malliangas, was from Tripolis, Greece. Her father was Angelo Malliangas and her mother was Efthimia Kapanties. I don't know where they were born.

I'd love to find more information but researching Greeks has been very difficult. I've been told I'd probably have to find the church where they were married or baptized. Not sure if that is true. Any suggestions, please contact me. I'll also check out that Greek Roots project link.

Answer 2

Nope! My grandma was married to a man of partial-Greek ancestry at the time of my mother's birth, so initially I thought I had Greek roots; I've since learned that he wasn't the father.

Answer 3

I have no idea, but it shows up in my DNA. My father's family was mid-eastern Jewish and wondering if that might be the connection?

Answer 4

I don't have any Greek roots. My AncestryDNA admixture recently updated to include Greece, though. The same thing happened to my father and my great-aunt. That can be attributed to Romans and the fact that southern Italy has been a melting pot of cultures for centuries.

However, I do want to spotlight this guy: Arthur Soterakopolous. Arthur married Angelina Papatola who was the daughter of Concetta Coppola. Concetta was my 2x great-grandmother Caterina's sister. 

And there's my big fat Greek connection. I also have a few Greek friends. That counts, right? I also tried to start a Greek Roots project here.

Comments

I'd join a Greek roots project!

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I'm still trying to figure out how to MAKE it.

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Greek Roots Project link..

Answer 5

My daughter in law is 50% Greek, her grandfather was born under a tree sometime in the year somewhere in Greece.. beyond that nothing is known for him so this will be a bit daunting trying to work through them and hoping they'll agree to do DNA

Answer 6

Maternal grandfather born in Greece late 1800s.  Came to America early 20th century.  Have his mother's name and home town but nothing else.  Have found some immigration info.  Family lore says his dad was a Greek Orthodox Priest.

Answer 7

My father was Greek and I have two first cousins in Athens. I do not speak Greek, but they help with translations. My father wrote a little history of his family before he passed, so I know all of his grandparents. Beyond that, the evidence is spotty. His family was from the Ionian Island of Kefalonia.

I also have a number of 3rd cousins or so on Ancestry and GEDmatch, but unfortunately we cannot place how we are connected.

Answer 8

My husband is from Corfu, Greece.. we have a daughter

Answer 9

I have one ancestor whose father was born in Ithaca, the island home of Ulysses.  Medes PALMOS (Palmos-5) was the son of an immigrant from Ithaca. I have added a profile for Francis Palmos (Palmos-7), journalist and author (on Wikipedia) born in Melbourne of a father from Ithaca.  Ithaca is such a tiny island that the two will be related somehow, Francis' widow told me.  It used to be a separate administrative district of Greece, but is no longer one.  I find it surprising that the king of Ithaca was so prominent in the Trojan War.

Comments

Wikipedia says that Frank is still alive, aged 80, but he was already deceased when I spoke to his widow.  I will try to have that corrected.

Answer 10

Ancient Greek roots thanks to my Italian, Sardinian, and Spaniard ancestry.