A QUEST FOR CLOSURE:  THE JOURNEY TO PERGAMOS By Peter Nicolelis published in The National Herald November 28, 2020  The National Herald has given HellenicGenealogyGeek.com permission to post articles that are of interest to our group. -------------------------------------------- My father, Nicholas HatziNicolelis, was born in Pergamos in 1882. It was a time when Turkey was governed by the Ottomans. Under their mandates, all Christian males were required to serve in the Turkish army upon reaching age 20. Rather than risk providing training and weapons to the recruited Christian youths, the Turks assigned them to their infamous labor battalions. As such, the Christian youths were packed into boxcars and railroaded into the easternmost provinces of Turkey. These men were forced to work on labor gangs as manual laborers. They were brutally treated and few, if any, survived to tell their story. The reputation of the labor camps had become common knowledge to the Christ...

  INTRODUCING LIEUTENANT GENERAL MANTO MAVROGENOUS   By Phyllis (Kiki) Sembos Special to The National Herald published in The National Herald  November 21, 2020   The National Herald has given HellenicGenealogyGeek.com permission to post articles that are of interest to our group. -------------------------------------------- There have been many heroic women who’ve made a decided mark in both ancient and Modern Greek history.  A lot has been written about Manto Mavrogenous (1796-1848) who gave both her youth and fortune fighting for her country’s honor and freedom.  Born in Trieste, now part of Italy, she was the daughter of Nicholaos and Zaharati, nee Hadzi Vatis.  Her great uncle was Prince of Wallachia (Vlachis).  A beautiful woman of aristocratic lineage, she studied ancient Greek philosophy and history and spoke fluent French, Italian, and Turkish. In 1809, her family moved to Paros where she learned that her father was preparin...

  Literary Review: 'SWEET GREEKS' HIGHLIGHTS IMMIGRANT CONFECTIONERS  IN THE MIDWEST USA Review by Eleni Sakellis published in The National Herald November 21, 2020 The National Herald has given HellenicGenealogyGeek.com permission to post articles that are of interest to our group. -------------------------------------------- While the Greek immigrant experience in the United States has long been associated with diners and the restaurant business, many Greeks went into candy-making. Many confectioners' shops were started by Greek immigrants in the 20th century, some of which are still operating as family-run businesses.  Sweet Greeks:  First-Generation Immigrant Confectioners in the Heartland by Ann Flesor Beck weaves together family memoir and the history of the Midwest in her book which highlights the Greek immigrant experience through her grandfather's story as a confectioner in Illinois.  The book was published in October by the University of Illinois Press...

  FamilySearch.org has a FREE database titled " Arizona, Maricopa County, Voting Records 1876-1932 ".  It includes 265 people born in Greece. This publication consists of voting records known as Great Registers from the County Recorder in Maricopa County, Arizona for the years from 1876 through 1932. The microfilm of the original records is located at the Arizona Department of Libraries, Archives and Public Records in Phoenix, Arizona. More records may be added as they become available. The following information may be found in these records : Name Age Country of Nativity Local Residence Naturalized: Date, Place, By What Court Date of Registration Remarks

  FamilySearch.org has a FREE database titled " Arizona, Pima County, Voting Records, 1876-1926 ".  There are 56 voting records listing the voter as being born in Greece.  This publication consists of voting records known as Great Registers from Pima County, Arizona for the years between 1876 and 1926. More records may be added as they become available. The following information may be found in these records Name Age Country of Nativity Local Residence Naturalized: Date, Place, By What Court Date of Registration Remarks

  FamilySearch.org has a FREE database titled " Arizona, Cochise County Voting Records, 1882-1932 " that includes  56 records for people born in Greece . This publication consists of voting records known as Great Registers from the County Recorder in Cochise County, Arizona for the years 1882 through 1932. The microfilm of the original records and photocopy of the typescript it located at the Cochise County Courthouse in Bisbee, Arizona. The register for 1898 is missing and was not microfilmed. More records may be added as they become available. The following information may be found in these records: Name Age Country of Nativity Local Residence Naturalized: Date, Place, By What Court Date of Registration Remarks

  FamilySearch.org has a FREE database titled " Alaska, Alien Arrivals at Various Locations 1906-1956 " that includes 70 people born in Greece. This collection contains passenger lists of alien arrivals at various locations in Alaska, 1906-1956. Image are originally housed at The National Archives and Records Administration (Series A3434, M2016, M2017, M2018). The following information may be found in these records: Name Sex Age Last residence Place of birth Name and address of person where alien came from Who payed the passage If they had been in United States before Physical characteristics Steamer name Nationality Race Date and port of Arrival Final destination- person, address Occupation Purpose of coming

  FamilySearch.org has a FREE database titled " Minnesota Naturalization Records and Indexes, 1872-1962 ".  It includes 1,041 people born in Greece and 181 born in Turkey . This publication contains naturalization records from United States District and Circuit Courts for the state of Minnesota. The collections are from Record Group 21 Records of the District Courts of the United States and are from the National Archives Branch in Kansas City, Missouri. United States District Court First Division. Winona. Naturalizations, 1896-1924 First Division Administrative History Note NARA Second Division. Mankato. Declarations of intention, 1906-1940; Naturalizations, 1897-1944 Second Division Administrative History Note NARA Third Division. St. Paul. Declarations of intention, 1872-1955; Naturalizations, 1859-1954 Third Division Administrative History Note NARA Fourth Division. Minneapolis. Declarations of intention, 1906-1962 Fourth Division Administrative History Note NARA Sixth Di...

Ancestry.com has a database titled " New York, Great Meadow Correctional Facility Records, 1911-1933 " that includes 42 records for people born in Greece. New York State Archives Ancestry.com.  New York, Great Meadow Correctional Facility Records, 1911-1933  [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017. Original data: Great Meadow Correctional Facility Registers, 1906-1942, Series: B2401-15, B2396-16, B2399-16. New York State Archives, Albany, NY, USA. About New York, Great Meadow Correctional Facility Records, 1911-1933 Opened in 1911, Great Meadow Correctional Facility was the fourth male state prison in New York. The volumes in this collection include information on inmates who were received into the prison between the years 1911 and 1933. Several different types of records, including admission registers, parole registers, and registers of aliens are included in this collection. What You Can Find in the Records Registers recorded the inmate’s...

Ancestry.com has a database titled " New York, Auburn Prison Records, 1816-1942 " which includes 152 people born in Greece .   About New York, Auburn Prison Records, 1816-1942 Constructed in 1817, Auburn Prison (currently known as Auburn Correctional Facility) was the second state prison in New York. The volumes in this collection include information on inmates who were received into the prison between the years 1816 and 1942. Several different types of records, including registers of male inmates received/discharged, registers of female inmates received/discharged, registers of sentences, registers of foreign-born inmates, registers of commutations of male and female inmates are included in this collection. What You Can Find in the Records Early registers recorded the inmate’s name, county tried in, crime, dates of conviction and admission, sentence, alias, and county received from. Personal details may include age, place of birth, marital and family status, residence, ...

  FamilySearch.org has a new FREE database titled " Arizona, Yavapai County Voting Records, 1875-1932 ".  It includes 53 people listed as being born in Greece.   DESCRIPTION: Voting registers from the County Recorder in Yavapai County, Arizona for years 1875-1932. The microfilm of the original records is located at the Yavapai County Recorder's Office in Prescott, Arizona. More records may be added as they become available. CONTENTS: Name Age Country of Nativity Local Residence Naturalized: Date, Place, By What Court Date of Registration Remarks

  A LETTER TO MY SON By Peter Nicolelis published in The National Herald September 19, 2020 The National Herald has given HellenicGenealogyGeek.com permission to post articles that are of interest to our group. -------------------------------------------- Subject: 1983/Wreck of the Titanic found  Chris,  How are you?  You probably know about the sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage crossing the Atlantic, but, have I told you that papou was also crossing the Atlantic at the same time, on April 15, 1912?  The differences being that papou’s voyage was the final episode of his arduous but successful escape from Turkey.  He had just turned twenty years old and as a Christian youth in Turkey, he would have been conscripted into a Turkish army labor battalion. Typically, if that were to have happened, he would probably not have been heard from again. Papou had learned about the labor camps and was determined that was not going to be his fate. He began plann...