PRESENTING NICHOLAS MARINO BENACHI: AMERICAN SOUTH'S LOST HELLENE Published in The National Herald, August 27-28, 2016 Issue Authored by Steve Frangos ------------------------------ We are excited to announce that  The National Herald  has given Hellenic Genealogy Geek the right to reprint articles that may be of interest to our group.  ------------------------------ ----------------------- Nicolas Marino Benachi is never completely ignored in any fulllength study on Greeks in the United States. Yet beyond a few words concerning Benachi’s role in the establishment of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in New Orleans little else is ever said. In point of fact. Benachi is the type of Greek pioneer who deserves a book-length study of his life. Benachi engages our sustained interest from various points. First, Benachi was among that early group of Greek merchants who from 1830s until the 1880s typically represented the average Gr...

OLDEST GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH IN WESTERN HEMISPHERE CELEBRATES 150 YEARS Published October 9, 2014 by the PappasPost.com Holy Trinity Cathedral  in New Orleans, Louisiana is having a big celebration this weekend. It’s the oldest Greek Orthodox Church in the Western Hemisphere. This year, it’s 150 years old and local news channel WGNO dedicated a segment with a great historical spot on the church (see video). 150 years goes by in a flash. “Many of us remember when we first came into the church and started worshiping in here, they didn’t have all these beautiful icons. It was just a plain room. Over the years, raising money, added the stained glass windows, added the icons, added all the beautiful things you see in here,” says Barbara Stavis Wolf.. . . .  During the Civil War, New Orleans was a bustling port city, attracting immigrants looking for a better life. “There were Greek’s settling in the city who were merchants, cotton brokers, people...

Ancestry.com has a database online that is titled - U.S. WWII DRAFT CARDS YOUNG MEN, 1940-1947 , which has 214 males in Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, and North Carolina who listed Greece as their place of birth. Don't forget - most of you can access these records online at your local public library for FREE.  Read more on one of my previous posts " Something New To Try When Using Ancestry.com in the Library for FREE " Description from Ancestry.com: Historical Background The U.S. officially entered World War II on 8 December 1941 following an attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. About a year before, in October 1940, President Roosevelt had signed into law the first peacetime selective service draft in U.S. history because of rising world conflicts. Multiple registrations held between November 1940 and October 1946 signed up more than 50 million American men aged 18–45 for the draft. Cards in This Database This database contains registration cards filled out by ...

FamilySearch.org  has FREE records for 300 people who listed Greece as their place of birth -  Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1820-1945  , where you will be able to view a digital copy of the original handwritten passenger list. This includes:  Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1820-1902 and Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1903-1945 You can read more about these records on the  FamilySearch.org  wiki.

LOUISIANA, DEATHS INDEX, 1850-1875, 1894-1956   - link to records in FREE database This FamilySearch database  includes 164 people who died in the state of Louisiana  between the years 1850-1875, 1894-1956, that had GREECE recorded as their birthplace .   I have listed their names below for your review. You can view further information on these records at this  FamilySearch.org link .  Record Content Key genealogical facts that may be found in the Louisiana Death Records, depending on the time period, include: Full name Place and date of death Age and birthplace (city or town, state or foreign country) Marital status and sometimes name of spouse Date of birth Sex Race Names and birthplaces of parents Occupation Place and date of burial Cause of Death Name of informant Social Security number (later records) If veteran, name of war (later records) Length of stay in community (later records) If the deceased is a citizen of a f...

Oldest Greek Church in America built 1867; New Orleans, La.  (click on image to enlarge) Source: Source: Hellenism in America by S G Canoutas - published 1918