Over the years I have had trouble documenting my maternal great-grandmother's maiden name. I had tried to confirm it with my usual favorite source - The U.S. Social Security Application. On this particular form the applicant must insert the maiden name of his or her mother. I looked at the information my grandfather and his brother filled out. The application done by my grandfather, Frank Tsiones, states that his mother's name was Anna Manutes. My mother did not think that sounded correct, but she was not sure what the name should be. His brother, Christ Tsiones, wrote his mother's name as Athanasia Maniatis (it is very hard to read). It is unclear what the maiden name was. I then looked at the 1865 General Election lists from the village of Kapareli, searching for surnames that were similar to what I saw on the Social Security Applications. There were 7 men listed in the 1865 Election Lists with the name Maniatis. No ...
