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Showing posts from June, 2018

History of St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Hartford, Connecticut

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History of St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Hartford, Connecticut " The first Greek immigrants arrived in Hartford in 1898. By 1915, there were some two hundred Greek residents in Hartford, and by 1920 the number exceeded four hundred, only twenty-five of whom were families. The early Greek residents of Hartford were too few to support their own church; consequently, they accepted the spiritual guidance of the neighboring St. George Greek Orthodox Church of New Britain, which had been established in 1916. At the time, a chartered trolley car on special holidays such as Easter and Christmas was necessary to transport the increasing church attendance from Hartford. As the number of Greek residents in Hartford increased, the thought of organizing their own community prevailed. In the spring of 1921, and educational committee was formed. Its sole purpose was to organize a school for the teaching of the Greek language to children of Greek families. A room was rented in the

How to Use CHRONICLING AMERICA to Find Your Ancestors' in Newspapers

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I would like to recommend this very helpful article, written by Lisa Louise Cooke, it includes step by step instructions on "How to Use Chronicling America To Find Your Ancestors' in Newspapers".   This is how I found the location of archives for the Chicago Daily News from 1907 (not digitized).  I can now schedule some time to go look for any articles on my great-uncle, Sam Best (Bebetsos), the wrestler. " Finding old newspapers from your ancestors’ hometown isn’t always easy. Here’s how to use Chronicling America to identify the newspapers that were in print at the time. Those issues may not be online, so Chronicling America also points you to copies of those newspapers at libraries and archives." " But only 1.5% of the 155,000 newspapers published over time in the U.S. newspapers have been digitized at Chronicling America. So you’ll want to look those ones up and locate them offsite. The good news is that there’s a lesser-known tool at Chronicl

Greeks Left Their Mark on Pro Wrestling

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FROM SPORT TO SPECTACLE: GREEKS LEFT THEIR MARK ON PRO WRESTLING By Steve Frangos Published in The National Herald, November 4, 2006 ------------------------------ I am excited that  The National Herald  has given Hellenic Genealogy Geek the right to reprint articles that may be of interest to our group.  ------------------------------ From the early 1900’s until the 1930’s, Greeks dominated the sport of wrestling in North America. When wrestling was a legitimate sport, Jim Londos was the undefeated champion who was as recognized a national figure as Jack Dempsey.  No one knows how many Greek immigrants became professional wrestlers, but it is clearly documented that they quickly became a recognized and widely feared contingent. Those who know a little something about the very beginnings of Greek athletic competition in North America will find limiting this account to the early 1900’s a mistake.  Greek strongmen were actively performi

Photographs Outside of History: What they Reveal - Greek-Americans

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Photographs Outside of History: What they Reveal By Steve Frangos Published in The National Herald, August 19, 2006 ------------------------------ I am excited that  The National Herald  has given Hellenic Genealogy Geek the right to reprint articles that may be of interest to our group.  ------------------------------ Every so often, incredibly valuable Greek American historical documents float into public view. All we have to do is wait for the unexpected to rediscover these lost historical gems.  The Chicago Daily News Photographs – 1902-33 website on the Library of Congress’ National Digital Library Program is one such treasure house of visual images. This vast collection consists of more than 55,000 images of urban life drawn from more than 30 years of news-related photography. In this vast collection of visual images, we find 28 photographs between 1906 and 1927 identified, in their meager accompanying documentation, as “Greeks

Facebook Group: Greek Born Reunited Adoptees

GREEK BORN REUNITED ADOPTEES Facebook Group:  Greek Born Reunited Adoptees Description:  None ----- Comments:  This group has 52 members (as of the date of this posting).  Doesn't seem to have recent activity, however, I requested membership and received a response within a few minutes.  

Facebook Group: Greek Adoptees in Search of Their Birth Family

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Facebook Group:  Greek Adoptees in Search of Their Birth Family Description: Greek adoptees who were born 1950-1985 in Greece and adopted in USA. ----- Comments: As of the date of this posting there are only 12 members in this group. It is a closed group and you must become a member to view postings by other members.

Facebook Group: Greek Born Adoptees

GREEK BORN ADOPTEES Facebook Group:  Greek Born Adoptees Description: We would Like anyone Who was adopted or Born In Greece then Came to Australia,Or Any Overseas Country to please contact Our Advocate for Australia Theodora Sullivan.She will be The New Advocate For Greek Born Adoptees From Greece here In AUSTRALIA We have Mothers searching for there children after news of Blackmarket doctors being caught in Athens For Illegal Adoption 3 years ago.They were selling and stealing new Born Infants and Selling them to Adoptive Parents and claiming them as there own. Please spread the word. The Doctors later would Announce the baby Dead Just after Birth. The mothers Never recieved Death certificates. ... Mothers are finding out all over Greece there children did not die and are now in Search for there children. We have Siblings looking for one Another. We Have Admins that can talk too you and also get your details. Thankyou.

Let's Talk - Greek Wedding Traditions

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IT'S THAT SEASON AGAIN - LET'S TALK - GREEK WEDDING TRADITIONS The following article was published in The National Herald on February 10, 2018 Authored by Eleni Sakellis ----- The Greek wedding has taken on mythic proportions in the popular imagination worldwide, thanks in no small part to the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, even if it is nearing sixteen years since its release.  Greek-Americans have done their part in expanding the idea of the Greek wedding in all its grandeur, from the huge guest list to the impressive reception menu, but the traditional aspects of the Greek wedding are what make it truly unique and special. Those of us from the average, usually large, Greek family will undoubtedly have attended numerous weddings throughout a single lifetime. I recall being shocked and saddened to hear that one of my classmates (non-Greek) had never attended a wedding in her life at the ripe old age of 12 or 13. By that age, most GreekAmericans have been to at