Fascination with Genealogy leads to large Greek Family Tree



Published in the Greek City Times on August 2, 2016

 FASCINATION WITH GENEALOGY LEADS TO LARGE GREEK FAMILY TREE

 Excerpt from article:
South-African Greek, Alexander Armenis’ fascination with Genealogy has led him to track ‘forgotten’ Greek family worldwide and in the process has managed to come in contact with family members for the first time.
Clinical Psychologist by day, Alexander has done what many dream of doing- joined the dots and created a family tree & gives us his tips on how to go about it.......
Where do your Greek ancestors come from?
My father, Spyridon Armenis (Spiros), immigrated to South Africa in 1967 from Athens, Greece. He was born in the Village of Giannades on the Ionian Island of Corfu (Kerkyra).
Why did you decide to do a family tree?
I began collecting old family photographs and documenting the family tree following my travels to Greece. My interest grew as more of my family members asked me to tell them about the history of our family. There was a need for it.
How long has it taken you?
The process of searching the Church registries to find and confirm birth, baptism, death and marriage records for my family has taken me approximately two years.
Have you found new branches on your family tree?
Certainly I have. The experience has provided me with the opportunity to contact family members whom I otherwise never would have known about. WWII and the military junta resulted in many Greeks leaving their villages and families to settle in Athens, some immigrated half-way across the world. These family members appeared to have been forgotten by the community and it was only after conducting my research that the old names began to stir up old memories within the community.

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