Greek Genealogy

[jdean]

Anybody know anything about researching Greek genealogy or Greek surnames ?

I'm helping a friend whose great grandfather turned up in Britain in the late 19th C.

The 1911 census says he was born on Samos in about 1856 and the family name is Joenn which hopefully resembles the original surname.

[Rufus191]

Anybody know anything about researching Greek genealogy or Greek surnames ?

I'm helping a friend whose great grandfather turned up in Britain in the late 19th C.

The 1911 census says he was born on Samos in about 1856 and the family name is Joenn which hopefully resembles the original surname.

Unfortunately I don't know much, but I would guess the J of Joenn might have originally been an I, so could be anglicized from Ioannes, Ioannides or Ioannou? The Familysearch country pages are usually good starting points

https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Greece_Genealogy

[jdean]

Anybody know anything about researching Greek genealogy or Greek surnames ?

I'm helping a friend whose great grandfather turned up in Britain in the late 19th C.

The 1911 census says he was born on Samos in about 1856 and the family name is Joenn which hopefully resembles the original surname.

Unfortunately I don't know much, but I would guess the J of Joenn might have originally been an I, so could be anglicized from Ioannes, Ioannides or Ioannou? The Familysearch country pages are usually good starting points

https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Greece_Genealogy

Thank you, that's a very helpful start.

Apparently there's an archive on Samos and they have 'registers' going back to the early 19th C. so that's encouraging too.

But it seems the Greeks use patronymic names so it could be a bit of a minefield : )

[pelop]

Anybody know anything about researching Greek genealogy or Greek surnames ?

I'm helping a friend whose great grandfather turned up in Britain in the late 19th C.

The 1911 census says he was born on Samos in about 1856 and the family name is Joenn which hopefully resembles the original surname.

Have they taken a DNA test? Even though people from the islands are undertested, it's possible they'll find some cousins that could help.

[jdean]

Anybody know anything about researching Greek genealogy or Greek surnames ?

I'm helping a friend whose great grandfather turned up in Britain in the late 19th C.

The 1911 census says he was born on Samos in about 1856 and the family name is Joenn which hopefully resembles the original surname.

Have they taken a DNA test? Even though people from the islands are undertested, it's possible they'll find some cousins that could help.

Not yet but something I'm going to bring up with them, which company is likeliest to produce the most autosomal hits ?

Have got direct male descendants as well so Y-DNA is also an option.

[pelop]

Anybody know anything about researching Greek genealogy or Greek surnames ?

I'm helping a friend whose great grandfather turned up in Britain in the late 19th C.

The 1911 census says he was born on Samos in about 1856 and the family name is Joenn which hopefully resembles the original surname.

Have they taken a DNA test? Even though people from the islands are undertested, it's possible they'll find some cousins that could help.

Not yet but something I'm going to bring up with them, which company is likeliest to produce the most autosomal hits ?

Have got direct male descendants as well so Y-DNA is also an option.

23andme, Ancestry and Myheritage all have a good number of Greek users, 23andMe or Ancestry and then autosomal transfer to MH + gedmatch is the best option.

[jdean]

23andme, Ancestry and Myheritage all have a good number of Greek users, 23andMe or Ancestry and then autosomal transfer to MH + gedmatch is the best option.

Thank you, I'll probably suggest Ancestry as I haven't any experience with the other two plus everybody's heard of them in the UK

[Aeolus]

Anybody know anything about researching Greek genealogy or Greek surnames ?

I'm helping a friend whose great grandfather turned up in Britain in the late 19th C.

The 1911 census says he was born on Samos in about 1856 and the family name is Joenn which hopefully resembles the original surname.

Unfortunately, I don't know much, but I would guess the J of Joenn might have originally been an I, so could I be anglicized from Ioannes, Ioannides or Ioannou? The Familysearch country pages are usually good starting points

https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Greece_Genealogy

Thank you, that's a very helpful start.

Apparently, there's an archive on Samos and they have 'registers' going back to the early 19th C. so that's encouraging too.

But it seems the Greeks use patronymic names so it could be a bit of a minefield : )

If they kept living in Samos, then maybe try to get ahold of the Turkish archives. The Turkish government allows you to access Ottoman ancestral documents/family trees. That's how many Turks trace their Balkan or Caucasian Muhacir ancestry.

I'd try that. He should be registered as a rum. You need to know his name and also have a document proving he was born in Samos during the Ottoman period and contact your local Turkish embassy for further instructions.

Samos Greeks also migrated to Anatolia in the 1800s and in my village people traced their ancestry back to that island as well through the Turkish e-Devlet system. So I'm speaking from my own experience. 

[jdean]

Unfortunately, I don't know much, but I would guess the J of Joenn might have originally been an I, so could I be anglicized from Ioannes, Ioannides or Ioannou? The Familysearch country pages are usually good starting points

https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Greece_Genealogy

Thank you, that's a very helpful start.

Apparently, there's an archive on Samos and they have 'registers' going back to the early 19th C. so that's encouraging too.

But it seems the Greeks use patronymic names so it could be a bit of a minefield : )

If they kept living in Samos, then maybe try to get ahold of the Turkish archives. The Turkish government allows you to access Ottoman ancestral documents/family trees. That's how many Turks trace their Balkan or Caucasian Muhacir ancestry.

I'd try that. He should be registered as a rum. You need to know his name and also have a document proving he was born in Samos during the Ottoman period and contact your local Turkish embassy for further instructions.

Samos Greeks also migrated to Anatolia in the 1800s and in my village people traced their ancestry back to that island as well through the Turkish e-Devlet system. So I'm speaking from my own experience. 

Many thanks for your helpful comments and sorry for being so late in acknowledging them, been a bit sidetracked recently.

There is an archive on Samos and I sent them an email quite some time ago but didn't get an answer. I'm thinking of trying to phone them and hope my lack of Greek won't be an insurmountable issue but your suggestion sounds very promising !!