IDTG

With the instrumental help of the Very Reverend Father Patriarchal Vicar Archimandrite Nikodimos Priangelos of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, of the Greek Orthodox church in Cairo, Egypt I was able to get information about my paternal grandfather’s baptism and birth.

According to the entry in the church’s records:

Kimon Andreou, son of Evangelos Andreou of Volos and Orthodoxia Stavrinou of Cyprus, born on June 22 1887 in Cairo and baptised in the holy church of St. Nicholas in Cairo on December 16, 1887 by the Reverend Father David and with Maria Stavrinou as the godmother

Code: 1 Page: 77 Number: 220

Coincidentally, my father got some information and it appears that Orthodoxia Stavrinou was from Larnaca, Cyprus. However, I do not know more about her such as her birth year or her parents.

It appears that the Stavrinou family migrated to Greece at some point as cousins of my father still live in Athens though contact is very sparse these days.

If and when I receive copies of any documents I’ll get them posted here.

In addition to the above, there is a document from the municipality of Athens listing information about my grandparents and specifically about my grandfather’s important life events. Unfortunately, his birth date differs from what is in the records of the church in Cairo.

As mentioned above, the church in Cairo states that my grandfather was born in 1887 but the document from the municipality of Athens states 1889. A difference of two years, which is larger than the 13 days of the Julian vs. Gregorian calendars (the latter being adopted in Greece in 1927). I tend to trust the church records more (as it regards the birth date), as they were contemporary, rather than the Athenian ones as those were recorded at a much later date. Also going against the city of Athens is the total lack of any information on his parents or place of birth. However, I do trust those records for the other dates as they all occured in Athens.

According to the records of the city of Athens:

• My grandmother, Athena Giakoumelos, was born in 1899.
• My grandmother’s parents were Spyridon and Maria Giakoumelos.
• My grandparents were married on August 25, 1913.
• My grandfather died in Athens on February 15, 1944

In the previous entry I talked about my mother’s maternal line. In this entry, I’ll go over my father’s maternal line, the Giakoumelos or Γιακουμέλος family of Zakynthos (Zante) or Ζάκυνθος.

The Giakoumelos surname is fairly common on the island and upon visiting, one sees the name everywhere. Unfortunately, I am not aware of the meaning of the name though I will share as much as I can from the family’s tradition.

My grandmother, Athena Giakoumelos or Αθηνά Γιακουμέλου, was born in the village of Gyri or Γύρι in 1899 and her family was one of the founding families of the village. The village is located in the municipality of Artemisia, just north of the town of Macherado and about 30 kilometers from the island’s capital of Zakynthos. The village dates back to 15th century is has always been a small town. According to the latest census, it has 58 permanent residents and the Giakoumelos of today are related to my grandmother – probably cousins of some sort.

The family tradition is that the townsfolk of Gyri were originally from the Mani region of Greece that left the area due to the very harsh conditions there. Adding to the difficult living conditions caused by the aridity and lack or arable land, Mani was a center of clashes with the Ottoman and Venetian forces.

The story continues with the family returning at some point to Mani believing the conditions have become better in the homeland. However, after staying in Mani for a few years, the family returns to Gyri.

It is unclear if this is the story of the family or of the population of the town. It appears that the village has always been sparsely populated and never was even moderately sized.

I have only visited the village once where my family met cousins of my father that still live there. We got a tour of the small village and saw a monument to my great-grandfather, my grandmother’s father, for his contributions. Apparently, he was a person of some importance in the village and was who founded the school there.

I’d like to visit the village again and try to get accurate information about the family’s history and perhaps corroborate some of the family histories.

As a segue from the previous entry on my maternal arms of the Martínez de Vergara line and a departure from heraldry, I decided to spend some time discussing my genealogical research.

In the hispanic world, people are known by two surnames, that of the father and that of the mother. In the rest of the western world, only the father’s surname is used. Therefore, my surname would be “Andreou Vergara”.

Additionally, in the hispanic world, people are also known by their four surnames. The father’s surname, the mother’s, the paternal grandmother’s and the maternal grandmother’s. This is a boon to genealogists as they can get more information on a given individual and open up new avenues.

My four surnames are: Andreou, Vergara, Giakoumelos and Edwards.
My mother’s four surnames are: Vergara, Edwards, Ortúzar and Hurtado.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the same information, yet, for my father as the multiple surname custom is not part of Greek culture.
I’ll start with my mother’s side of the family. My mother’s surname is Vergara Edwards and follows the hispanic tradition of using the father’s paternal name and the mother’s paternal name. My maternal grandmother’s name was Edwards Hurtado and my maternal grandfather’s name was Vergara Ortúzar.

I’ll focus on the “Vergara” side. My mother’s paternal line is specifically, Martínez de Vergara” descending from the founder of the line in Chile named Juan Martínez de Vergara who travelled to Chile from Spain to participate in the Arauco War against the Mapuche indians.

He was born in Gibraleón, Huelva to Juan Martínez de Vergara and Isabel Alonso Márquez. The senior Juan Martínez de Vergara was a hidalgo originally from Guipúzcoa.

He married Magdalena de Leiva Sepúlveda in 1634 and had 4 children: Mariana Vergara Leiva Sepúlveda, Francisca Vergara Leiva Sepúlveda, Isabel Vergara Leiva Sepúlveda and Juan Martínez de Vergara Leiva Sepúlveda.

This is the quote from the book “Nobleza Colonial de Chile” by Juan Mujica, pages 444-445:

Partió a las Indias destinado a la guerra de Chile en los campos de Arauco en 1601. Vino enrolado en la tropa que acompaño al gobernador Alonso de Ribera, considerado el organizador del ejército reino de Chile. Formo en la compañía que mandaba el capitán Gines de Lillo y asistió con sus armas en los fuertes de Santa Fe y Talcahuano. En 1628 ya figuraba en grado de capitán.

Establecido en Chillan, donde fue maestre de campo y alcalde en 1640, fundo su hogar y perteneció a la cofradía de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios. Realizada la destrucción de esa urbe por los rebeldes araucanos, tuvo que abandonarla junto con su familia. Su esposa aporto al matrimonio una caudalosa dote con casa solar en la ciudad citada y una estancia de feraces tierras. Vergara con su mujer e hijos busco refugio en zona más segura y obtuvo rica merced de tierras en Colchagua. Se le cuenta entre los benefactores del convento que los mercedarios tenían en Chimbarongo. Consta que en 1658 realizo un viaje al Perú, otorgando antes su testamento en Valparaíso. Cuatro anos mas tarde volvió a disponer otro testamento en su estancia de Chimbarongo y fundo una capellania de misas. Por sus servicios militares obtuvo encomienda de indios en Colchagua y murió en 1672. El sabio Medina anota que la Real Audiencia le recomendó al rey como persona ilustre y benemérita en 1626.

Translation:

He left for the Indies with a destination of the war in Chile on the fields of Arauco in 1601. He arrived enrolled in the troop that accomanied the governor Alonso de Ribera, considered the organizer of the royal army in Chile. He was part of the company under the leadership of Captain Gines de Lillo and assisted in the battles of Santa Fe and Tlcahuano. By 1628, he had already attained the rank of Captain.

Settling in Chillan, where he was Field Marshal and Mayor in 1640, he created his home and was part of the cofraternity of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios. He had to abandon the town with his family after its destruction of the town by the rebel Araucos. His wife contributed to the marriage with a significant dowry including an estate and land. Vergara, with his wife and children, sought refuge in a safer area and obtained a rich portion of land in Colchagua. He was one of the benefactors of the convent of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy in Chimbarongo. In 1658 he traveled to Peru after completing his will in Valparaiso. Four years later, he authored another will at his estate in Chimbarongo and founded a chapel there. For his military service he received an encomienda of indians in Colchagua and died in 1672. Media notes that the Real Audiencia recommended he be recognized by the king in 1626.

Source: rodovid.org from data entered by me