Cyclades region, Greece Genealogy
Guide to Cyclades Region ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.
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Contents
History[edit | edit source]
Geography[edit | edit source]
The Cyclades (Greek: Κυκλάδες) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The Cyclades Prefecture was one of the prefectures of Greece. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the prefecture was abolished, and its territory was divided into nine regional units of the South Aegean region:
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Municipalities[edit | edit source]
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Municipal Archives[edit | edit source]
Quite comprehensive records for your family, perhaps for several generations, are kept by the mayor's office of each municipality. Civil registers of birth, marriage, and death since 1925 are kept there. In addition, an important record, unique to Greece, the Dimologion is similar to a "family group record". Census records, contracts, and other records can be found.
Information About Important Records in Municipality Archives[edit | edit source]
Click on the links for an explanation on the types of records you will look for at the municipality level.
- Modern Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers
- Male Registers (Mitroon Arrenon)
- Town (Resident) Registers (Dimotologion)
Writing to Municipal Archives[edit | edit source]
- Municipality addresses for the Cyclades region
- Form Letters to the Mayor of a Municipality
- Asking for a Birth record
- Asking for a Death record
- Asking for Family Structure (Dimitologion)
- Follow up Thank You letter
Greek National Archives, and County Archives[edit | edit source]
- The Greek National Archives (GAK or GSA) has a central office in Athens, and local offices throughout Greece. These offices have copies of Male Registers, Town (Resident) Registers, School Records, and other documents of interest to family historians. Civil registers are not preserved in the Central Service (CS). Some records are online. Others are not online, but the staff will search them for you upon request.
Important Records of GAK[edit | edit source]
- Electoral Registers, 1870s
- Election Collection John Vlachogianni (1864-1925)
- Electoral Archive Hellenic Parliament (1844-1893, 1915)
- Ladas Collection Election Collection George Lada (1843-1873)
Georgia Stryker Keilman has been translating the Vlachogiannis collection into English. Check these first to possibly save time. The translations can be accessed on her website by clicking on the following links for the Index to Greece Historic Election List Archives:
- Index to Greece Historic Election List Archives, Part 1
- Index to Greece Historic Election List Archives, Part 2
- Index to Greece Historic Election List Archives, Part 3
Central Archives[edit | edit source]
General State Archives (GSC)
Dafni 61
15452 Psychiko
Greece
Phone:+30 210-6782200
FAX:+30 210-6782215
E-mail:archives@gak.gr
County Archives[edit | edit source]
Nomos Cyclades
Miaoulis Square
84100 Ermoupoli - Syros
Greece
Tel. - Fax: 22810 86891
E-mail: mail@gak.kyk.sch.gr
Nomos Naxos
Scholí Oursoulínon, Kástro
84300 Naxos
Greece
Phone:22850-23037
Fax:22850-23037
E-mail: mail@gak-naxou.kyk.sch.gr
Nomos Paxos
Magaziá
49082 Paxos
Greece
Phone:26620-31795
Fax: 26620-31795
E-mail: gakpaxon@sch.gr
Writing to Archives[edit | edit source]
Again, not all records will be online. You can write and request searches for records. Instructions, form letters, and their translations are found here.
- Form Letters to the Greek National Archives (GAK)
- Requesting Birth information
- Requesting Marriage information
- Requesting information about the family structure and death of an ancestor
- Follow up Thank You letter
Greek Orthodox Church Records[edit | edit source]
Important Church Records[edit | edit source]
- Book of Births: date of birth, place of birth, gender, name, surname, father’s name, date of baptism, godfather and priest, notes
- Book of Marriages: date of marriage, groom’s name, groom’s age, groom’s father’s name, groom’s mother’s name, bride’s name, bride’s age, bride’s father’s name, bride’s mother’s name, priest, place of birth, notes
- Book of Deaths: date of death, name of the deceased, father’s name, age, notes
Writing to a Diocese[edit | edit source]
Records may be either at the diocese archives or still at the local parish church. Usually only the most recent records are still at the parish.
- Contact information for the Diocese of Paronaxia
- http://www.ecclesia.gr/English/EnDioceses/EnDioceses.asp?mitra_id=152 [Contact information for the Diocese of Syros, Tinos, Andros, Kea]
- Contact information for the Diocese of Thera, Amorgos, and Nisoicyclades
Information on addressing the letter, enclosing money, and a form letter in Greek, with its English translation are found in this .pdf:
- Form Letter to a Diocese
- Asking for a Marriage record
- Follow up Thank You letter
How to Read the Records[edit | edit source]
You do not have to be fluent in Greek to read and understand these records! Only a few vocabulary words are involved. True, the alphabet is different. But you learned one alphabet, and you can learn another alphabet!
- Greece Handwriting and Text will teach you the alphabet in print and handwriting and give you some computer translation tools.
- The article, This simple Greek Word List, features a short list of key terms. You should learn to recognize these.
- Other words will be used on a "look it up when you come to it" basis. For this, more thorough word lists can be found at :
