Performing a Search for Greek genealogy in Greece

Here is a part of my methodology for searching Hellenic genealogy.

You initially provide me with:

The name of an individual or Greek family name in English or Greek, if known.

The date of birth of an individual, if known.

The first name of the father, and mother if available, and dates of birth, if known.

The last known location or address, a village, an area, or municipality of the family member in Greece.

Clarify the information that you want when making your request for the Greek family history.

Why do I ask for a location? There are many family names that are similar in Greece and many of them are not related.  Some of them may even be within the proximity of the area that is specified.

The more information you provide the easier and faster the genealogical search will be and therefore the lower the cost.  With the information that you provide, I will be able to deliver you the best results of your genealogy in Greece.

I perform a preliminary verification of the information as part of my genealogy research strategy to provide you with a quotation.  This is also done to minimize any unauthorized requests for family details.

If your require more information after the initial family search, then I perform a deeper search to provide you with the additional findings such as the relationships between generations, e.g. digital and hard copies of legal certificates, digital photographs, genealogical ancestry chart, etc. for your Greek records.

I make every attempt to obtain results as quickly as possible while maintaining objectivity, reliability, and confidentiality.  The time required to perform genealogical research is based on many factors including depth of the genealogy search and Greek government bureaucracy but existing family vital records are the real foundation.

The end result is the conclusion that is included in the final report of the project based on the type of Greek research performed, e.g. genealogical, heirs and beneficiaries in Greece, etc. depending on the requirements of the your search.

Greek genealogy will not provide you with a family crest or other intrinsic items simply because that does not exist in modern Greek history.

An estimate of the time and cost is made from the start except in extreme cases, e.g. where ambiguity exists in a family name and location that may be replicated elsewhere or may not exist.

Discover Greece's genealogy and open history from the past to the present for your family.

Contact me with the above information for an initial estimate by completing this form.

Obstructions in Greek Genealogy

During the research of Greek ancestry, nature and war inhibit the search for vital records because of their destruction.

These events may have destroyed some or partial records for the period shown depending upon the damages inflicted upon the buildings that housed the records.

As such, I am listing the wars and earthquakes of various periods to help you understand that these events had a devastating impact upon the lives of those who you may be searching for information and explains the lack of vital records.

Wars in Greece

* It should be noted that the Greek Civil War continues to be a very sensitive issue today.

Greek Army Archive Records

Requesting Your Relatives Military Records

The Military Archives of the Army may be able to provide a copy of the Military Service Records (Φύλλο Πορείας) for those who served from about 1880 to the present.

Due to changes in the privacy laws of the EU, applicants wishing to receive this information are now requested to provide proof of their relationship using two documents:
a certificate of next of kin, and
a certificate of death of the individual who served in the armed forces, in this case the army.

The above documents must be issued by the Greek government to satisfy their requests to the Greek Army Archives.

If you wish to attain a copy of the army records, please see Municipality Records and the Diaspora before making a request.

Digitized Archive of the Greek Army

The archive material of the Army History Directorate (DIS) (ΓΕΣ) is becoming more available today and covers the history of the wars in the years of the Greek nation from 1897 until today including those outside of Greece.

Source:
Θέματα Στρατιωτικής Ιστορίας - Topics of Military History

Nature and the Destruction of Greek Vital Records

The following earthquakes are above the magnitude of 6.5 and above which can destroy areas and older buildings.

An example of this happened in August 1303    Triggered a major tsunami; affecting Crete and severely damaged the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Reference:

Time periods of earthquakes and tsunamis that affected Greece, Turkey, and other areas.