Zakynthos County, Greece Genealogy

Guide to Zakynthos County ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
Zakynthos, is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Zakynthos is a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and its only municipality.

Zakynthos (Wikipedia)

Geography
Zakynthos (Greek: Ζάκυνθος [ˈzacinθos) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Zakynthos is a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and its only municipality.
 * A Russo-Turkish fleet captured the island Zakynthos on 23 October 1798. From 1800 to 1807, the island was part of the Septinsular Republic which consisted of the islands of Kerkyra, Zakynthos, Cephallonia, Lefkada, Ithaka, Paxos and Kythera.
 * In 1807, the Septinsular Republic was ceded to Napoleon's First French Empire, but the islands were not annexed by France, keeping their institutions of government. The British gradually took control of the islands, and following the Treaty of Paris.The Republic was nominally under sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire but protected by Russia.
 * Zakynthos was occupied by the Great Britain on 16 October 1809 after they defeated a nearby French fleet. It was then made part of the British protectorate of the United States of the Ionian Islands from 1815 to 1864.
 * On May 21, 1864, the Greek flag was hoisted on the Ionian Islands to welcome the Greek army and unification with the Kingdom of Greece.
 * As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Zakynthos was created out of the former prefecture] Zakynthos. The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same reform, the current municipality Zakynthos was created out of the 6 former municipalities:

Zakynthos, Wikipedia
 * Zakynthos (city)
 * Alykes
 * Arkadioi
 * Artemisia
 * Elatia
 * Laganas

Villages

 * List of villages in Zakynthos County

Municipal Archives
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
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

 * Municipality addresses for Zakynthos County
 * [[Media:Lica Catsakis Form Letters to the Mayor of a Municipality.pdf|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 Zakynthos County Archives

 * 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.


 * See [[Media:GAK - How to Navigate.pdf|How to Navigate the Greek National Archives.]]
 * Online records
 * Contact information for services

Important Records of GAK

 * Electoral Registers, 1870s
 * Election Collection John Vlachogianni (1864-1925)
 * Electoral lists of Zakynthos
 * Archive Hellenic Parliament (1844-1893, 1915)
 * Hellenic Parliament Electoral lists of Zakynthos

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

Central Archives
General State Archives (GSC) Dafni 61 15452 Psychiko Greece Phone:+30 210-6782200 FAX:+30 210-6782215 E-mail:archives@gak.gr

Zakynthos County Archives
Nomos Zakynthos Dionysios Solomos Square Zakynthos 29100 Greece Tel .: 26950-27746 Fax: 26950-27746 E-mail: mail@gak.zak.sch.gr
 * Website

Writing to Archives
Again, not all records will be online. You can write and request searches for records. Instructions, form letters, and their translations are found here.
 * [[Media:Lica Catsakis Form Letters to the Greek National Archives (GAK).pdf|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

Important Church Records

 * 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
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. Information on addressing the letter, enclosing money, and a form letter in Greek, with its English translation are found in this .pdf:
 * Contact information for the Diocese of Zakynthos and Strophades
 * [[Media:Lica Catsakis Form Letter to a Diocese.pdf|Form Letter to a Diocese]]
 * Asking for a Marriage record
 * Follow up Thank You letter

How to Read the Records
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 :
 * [[Media:Lica Catsakis 10 The Language.pdf| Catsakis, Lica. Chapter 10:THE LANGUAGE. Family History Research in Greece.]]
 * [[Media:Lica Catsakis 11 Numbers and Units of Time.pdf|Catsakis, Lica. Chapter 11: NUMBERS AND UNITS OF TIME. Family History Research in Greece.]]
 * [[Media:Lica Catsakis 12 Appendix A Glossary.pdf|Catsakis, Lica. GLOSSARY. Family History Research in Greece.]]