Dean Christakos« Crossing the Border by Sea | Main | Stuff You Can't Make Up »
April 19, 2006
Dean Makes a Family Pilgrimage
My grandmother was born in Chios and came to the United States when her mother and all of her aunts and uncles left the island. None of my family really remains there, except for a couple of distant cousins of my mother's generation who still maintain summer homes on here. However, there are still some things to see.
My great-great-grandfather (my grandmother's grandfather), Demosthenes Hatzoglou (or Hadjoglu, or any number of other variant spellings) was the patriarch of the family. Either he or his father moved from Constantinople to Chios, bringing some antique icons with him.
He lived on Dela Grammatika street in Chios's main town of Hora:
The site of his old house, in which he fathered 8 children with his wife Athena is now the site of a medical clinic:
Behind the clinic are remnants of the old house, which includes a wall leading to a garden. I will have to see more of this on Thursday.
He was a builder, and was reputedly involved in the construction of the Korai library when it was rebuilt after the 1881 earthquake:
He and his wife are buried in the St. John the Baptist cemetery, where he managed to secure a single plot so that he would not end up in the ossuary.
The inscription on the tomb reads "Tomb of the family of Demosthenes Hatzoglou, born in 1861, died February 23rd, 1912"
Posted by Dean at April 19, 2006 5:30 PM
Comments
wow! neateo!
Posted by: de at April 20, 2006 9:31 AM