Katsaras Geneology

My mom is the 4th of 7 Katsaras offspring of Iannis and Eirini Katsaras from Rhodes, Greece. My grandfather was a translater and spoke Italian, English, as well as Greek, perfectly. During World War II, my grandmother hid a Jewish family even though she could have been killed for doing so. At that time, Greeks were lined up and shot 50 at a time any time 1 German soldier died. Also, thousands of Greeks starved to death because the Germans came in and took all of the food. So to this day, my Grandmother hides a box of food under her bed. I think she is absolutely amazing and is my inspiration.

George Katsaras sent me this which tells a little more about our geneology:

My mother has in her box of photos a photo taken 50 years
ago of Steve, my grandfather Kosta's Antoniadis & perhaps my uncle Paul
Antoniadis and me as a 12 year old boy and we were fishing on either Steve's
boat or Stamas' boat I don't know why  the Stamas name is in my memory. Meni
looks like our aunt Katherine. Our grandfather George Balourdos Katsaras
knew Steve and visited with him over 50 years ago and I was there also.
Papu George visited another man and his family by the name of Capt. Papinis
or Pipinis. Who was also related to us. At the time I was about 12 years
old. Also, at that meeting I met 2 Marys one was Papinis and the other was
the sister of Stella, wife, of my first cousin's Demos Megaloudis.  I was in
love with both Mary's LOL. Stella's Sister I have had the pleasure of seeing
often with her husband and family at family doings while visiting in TP, the
other Mary (papinis), I saw only once at Gary Megaloudis' wedding and she
was across the room so I did not have an opportunity to talk to her I did
not recognize her she was pointed out to me.  I know that we are related to
the Steve Katsaras family and he did know my father Spiros(Pete). Spiros may
have been in the photo also. Incidentally we had several hundred big Grunts
and Black sea bass etc. That is why I remember the photo. However I had
another uncle name Mike Balaskas, Father of Sylvia Joanow, Dianna
Angeliadis, Yvonne Boyazis, and Angie ???. Mike for some reason in his later
years insisted that Steve and I were not related. But Symi is a Small Island
How many Katsarases could live in such a small place and not be related.
Besides The way Katsaras is spelled in Greek is not the  common spelling and
certainly not the spelling of "Curly hair" which is either kouts.... or
...os on the end or A with out the S could be stretched into curly but I
spoke to some a few years ago and they told me that if the name was spelled
like ours then we are all related. We are also related to the Katsaras
Rhodos Bay hotel. But I don't remember how but I think it is the sons of one
of our Papou's brother. But I believe that Steve and John Are also related
as the sons of one of Papou's brothers. What is the name of Steve's father
and grand father maybe TS Kim  could ask Steve  about the connection with
Balourdos, if he knows. I doubt seriously that we are related to George
Katsaros the musician.  I am related to the Galourakis' somehow too but I
don't know if it was through my maternal grandmother's side or what. I was
also distantly related to another family named Arfaras,  Their daughter and
I really liked each other and dated when I was in high school (I spent my
summers in TP working on (Miss Aspasia and the Miss Milwaukee boats) Senior
moment I can't remember her name it will come to me later. She lived in a
huge house which was near Pappas' restaurant. I lost track of her when she
went away. I heard she died at a very early age like 40 she was real nice.
Steve has a daughter that I haven't seen in over 40 years at least, that I
remember as being very pretty, she was tall and thin and I think her name
was Mary or Maria but not sure, she would be in her mid 60s now. But what I
remember most about her was that she was so friendly to me when I was very
young maybe 10 or less and she took me with others to the pier at night and
low tide and we were gathering Scallops, gigging flounder, and catching
crabs. If you know her please ask her if she remembers me or that time at
the pier, (it could have been several times) because I remember her and how
sweet she was to me her little cousin. Actually now that I think about it we
did spend a some time with Steve's family. about 25 years ago  I met Steve
at the Miami boat show I recognized him as soon as I saw him.  Please try
and send me as much info about the families and perhaps we can get a good
family tree together. Don't be surprised if we find relatives in northern
Greece and Asia minor too because some of the brothers went north and I
believe we originally came out of Asia Minor perhaps before 1800.

Katsaras & Balourdos Geneology

I had the most wonderful event happened. I learned more about my geneology thanks to this blog page. I know a lot about my father's side, and less about my mother's side, which is why it is so fantastic to get email like this. I am going to share it with everyone hoping there are more connections out there. It is amaziing the the more I learn about my geneology, the more I learn about myself and I feel more of a connection with the world. I am very proud of my roots, and that is another reason I am sharing this. In many eastern religions, they believe that we are connected with our ancestors, and they pray to their ancestors. That reasoning makes this that much more special. As for the second letter here, it is a response from the email I forwarded. It is also strong with geneology.

---

Hello,

My name is Arthur (Artistdes) Balourdos. I found an
article you wrote in the
Habanero Heat. You mentioned the name Balourdos in
your story so Google
picked it up and I was able to get your email address.


As you may assume I am an Greek-American born and
living in Chicago. My
father was named Michael and his brother, my uncle, is
Steve. My Grandfather was
from Asia Minor when he and his family was forced to
leave by the Turks. My
Grandfather had several brothers and sister including
a George and a Manoli. I
can get further information on his siblings is you
wish to further this. My
Great Grandfathers name was Soterios and was from
Agina.

Hope there is a connection.

Sincererly,
Arthur Balourdos
Chicago

---

Doxa si O theos! Hello Dear arthur, Wonderful! you
found me. It has ben a long time that I originally
started the web quest and the original quest
officially sarted in the late 70's although I have
been wondering about Why have my grandfathers nickname
was Balourdos and Why I was called Balourdaki by the
old family friends for as long as I can remember. Some
of the old timers never used the name Katsaras but
only used Balordos. I am 62 now. I know that we have
family links originating from Asia Minor also, We also
have relatives in Rhodes and Symi. My guess, based on
what I have already know about this matter, is that my
great grandfather Spiros was married to a Balourdos
woman that may have been his first wife and the mother
of my Grandfather George but then his father, Spiros
married again 2 more times because each of his wives
died, some of the children were then referred to by
their mothers maiden names. I have a feeling that some
of the children continued their mother's maiden names
but my Grandfather George, used the katsaras name of
his father spiros, after he Came to the USA in the
late 19 teens. George would be 100+ years old if he
were still alive. In his late teens he was a pirate
bucaneer fighting for Greece aginst the turks who
were backed by the Germans. During that time he was
known as capt Balourdos. They used small very fast
sail boats which they built on Symi. These sail boats
were very silent and were shallow draft which allowed
Them to slip into shallow bays and lagoons to escape
larger steam powered vessels at night. the Germans put
a high price reward on George's head because he raided
the German freighters that were shipping arms and
munitions to turks. George's pirates would take the
rifles to greece to fight the turks. There is a lot
more to this story but I have errands to run now. I
have a few questions for you, can you get the dob and
or death and any other info of your Dad and
grandparents and others. There are Balourdos family in
New york and on Symi And a girl from Symi that is in
college in Athens. do you know any of them. How old
are you?
My father was named Spiros after his grandfather he
died a few years ago at the age of 86.
Do you know any of the katsarases in Chicago? Most
likely all are related if they spell the name Katsaras
or Katzaras. but not K....os. My PC is being repaired
but I will send you more photos in the near future I
would like to know if you see any resemblences. I hope
to hear from you soon.
the attached photo is george and Eileen from Miami, FL
we live here now for the last 35 years but were both
born in ohio. Sincerely George Katsaras

Wayt Family Newsletter

Happy holidays from our family to yours!

She said:
Merry Christmas!!!
&
Happy New Year!!!

2004 has been a year of “hello” & “good-bye”,

of soaring heights & drowning lows,

of incredible love & extreme turmoil.

First of all, I apologize for not getting last years newsletter sent out…or Christmas cards. So this year, I am starting before Thanksgiving to hopefully get this out before New Years. Hey, procrastination is a gift. ;-) Who am I to argue with God over what qualities he gave me. ;-)
Now, let’s talk Mother Nature. We have been very blessed where so many in the world have been left homeless, spouseless, childless, parentless, between Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Tornados, Forest Fires, Floods, Earthquakes…2005 took quite a beating.

Talking about taking a beating…

Avatars in John’s computer games have been taking quite a beating. John has been conquering quite a few first person shooting war games. Now he is playing Quake III which he has pretty much mastered.

Besides computer gaming, another hobby John seems to have conquered is fishing. We have been fishing with Dad Ullom a few times where Dad Ullom and John have caught countless fish. On our last fishing trip to a dam in Ohio, John & Dad Ullom fished for about 5 hours straight. They caught walleye, sauger, and white bass by the hundreds. Even I caught over a dozen fish that day, and I suck at fishing. John was really a sweetheart and patiently took the fish off my hook and would toss them back into the river for me. We were all using artificial bait (yes, John fixed that for me also…being married to a fisherman does have its advantages. ;-))Besides fishing and computer gaming, John found time to be an Engineer. Actually, he does work very hard. Around this time last year, he was employee of the month. I am very proud of him.

Now about the cats…

Poor Moocher had been sick. The vet believes he ingested something he was allergic to. We still do not know what it was.

Moocher had x-rays taken and blood work done. The x-rays showed that his liver is about half the size it should be. The blood work showed his lymphocytes were low. We have also been given orders by the vet to get Moocher’s weight down as Moocher is up to 13 lbs now. Moocher is still John’s little minion, and as cute as can be.

While Moocher follows John everywhere, Rusty is usually with me. He is great about making sure I do not stay up too late and that I get lots of attention.

Ashley is still our beautiful independent girl. There is no place in this apartment that she cannot reach.

He said:

Another year has come and gone, and where did the time go? There is never enough of it spent with family and friends. Technology is supposed to make more time for our personal lives, yet it seems responsible for consuming more time than it makes.

Since the holidays are once again here, it’s traditional to look back on the past year and ponder all of the things we are thankful for, no matter how big or small. It is also a time to plan for the coming year, to dream of how we can make life better in our lives and in our world.

During the past year, I’ve traveled to Israel and Malaysia (and I am preparing to go to Malaysia again between Thanksgiving and Christmas). I fished more this year than in recent years, and fly fished more than ever (successfully…). We nursed a sick Moocher, who continues to find ways of proving that he’s my cat. I would prefer that he not copy my stomach problems just to make this point…

I hope that the past year has brought you much joy and happiness, and that the new year is every bit as special and magical as you could hope for it to be.

Rusty, Ashley and Moocher wish to send everyone their best wishes and prayers for a happy holiday season! And as they put it, a very Merry, Mousey Christmas!

She gets last word:

November of last year, Dr. Hertle operated on my eyes to straighten them. Then in the beginning of 2005, John went with me to my eye doctor appointment. Dr. Hertle showed me a 3-D picture of a fly that caused me to jump in my seat and scream. John laughed so hard, I thought he was going to bust a gut. It was the first time I recall seeing a 3D image on paper that actually jumped out at me.

A few days between Christmas & New Years, we received a visit from my parents. It was the first time my parents ever visited me.

John had been seeing a stomach doctor in Pittsburgh, and amazingly enough, John found a solution to his own stomach problems…yogurt. It really works.

I have been seeing an infertility specialist. He did lots of tests. Good news is that John is perfectly healthy as far as having a child, and we are compatible. Bad news is that I have tumors, scarring, and Factor V Leiden. We were told that it is too dangerous to operate until I get at my ideal BMI. The other alternative is invetro-fertilization. I told the doctor I would rather get down to my ideal BMI since it will be healthier for the child anyways.

I was doing well until I was rear-ended at a stop light at noon on 30 June 2005. I ended up with whiplash and a vertebra not positioned as it should be. So I had been seeing a chiropractor, and will be seeing a neurologist and orthopedic surgeon.

Around the same time of John’s birthday was John’s company picnic where we had a great time at Idle Wild Park. John even rode on a roller coaster with me though he is not a fan of heights
In August was the Ullom family reunion where we played miniature golf. John did really great right up until the third hole. I would have done well if my golf ball did not continuously aim for a wall. After the reunion, Steve, Karen, Andrew, Drea, John, & I went to Cabalas, It was really adorable watching Drea dramatically try to choose a belated birthday gift for herself.

Thanksgiving, we drove to Steve & Karen’s new house. I am so impressed by how Karen got everything organized in such a short time, and yet John & I still have boxes that need to be unpacked after almost 2 years. Like I said before, procrastination is a gift. ;-)

Song Dedicated to my uncle Bill

Please click here to listen to song



Please click here to go to the website where I got the song

My Katsaras & Kefaluku Genealogy

My mom's mom's mom's mom was from Anatolitisa, which is now Smirni, Turkey. My mom's mom's mom's mom & dad were Greek. My mom's mom's mom's dad's name was George Kefaluku.

George Kefaluku and his wife had 3 children--2 girls and a boy.

One of the girls married and gave birth to my grandmother, Eirini.

Eirini's father went to war and was presumed dead (recently, we found out that he did not die in war, but was on another island...we found this out after he had died though).

Eirini's mother wanted to remarry, but Eirini's grandmother did not want another man to raise her grandchild. So Eirini's grandmother took Eirini away from her mother and had Eirini's birth certificate changed to say that the grandmother was the mother & the grandfather was the father, & Eirini's surname was changed to Kefaluku. Eirini's grandmother then raised Eirini as her own child.

When the Turkish/Greek war broke out, my grandmother and her family lost their home and swam to Kos, Greece where my grandmother finished growing up.

My grandmother's grandmother told my grandmother's aunt to raise my grandmother after she (my grandmother's grandmother) died, and had to promise to never marry because my grandmother's grandmother did not want my grandmother raised my a man that was not her "blood".

My grandfather's grandfather, surname Katsaras, was from Symi, Greece.

My grandfather, Iannis Katsaras, was from Rhodes, Greece.

Iannis Katsaras met Eirini Kefaluku on Kos, Greece. Then my grandfather took my grandmother to Rhodes where they had 7 children.

George
Haritomeni
Rita
Maria
Michael
Fofo
Leftaris
George, Haritomeni, Rita, Michael all live in Australia now.

Fofo & Leftaris still live on Rhodes, Greece.

My mom & dad live in Michigan, U.S.A.

My mom's mom's aunt who never married and raised my grandmother is also my mom's godmother.

My mom's mom's uncle stayed on Kos & had a daughter who worked for the department of agriculture & is still living on Kos.

There is Katsaras in France...his father & mom's dad's father are brothers.

My grandfather had stomach surgery. He went to the hospital where his cousin was...the surgeon. John Katsaras was the doctor in Athens who was a surgeon. He was the head man in surgery, though he was not allowed to operate on his cousin. The cousin told the nurse to call him day or night in case anything goes wrong, even though another doctor did the operation in Athens. My grandfather's first cousin. My grandfather and John Katsaras shared the same name.

There was a drug store called Katsaras in Pirios or Athens.
Katsaras (from the drug store) and my grandfather were first cousins.

My mom is a Katsaras from Greece, though my mom's dad was from Symi.

My Wheeler Genealogy

In December 1845, Amos Wheeler and Wealthy Rowley Wheeler, moved into Woodland Twp., Barry County, and settled on section 26, east and south of what is now the village of Woodland. In 1834, they moved from Wheeler, Steuben County, New York, to Lodi, Washtenaw County, Michigan. While living in Lodi, they purchased land from the U.S. government in Woodland Twp., Barry County, Michigan.

Amos Wheeler, (b. 22 March 1799, d. 24 November 1867), was the son of Jonas Wheeler of Steuben County, New York. Jonas was the great-great-grandson of Thomas Wheeler of Concord, Massachusetts, who was appointed Sergeant of 1642. Jonas was born in Concord, Massachusetts in 1745-6. Jonas served for short stints in the Revolutionary War.

Wealthy Rowley Wheeler, (b. 1 November 1800, d. 22 December 1857), was the daughter of William and Elizabeth Raymond Rowley from Steuben County, New York. The lineage of William goes back to Shubael Rowley, grandson of Captain Matthew Fuller, who was successor of Captain Miles Standish and Surgeon General of the Plymouth forces. Wealthy's mother, Elizabeth, who accompanied her children to the Woodland area after the death of William in 1835, was the daughter of Daniel Raymond, who was serving as first sergeant in the company of infantry in Regt. of General Schuyler, when Elizabeth was born on 1 January 1778.

Other children of Elizabeth Raymond Rowley who came to Woodland area were George (b. 4 September 1803, d. 2 March 1869), Laura (b. 27 November 1808, d. 6 March 1895), Elijah (b. 28 March 1813, d. 31 October 1895), William (b. 6 October 1817, d. 10 December 1886), and Elizabeth (b. 22 May 1821, d. 30 January 1899).

It is believed that George Rowley may have lived in Woodland Twp. for a short time and then moved to Iowa, where he settled and married Charity Ellen Early. Their son, James, took a wagon train out to California, settling in the Redwood region. Here was built the Rowley brother's Shingle Mill.

Laura Rowley married John Dillenback (1 January 1837). They were continuous members of the Woodland Center M.E. Church. They were the parents of A.W. Dillenback, a prominent and honored pioneer, who served in the Civil War, and delivered addresses at political and historical functions in this area.

Elijah Rowley and Murrion Rowley lived in Woodland Twp. and were parents of at least four children. Sometime later, they moved to Mullekin, Michigan.

Elizabeth Rowley, a school teacher, married Moses Dillenback, who had taken up land in Woodland Twp., cleared it, farmed and taught school winters. He was also a township clerk and school inspector. After Moses' death in 1861, Elizabeth married David Bragman, from near Portland. They moved to Iowa, then Manceloa, Michigan. They had at least one child.

Amos and Wealthy Rowley Wheeler lived in Woodland Township from 1845 until Wealthy's death in 1857. They were Charter members of the first Baptist Church organized in 1846. Their children were Almira (b. 19 July 1826), William (b. 21 December 1828), Paschal (b. 22 August 1830), Laura (b. 28 November 1832) and George (b. 23 April 1843).

Almira Wheeler married Harvey Sheldon, a widower with three small children. Five more children were born to Almira and Harvey. Harvey Sheldon was active in public office and served as Barry County treasurer for twelve years. Almira and Harvey then moved to Hagar Township, Berrien County, Michgan. Amos Wheeler spent his last years living with Almira and Harvey.

George Wheeler and Hannah Wheeler had two daughters. George was head carpenter when the Kilpatrick Church was built in Woodland Township, Michigan. In later life, George and Hannah moved to Hagar, Berrien County, Michigan.

Paschal Wheeler married Elvira Tyler Cramer and lived in Woodland Township, Barry County. Paschal and Elvira raised two sons, William Cramer and James Herman Wheeler (d. 1925). Paschal was a farmer and served as sexton of the Baptist Church and the adjoining Baptist cemetary. Paschal was responsible for planting many of the large maple trees in the old part of the now Woodland Memorial Park in Woodland, Michigan. Paschal would write about putting up stakes days ahead, and then on Arbor Day, planting the maple trees in the cemetery.

James Herman Wheeler married Martha Spindler. James Herman and Martha had a daughter, Nettie Wheeler (b. 8 December 1890, in Woodland township), who married Roscoe Hynes on 30 September 1909 at U.B.Parsonage, Woodland, County of Barry, Michigan.

Nettie had a sister who would become Mrs. Bertha Cotton, of Woodland.

Nettie Wheeler gave birth to my paternal grandmother, Marjorie Helen Hynes, on 5 June 1918. Nettie and Roscoe's other children were the now late Miss Elva Hynes of Lansing, Michigan; the now late Mr. Lyle Hynes of Portland; the now late Mr. Donald Hynes of Flint, Michigan; and the now late Mr. Neil Hynes of Richmond, California.

Mrs. Nettie (Wheeler) Hynes, 69, of 1060 Tupper Lake street, Lake Odessa, died suddenly at her home Wednesday, 20 January 1960, about 8:30 in the evening. Nettie had been under a doctor's care, so no coroner was called.

Nettie had spent all her life in the Woodland area until moving to Lake Odessa at the age of 60.

Mrs. Nettie (Wheeler) Hynes was a member of the rural Kilpatrick United Brethren church. Funeral services were held on the following Saturday after Nettie's death at 1:30 in the afternoon at the Pickens chapel at Lake Odessa with the interment in the Woodland Memorial cemetery. Reverend I.H.Osgood officiated.

Nettie's husband, Roscoe Hynes, died on 13 January 1969, when the writer of this blog was 4 years old.