How can I trace my ancestors from Turkey & Greece?

Question

How can I trace my ancestors from Turkey & Greece?

Answer 1

You're probably in good shape. They're two of the easiest countries to trace because they're impeccable record keepers and immigration from there was really not starting until the very late 1890s/early 1900s.

Start by finding their passenger records, then contact the National Archives for a copy of their Declaration of Intent to be Naturalized. With that you'll have the town of birth, names of parents, dates of birth under both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, religious affiliation, etc. From there you contact the local archives for copies of their registration information, passport records, etc. If they were Orthodox, contact the local church for birth, marriage and death records on them and their parents/grandparents, etc. If they were Muslim, you'll have to use civil records from the local archives. The hard part is that depending on the area, you may or may not find someone on that end who reads/writes in English. You may need to contact a local Greek Orthodox church to find someone willing to write the letters for you, especially since the alphabet is far different from ours and you need a clear, easy-to-understand letter.

Answer 2

try ancestry.com