1997 – My visit to St. Johns, the home village of three of my grandparents.
My name is Carol Kostakos Petranek, and I am of Greek ancestry with roots in villages near Sparta. My paternal grandparents (Andrew John Kostakos & Hariklia Aridas) and maternal grandfather (Ilias Papagiannakos/Louis Pappas) were born in Agios Ioannis (St. Johns), and my maternal grandmother (Angelina Eftaxias) was born in Mystras.
I love family history research and have been tracing my roots for the past 30 years. I was born in Brooklyn, New York and was raised in a predominantly Greek neighborhood close to extended family. I live in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and work as a volunteer Co-Director of the Washington, D.C. Family History Center and a citizen archivist/genealogy aide at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. I write a monthly family history column for Meridian Magazine online (see the Writings tab), and I assist others in writing their personal and family histories.
I am always updating and adding new information through continuing research. I also have a genealogy website which has a detailed family tree at: http://onefamilycircle.com. Please contact me via email by using the form below, or leave a reply to this post in the block at the bottom of the page. I would love to hear from you!
