B. about 1836 in (probably) Apidia, Lakonia, Greece
M. (1) about 1856 in (probably) Lakonia, Greece
Wife: UNKNOWN
M. (2) 15 Feb 1864 in Geraki, Lakonia, Greece
Wife: Kyriakoula Maroudas
M. (3) before 1886 in (probably) Lakonia, Greece
Wife: Eleni _______
D. before 6 Jun 1914 in (probably) Apidia, Lakonia, Greece
Piecing together a life of someone who lived in a place that hardly preserved records can be challenging. But for Ioannis K. Bouloucheris of Lakonia, Greece a few key documents help to tell his story.
Ioannis was born in about 1836, likely in the village of Apidia, where the Bouloucheris family seems to originate from (Greek spelling: Μπουλουχέρης). His father was called Konstantinos, but his mother’s name is unknown. Based on Greek tradition, she may have been Athanasia since that was the name of Ioannis’ oldest known daughter. There is no evidence that Konstantinos had any children besides Ioannis.
Apidia is in the southernmost region of Greece, a mountainous area where for generations, people have scraped a living off the land. Ioannis was born at a time just after the Greek War of Independence, and people were just recovering from that. After he came of age, it’s likely that he made a living as either a goatherd or olive grower. Life centered around family, the church and the village, which formed a tight-knit community, and we can assume Ioannis practiced all the customs of the Greek culture.
The farmers’ census of 1856 is the first place Ioannis is recorded. His father is shown as a married man living in Apidia with only two household members. Since the two would have to be Konstantinos and his wife, it suggests that Ioannis was already on his own. And this is backed by the listing of what appears to be Ioannis right below his father. He was also a married man in a household of two people, so it seems that Ioannis took a wife when he was about 20.
Ioannis’ first wife is a complete unknown, but she was deceased by February 6, 1864 when he applied for a license to marry a second one. Her name was Kyriakoula Maroudas, an 18-year-old girl from the nearby village of Geraki, where the wedding took place on February 15th. They seem to have had four children together, with the first born in about 1867; there may have been others who died young. Noticeably missing are sons honoring each of their fathers, which would follow a certain order in the naming tradition. A child named Konstantinos may have been born to Ioannis first wife, then died young. If that’s so, their first son would have been named Dimitrios after Kyriakoula’s father, but that baby must have also died.
One other place where Ioannis was recorded was on lists of voters in his village. In Greece, when a priest needed to be replaced (often because they died), that parish would have an election among its eligible citizens for a new one. On such occasions, a list was made of the men of that village, and for Apidia, this happened in 1868 and 1879. Ioannis appears to be on both of these lists. The one from 1868 also shows his father Konstantinos, who is gone by 1879 (he probably passed away). Only the 1879 voters list has the ages of the men, and it suggests a birth year for Ioannis of about 1837 — a close match to the age given on the 1864 marriage record.
Although it hasn’t been firmly proven, Ioannis married a third wife only known as Eleni. They had a son born in 1886, so Kyriakoula must have died sometime before that date. While there has been no record of this third marriage, the weddings of two daughters of Ioannis are documented. The first was for his oldest surviving child Athanasia on July 14, 1884, and the second was for daughter Stamata. That marriage took place in Apidia on April 6, 1896, and we know that Ioannis was in attendance. Interestingly, the groom’s parents were the great-grandparents of David and Amy Sedaris, and the descendants of this marriage were referenced in the show Finding Your Roots.
The wedding of Stamata was the last known record of Ioannis, so he died some time after that date. When his daughter Eleni was listed on a ship arriving at Ellis Island on June 6, 1914, she identified her closest relative back in Greece as her sister Athanasia, so it can be assumed that Ioannis was deceased by then.
Child by unknown mother:
1. (supposed) Konstantinos Ioannou Bouloucheris — B. (probably) Apidia, Lakonia, Greece; D. young
Children by Kyriakoula Maroudas:
1. (supposed) Dimitrios Ioannou Bouloucheris — B. (probably) Apidia, Lakonia, Greece; D. young
2. Athanasia Ioannou Bouloucheris — B. about 1867, (probably) Apidia, Lakonia, Greece; D. after 6 Jun 1914, Greece; M. Peter A. Parthenios, after 14 Jul 1884, Myrtia, Lakonia, Greece
3. Stamata Ioannou Bouloucheris — B. about 1873, (probably) Apidia, Lakonia, Greece; M. Spyridon Illia Sideras (1870-?), 6 Apr 1896, Apida, Lakonia, Greece
4. George John Bollhan — B.1876, Apidia, Lakonia, Greece; D. 11 Jan 1927, Birmingham, Alabama; M. Mildred Holotz (1886-1962), 19 Jan 1920, Chicago, Illinois
5. Eleni Ioannou Bouloucheris — B. 1877, (probably) Apidia, Lakonia, Greece; D. after 1939, Greece; M. Andrew Hiotis (1867-1940), after 6 Jun 1914, (probably) St. Paul, Minnesota
Children by Eleni _________:
1. James John Bolheres — B. 1886, Apidia, Lakonia, Greece; D. 11 Jul 1941, Minneapolis, Minnesota; M. Minnie Louise LaBrie (1893-1950), 17 Jun 1918, St. Paul, Minnesota
Sources:
