The Caradja Family
The Caradja Family
© 2023 Christopher Long - Journalist & Editor
Introduction
The Caradja Family (Phanariot)

This genealogy represents work and research over many years but is still far from complete. Posted here is all the publishable information available at present. Like all genealogies it contains inevitable errors and its accuracy cannot not always be relied upon.

The purpose of this work is not simply to gather names and dates! Its principal aim is to provide a background resource for the numerous histories, articles and image galleries featured elsewhere on this site. Hopefully it will also interest many of my 'cousins' searching for their roots at the main site:

http://www.christopherlong.co.uk

In compiling these genealogies I've had much help from official records and published sources, though predominantly I’ve relied on original family records and help from numerous 'cousins' and others, for which I’m most grateful. In particular George Vassiadis and Michael Agelasto have kindly given expert advice and information on many families of Phanariot and Hellenic origin. But my greatest thanks go to my wife Sarah without whose enthusiasm and relentless effort this project would not have been possible.

1. Names in curved (brackets) are patronymic - i.e. they identify the individual's father. This convention helps to distinguish the many individuals who bear similar or identical names. In fact the 'patronymic' name convention was customary among most of the Hellenic families concerned in these genealogies.
2. Names in square [brackets] indicate that the person's own family name at birth is not known and the name of the spouse or mother is being used instead for identification.
3. Three dashes '---' indicate that a male's first name is unknown; four dashes '----' indicate that a female's first name is unknown.
4. A name followed by the mark º indicates that the person was, or is, known to me, Christopher Long.
5. Names followed by a question mark '?' indicate that further research is needed. Two or more question marks '??' mean that the individual’s identity may be unreliable.
6. A person's 'Origin' is usually derived from those claimed in official records and may not be literally true: e.g. many Chios diaspora families describe themselves as 'of Chios' even when born and/or brought up elsewhere.
7. References such as 'Uncle', 'GGG', ‘3C2R’, etc., indicate an individual's relationship to the author, Christopher Long.
8. Where a unique identification code/number appears beside a name, this may change in future editions of this genealogy.
9. Dates may be based on either the Julian or Gregorian calendars (deoending on the source), resulting sometimes in anomalies of ±13 days.
10. Names in 'inverted commas' are those by which a person was usually known.
11. Very occasionally a name is followed by '!'. This indicates that although the individual is known to be a descendant of a family or branch, the precise person to whom they are connected cannot be proved. Such 'informed guesses' are only ever made on compelling circumstantial evidence.
12. The identities of some individuals have been ‘excluded’ from these records either at their own request or because they simply do not merit inclusion. They know who they are and why they’ve been excluded.
13. NB In these genealogies the spelling of certain names presents problems or anomalies. Many Hellenic families (e.g. those from Chios, the Phanar, Epirus, the Balkans, Bessarabia, the Aegean, the Black Sea, the Levant, and the Magreb) appear here in translation from various languages and alphabets. Where a name is originally 'Greek', even the Greek 'archaic' and 'demotic' forms do not agree on how it was or should be spelled! Wherever possible I provide the name by which the individual was/is commonly known, though in most cases we have only official records for reference and these come from numerous countries attempting to render Greek words into their own languages and alphabets across more than 500 years. Furthermore, most cosmopolitan Hellenic families were inveterate travellers, almost invariably adapting their names to the form used in the host country. Thus Zannis from Chios could be Ioannis in Constantinople, Jean in Marseilles, John in London, Gianni in Italy, Johann in Vienna and Ivan in Russia. To make matters more complicated, almost all these individuals were known by family nick-names or diminutives: e.g. Kostia for Constantine, Strati for Eustratios and Manoli for Emmanuel. To simplify matters I have standardised spelling to an approximation of what the name sounded like in the place and period concerned - except where the 'owner' appears to have had a clear preference. In other words the following are all variants of the same thing: Maria, Marie, Marietta, Marigo, Marika, Mariora, Marouko, Marouletta, Maroussa, Maroussaki, Mary, etc... as would be Vlasto, Vlastos, Vlastou, etc. In Greek and Slavic languages surnames generally have a male and female form (e.g. Vlasto/Vlastou). In order to avoid confusion (especially in searches) this genealogy almost always applies the male form.

I do hope visitors find this work interesting. Further reliable information, corrections or updates are always warmly welcomed at: <Editor@christopherlong.co.uk>.
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