Birth research

Bernard Girma

I am trying to find the Greek birth document for Nikolaos G Naftis.

He was born August 3rd or 10th 1900 in Greece and died 7 March 19

He is not the Nickolas (Nick) Naftis born in Cyprus

He married Gertrude Oughletree in 1946 and had 2 daugthers. Gertrude had 4 children from a previous marriage.

He arrived in the US in 1926 as a crew member (Cook) on a ship from Athene.

First trace of him on a census is 1950

Thanks,

Bernard Girma

karenrasmussen

@Bernard Girma In order to locate Nikolaos' Greek birth document, you will need to know the name of the town/parish where he was born. Since you don't mention that in the document, I assume you are still looking for that information. Right?

The best place to find the birth town is in US documents. There are several that might give you this information, they include: --Naturalization Declarations of Intent and/or Petition; Social Security Application, WW2 Draft card, obituary, US Passport, In-house Cemetery records, California death certificate, possibly New York marriage record,

Nikolaos states in the 1940 US Census (New York, New York, New Yok, indexed as Mckolas Naftes) that his Naturalization Papers are in. Nikolaos states in the 1950 US Census (New Jersey, Bergen, Hillsdale) that he is Naturalized by this date. This gives you clues on when and where to look for Naturalization records.

Nikolaos also states in the 1940 US Census that he is from Cyprus. (Is this your person?)

Nikolaos states in 1855 NY Arriving Passenger List that his US Passport No. is 696148

Nikolaos states that his SS # is 127-14-0467 and was issued in New York. This information can be used to obtain SS application. The SS Death record states his birthdate is 10 February 1900. This does not match your previous information, why? Can you confirm that his last residence was in San Bernardino, CA 91709? I have looked at the US Social Security Applications and Claims database, but have not been able to identify him in it. The spelling of the name may have changed. It might be worth ordering the original application. Information here.

I see from the Brooklyn, NY Marriage Index that they were married 30 December 1946, #31475. Have you thought about obtaining a copy of this record from the New York City Municipal Archives? Here is a link to the FamilySearch wiki article talking about Brooklyn marriages:

Do you have an actual copy of his death certificate? Does it state his place of birth? It is a long process to get one from California, but it might be worth it.

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I am going to pause here because it seems like first, we need to clearly identify which Nicholas Naftis you are researching. From your own personal knowledge, is the Nicholas G. Naftis you are searching for the one who is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Covina, Los Angeles? 1900-1970. Since Gertrude is also buried there, I am assuming this is the correct person.

@Carol Kostakos Petranek I am copying one of our Greece experts here to see if she has anything else to get you started.

Carol Kostakos Petranek

Thank you, Karen, for a comprehensive response. @Bernard Girma, as Karen wrote, we must have the exact village in order to properly identify your ancestor. I am attaching a document which provides all the resources you can search in the U.S. to get this information. By the way, I lived in Hillsdale, New Jersey as a child! Small world!

Records in His_Her New Country.xlsx

Bernard Girma

Thanks you so much for the work you put in. This is my first foray into Greek ancestry. I am much better at the French and Scottish ancestry and I volunteer to help especially for the French.

We have multiple Nikolaos Naftis so it is confusing.

It is possible that he was born in Isternia Tinos according to a potential brother. This is not confirmed.

He is not the one born in Cyprus. I traced this Naftis.

Date of death 1970 and location are all correct.

He arrived in 1926 as a crew member. I may have "extended" his stay.

He had a trip to Greece in 1958. passport number 1004416 and returned on August 12. The address in that document is correct (West Covina CA)

The trip in 1955 shows an age of 65 (b 1890)

The date of birth 3rd vs 10th of February may have to do with the change in calendar since the Julian calendar was still in use in Greece when he was born and until 1923. The conversion would be wrong but who knows. Julian, Julian modified, Gregorian.

Anyway, I keep on digging, The links you gave me are very helpful.

Thanks again

Bernard

Carol Kostakos Petranek

Good luck, Bernard, in finding your ancestor!