Any advice for confirming where in Greece an individual was from? c.1800 to 1826
I am researcher for a heritage project based in Northern Ireland. The project is researching a Moravian Minister - the Reverend Basil Patras Zula. He was born c.1796 in Greece and eventually came to Ireland in the 1820s, becoming minister of Kilwarlin Moravian Church in Co. Down, NI in 1834.
As part of this project we hope to discover more about Zula's early life in Greece and his involvement in the Greek War of Independence (he was a Greek Chieftain and was supposedly at the Siege of Missalonghi, 1825 to 26). We are planning a research trip to Greece in early 2019.
I have been researching Zula using primary sources in Ireland and have conflicting accounts of the area he was from. Some sources say Roumeli and that he had relatives in Western Greece, others say he was from the Morea. I am aware that conducting research in the Greek records without knowing the exact area, county, municipality he was from will be a massive challenge and so I am asking for any advice anyone might have on how best to narrow my search parameters? Are there any central archives which might allow me to establish his region of birth?
Some 19th century biographies of Zula claim he was a cousin of Marco Botsaris (although this has not proved a very fruitful area of investigation thus far). They also name a Greek Orthadox priest that supposedly taught Zula ('Corac'). I am unsure how to take these leads further in trying to pin down an exact area of origin.
Any advice or guidance on this would be hugely appreciated!
Risposte
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I've found that some information created near the time of death can point to or identify birthplace information. There are also some excellent biographies done for ministers of many religious groups.
When and where did the Reverend Basil Patras Zula die?
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Hi Darris,
Thank you for the reply.
Rev Zula died in Dublin, Ireland on 3rd Oct 1844. We have some biographies, written in English and published in Ireland, but they were published after his death. We get some details from them but they have been hard to verify. We now believe Zula was from Parga, Epirus or the surrounding area and belonged to the Zoulas clan which was influential in the city.
But any further advice or guidance you or anyone else might have in re. to Parga or Corfu records for early 19th century would be greatly appreciated!
Many thanks again,
Rachael
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