Yeorgia Koroneos (nee, Mentis). Karavas.

My mothers mother. [My mother is Envangalia (Angela) Coroneos, Gilgandra, and Pendle Hill, NSW.]

My guess is Yeoryia is in her 30's in this photograph.

Two of my first cousins carry her name - Yeorgia (Georgia) Logus, (daughter of Harry Logus, and Voula Coroneos) Melbourne, and Georgia Coroneos, (daughter of Emmanuel Coroneos and Katina Lazanas), Sydney.

The grande matriarche of Karavas, Louisa Psaltis (nee, Kritharis) [See, People, subsection High Achievers section for details about Louisa's life], was a close friend of Yeorgia Mentis. Louisa described her as the prettiest and most vivacious young girl of her generation.

Yeoryia married Triunduphilo Theothosios Koroneos Belos, from Karavas.

She died tragically in child-birth whilst giving birth to her 7th child.

This followed a trend in the family - my Great-grandfather Theothosios - also lost his first wife - Zufaria in childbirth. He was so devastated by her death - that he walked away from the house in which they lived - and never returned to it. The house is now iripio - in ruins.

Death during childbirth was common in Kythera during the 19th and early 20th century. It is a theme which demands far more attention on kythera-family.

A generation prior

My great-grandmother, Eleni [my grandmothers mother] derived from the island of Paros. My great-grandfather - Nickolas - was a fisherman and fish-seller who travelled to other islands in pursuit of his trade. Eleni worked as a servant-girl on Paros. He met her there, fell in love with her - and proposed marriage to her. He brought her back to the island of Kythera to live.

The couple had a huge family - 6 girls and 6 boys; most of whom left the island.

My grandmother Yeorgia was the youngest of the 12 children.

Not all of the family are known to me:

Boys included:

1. Dimitrios
2. Vangelli
3. Polychronis [Migrated to Africa, and was never heard of again]
4. Aristotelis
5. ?
6. ?

Girls included:

1. Grigoria [Married a Karathimos]
2. Aryiro - moved to Pireaus
3. Thespina - moved to USA
4. Maria.
5. Polixeni
6. Yeorgia

My mother spent many years of her childhood living with her grandmother Eleni as a psixo kori - soul daughter. This was a common practice in Kythera.

My great grandmother could not read or write, and so my mother used to read and write her letters for her.

As a young girl Thespina was sent to Smyrna. We don't know at what point she returned to Greece. At age 16 she sailed to the United States and was married soon thereafter.
Thespina maintained contact with her mother over many years. My mother recalls writing letters to Thespina, and reading the letters from Thespina to her grandmother.

Thespina would regularly send money to Eleni from the USA - which the postman always delivered to my great-grandmother personally.

I did not know any of this history until contacted by Touy Houzouris, from Baltimore, Maryland, USA, in May 2005, during her visit to Sydney. We were discussing our relationship through our grandfathers via the Tzortzopoulos soi - the Hlihlis and the Georgakas - when she mentioned that her grandmother was a Mentis and we quickly established that our grandmothers were sisters.