European geneaology question please?

Question:

European geneaology question please?

doing some research for a friend. her ancestor came from greece, we suspect near turkey. the ship manifest shows he sailed from Smyrna. Smyrna doesnt show up on maps, even my streets and trips. can anyone pinpoint where Smyrna was and what is its name now?

Thanks ahead of time.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Greek genealogy is usually pretty easy. Most didn't come over until the early 20th century...after immigration laws changed and people had to start filling out long questionnaires to become citizens. You'll want to contact the National Archives and Records Administration regional center that handles records for the state where the ancestor lived when applying for citizenship. Request the Declaration of Intent and Naturalization petition for every member of the family who was naturalized. You'll be amazed at the wealth of information.

Also, check out the Ellis Island records at http://www.ellisisland.org to see who was listed as the person they were going to be living with in the US. That's usually a major source of information because the Greeks are an extremely religious group. You want to find the Greek Orthodox church nearest that relative's home to start looking for records...especially marriage, birth and death records. Once you find the hometown in Greece, the Orthodox priest can also assist you in requesting records from the Orthodox parish in Greece where your ancestors worshipped. You'll be able to get chrismation, marriage and death records from the parish in Greece. Also the Orthodox priest may have someone in Greece able to help you get civil records, as well. It's one of those countries that gouges foreigners who request records. But if someone with a Greek mailing address sends the request (in Greek), they are only charged the usual and customary fees. Hope it helps...