Matthew (Alexander) Ziffo

Notes:

Residence: Athens; after 1851 Trieste.

According to his son, John (Matthew) Ziffo, his father "was born in the Island of Chios about 2 1/2 years before the Massacre. On that terrible day his Mother with her two daughters, and a young maid, carrying my Father, took to the mountains to cross the island; following a long trail of refugees and guided by shepherds over mule paths. The maid soon got tired, left the child on the mountain side and fled. A Mr Agelasto, [this would be Michael Pandely Agelasto] the father of John [Michael] Agelasto whose firm (Frangopulo Agelasto & Co of London and Liverpool) [Theodore (Matthew) Ziffo] joined when he came to London, was following and recognizing the child picked him up and took him to the island of Syra. By a fortunate coincidence his mother and sisters also landed in Syra. One can imagine her joy at being re-united with her boy whom she had feared lost."

He was brought up by relatives because his mother died when he was quite young. He was sent to Leghorn to complete his studies, then returned to Syros. By age 28 he held a "quite important social position being the only banker received at King Othon's court, the foreign embassies and in best society." Then came the financial crash and Crimean War. His bank guaranteed John Ralli, "his father-in-law for a substantial amount, in the hopes of saving him from bankruptcy but ultimately [both] were ruined." Then, "Ambrogio di Stefano Ralli of Trieste (who afterwards became Baron Ralli) offered him the post of manager...paying in full all his creditors." He lived for 52 years after the family moved to Trieste and "during all those years having to support a large family he never managed to accumulate more than £10,000 which gradually disappeared as the two [daughters] grew up and expenses increased with dowries to get them married. When he was about 70 Rallis pensioned him off." (John Matthew Ziffo)

Matheo Alexandre Ziffo, Trieste, Merchant invested in The Bank of Alexandria Limited (London Gazette 27 Sep 1873).

Matthew married Despina (Zannis) Ralli on 16 Nov 1842 in Athens, Attica, Greece. Despina (daughter of Zannis (Ambrouzis) Ralli and Cornelia (Dimitrios) Sevastopoulos) was born on 08 Sep 1824 in Athens, Attica, Greece; died on 03 Apr 1869 in Trieste, Italy/Austria. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Maria (Matthew) Ziffo
2. Julia (Matthew) Ziffo was born about 1843; died in 1917.
3. Theodore (Matthew) Ziffo was born on 25 Dec 1845 in Athens, Attica, Greece; died on 06 Dec 1901 in Athens, Attica, Greece.
4. John (Matthew) Ziffo was born on 07 Dec 1848 in Athens, Attica, Greece; died on 30 Mar 1938 in 18 Cleveland Gardens, Bayswater, London, England UK; was buried on 02 Apr 1938 in Greek Orthodox Cemetery, West Norwood, London, England UK.
5. Alexander (Matthew) Ziffo was born about 1850 in Athens, Attica, Greece.
6. Ambrosios (Matthew) Ziffo was born on 18 Jan 1851 in Athens, Attica, Greece; died on 05 May 1881 in Malabar Hill, Bombay, British India; was buried on 06 May 1881 in Greek Cemetery, Bombay, Maharashtra, British India.
7. Constantine (Matthew) Ziffo was born on 21 Dec 1853 in Trieste, Italy/Austria; died on 12 Dec 1923 in Trieste, Italy/Austria.

Notes:

According to his grandson, John, "all his books and fortune were lost and his nice house ransacked and burnt, so that all our efforts to trace his family-tree were fruitless."

Alexander married Loula (Dimitrios) Petrocochino. Loula was born in 1796; died about 1825 in Syros, Cyclades Islands, Greece. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Her sibling included older brothers Michael, Emmanuel, and Nicolas and older sister Franga, all on the Negroponte-Agelasto tree.

Died:
John (Matthew) Ziffo wrote that her only child Theodore was quite young when she died, in Syros. Argenti says: 27 Jan 1845.

Notes:

For convenience sake Ambrose (George) Ziffo is also listed on the main Agelasto tree, where his brother Stephanos (George) Ziffo is an ancestor of the Agelasto bloodline.

Notes:

Two of the sons George Ziffo fathered are included in this genealogy. The grandson of his son Stephanos married an Agelasto. The grandson of his son Ambrose had two wives. His first was of the Negroponte-Agelasto bloodline. A son by his second wife married into the Negroponte-Agelasto bloodline.