Neochorion [a village in Campos, Chios], 2 January 1929

My dear Nico,

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You have asked me for information about our family. From all parents, siblings, relatives of the Agelasto family I am the only survivor. You should be proud of our family because it is one of the historical families of Chios ............................................

Our family line starts with my father´s mother (my grandmother) Hypatia, [#33] who was an Austrian citizen, from the Sevastopoulos family of Trieste. She herself has been telling us that during the Revolution of 1821 and due to the fact that she was an Austrian, she had been able to save the life of many people, taking refuge at the [Austrian] Consulate. A boat, sent from Trieste, took her away with her two sons [Argenti lists only Stamati #62] and many other Chiots. She settled down in Trieste near her relatives. Her brother´s [Alexander Emmanuel Sevastopoulos, 1769-1864] daughter [Smaragda (Alexander) Sevastopoulos, 1812-1900] married Jannis Scaramanga [Zannis (Nicolas Scaramanga Ritter von Altomonte, 1793-1883], who was also from Chios, very wealthy and known all over Europe.

My father Emmanuel had five sons, all dead now. He was dealing in .... [illegible] in Manchester, had the trading company “Rodocanachi & Agelasto” with the husband of his sister. His [my father´s] business did not run well, he died. His brother Stamati Agelasto was a very wealthy man, a “grand personnage” whose wife [#63] was from the Psomades family of Marseille, where a brother [of hers] still has his family and whose son-in-law is a Petrococchino, all of them important persons. He [Stamati] has died. A daughter of his [Esmeralda, #141] was married to a man from a family of Belgian bankers [Alfred Bruynserade, #142]. She is a widow now, is still living [in Athens].

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There is another Agelasto living [in Athens] and still another in Belgium, a 50 years old merchant. [possibly #215, #213 or his father #137]

My father told me also of an Agelasto in Marseille and another in London (a cousin of ours), but I have forgotten their names.

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There is another Agelasto in Athens (a cousin of mine), Stamati, son of Mike Agelasto [#218?] who is working with Ralli Brothers ....................

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Cordial greetings from your cousins as well as from Julie [a daughter perhaps] and myself.

Your loving aunt

Smaragda Fotiadis

[deciphered and translated by George Agelasto, 2007; ID numbers are those on the main Agelasto tree, which adopts Argenti’s system; other information is from Christopher Long]