Woman reunited with long-lost cousins after AncestryDNA discovery takes her to Greece

(Getty Images)

Growing up in a predominantly Greek family, Carol Pappapetru-Hallas, from California, assumed she knew all there was to know about her family’s heritage.

Her mother was of English, Irish and Scottish decent, while her father, Nick Pappapetru, was a second generation Greek American.

However, after taking the AncestryDNA test, she uncovered that she was in fact just 39 per cent Greek – a discovery which left her confused and searching for answers.

Armed with the knowledge that her grandmother, Jeann Kachevas was born in Chromtero, and her grandfather, Vassillos Pappapetru was born in Melisschori, Pappapetru-Hallas knew she wanted to explore her roots further and so decided to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Greece.

“Growing up Greek I always thought I was half Greek but the DNA test said otherwise so I wondered why and it made me want to go and explore my Greek roots,” she told The Independent.

“My grandfather died in 1947 so I wasn't able to ask him about our Pappapetru roots which are still a mystery.”

Having gained a greater understanding of her heritage from her AncestryDNA results, Pappapetru-Hallas went on to discover so much about her identity during her visit to Greece that she never knew, including that she is in fact a direct descendant of General Theodoreos Kolokotronis – the pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire.

Carol's father, Nick Pappapetru, was a second generation Greek American (Carol Pappapetru-Hallas)

But, perhaps her biggest and most life-changing discovery was the result of a happy coincidence of circumstances.

Travelling with her friend Margarita, Pappapetru-Hallas visited her great grandparents village and decided to ask a group of local men seated outside a taverna if they knew whether anyone with her grandmother’s family name, Kachevas, still lived there.

To her surprise, every single one of the men raised their hands – they were all her cousins.

Carol's grandparents, Vasillos Pappapetru and Jeanne Kachevas, on their wedding day (Carol Pappapetru-Hallas)

The long-lost family members also took pleasure in introducing her to someone that knew her grandfather very well.

“He came right over and it was my great uncle I didn't know I had. It was so awesome, he took us to his house and I found out my great great grandfather had built it,” she explains.

Thanks to AncestryDNA, Pappapetru-Hallas now has rooted connections in Greece and insists that she will return to take care of unfinished business and would also love to explore her mother’s heritage by visiting the UK.

During her trip to Greece Carol met her great uncle, who she never knew existed (Carol Pappapetru-Hallas)

But, it seems her travels won’t stop there.

Upon meeting her long-lost cousins in Greece, Pappapetru-Hallas learnt that when the Kachevas family left the country all those years ago, instead of travelling to America with the rest, some of them parted ways and headed for Australia.

Now, this means that her AncestryDNA journey continues to other parts of the world she had never considered before.

As a result, she has found and made contact with more direct cousins who live in Melbourne and hopes to also travel there one day in the future.

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