My father George was born in Trieste [archive postcard views] but settled in London after he met my mother in 1963. The Murat family history is almost lost owing to the early death of both my Grandparents and uncle who I never met. While my father lived to the age of 63, I only developed an interest in matters genealogical when it was too late.
What little history has passed on to me from my aunt is that my Grandfather, Josef Murat was born in Bornova [archive views], where his family had been long-established. The origins of the surname are probably French, although their religion was Orthodox Christian. One ancestor had been mayor of Bornova. Another female ancestor was Scottish (or English), having the maiden name Mitchell.
Note: Thanks to the work done in translating Greek language documents from the family archive, it seems highly probable that the name Mitchell, or Mitsell, is derived from the Italian/Venetian ‘di Missael’.
My Great-grandfather Jean Murat was a doctor. His wife was called Christine (born Kosti, in 1869). They had two other children besides Josef; Kimon and Marie.
Christine had a sister Despina who lived in Athens from at least 1916 to her last years.
Jean was in poor health when his son Kimon died in 1916 and passed away himself in 1918. Josef was working in Vienna at the time and he later settled in Trieste, perhaps because Trieste was the most convenient place to settle with his immediate family who were displaced from Bornova in 1922. Christine and his sister Marie (spinster) appear on a certificate of refugee status issued in Athens in 1922. They had left Smyrna for Athens, where they had relatives. Their visit was long enough to receive news [view letter] from their cousins who had left Smyrna for Beirut, and then they sailed to Trieste to be with Josef.
The cousin’s letter and an insurance certificate are among many Ottoman, Greek and French documents I have inherited which shed light on their life before Trieste. Christine and Marie had a shop in the Rue Franc in the centre of Smyrna and evidently knew many Levantine families. My father told me that as a child they were not allowed to speak about the past as Aunt Marie had been traumatised by the violence she had witnessed and was saddened by the loss of the life she had left behind. Hopefully the documents will bring more of their story to light.
Josef’s business involved regular travel to visit local agents and farmers in Turkey to buy crops, often before they were harvested. These were imported into a bonded warehouse in Trieste for distribution. He married Erminia in 1927 and raised three children; Janni, who died before I was born, my father George and my aunt Cristina.
Josef had the habit of bringing at least one of his sons with him on business voyages and one of my father’s earliest memories was being woken from his bunk and taken on deck to watch the sun-rise over Agia Sophia, dominating the Istanbul skyline.
From friends on this site I have been informed that the family house in Bornova, Smyrna is still standing and what is more it underwent recent restoration - views / further information in the book published by Evelyn L. Kalças:
I have a limited number of archive photos dating from the family residency in Turkey, though without any inscriptions on their reverse. I only recognise my youthful grandfather (Josef) on the far left of the group in this photo, of a range of group outings / hunting. Wouldn’t it be great if someone recognised any of these characters?
I will be grateful for any readers out there who can provide more information on my continuing quest. joe_murat[at]hotmail.com
Note: Thanks to the translation work of researcher George Poulimenos, a rough family tree of the Murat family c. 1800-1918 period was created, and hopefully in time other sources should be able to bridge the gaps in knowledge.
submission date 2009
What little history has passed on to me from my aunt is that my Grandfather, Josef Murat was born in Bornova [archive views], where his family had been long-established. The origins of the surname are probably French, although their religion was Orthodox Christian. One ancestor had been mayor of Bornova. Another female ancestor was Scottish (or English), having the maiden name Mitchell.
Note: Thanks to the work done in translating Greek language documents from the family archive, it seems highly probable that the name Mitchell, or Mitsell, is derived from the Italian/Venetian ‘di Missael’.
My Great-grandfather Jean Murat was a doctor. His wife was called Christine (born Kosti, in 1869). They had two other children besides Josef; Kimon and Marie.
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The Murats of Bornova. c1905?
Christine had a sister Despina who lived in Athens from at least 1916 to her last years.
Jean was in poor health when his son Kimon died in 1916 and passed away himself in 1918. Josef was working in Vienna at the time and he later settled in Trieste, perhaps because Trieste was the most convenient place to settle with his immediate family who were displaced from Bornova in 1922. Christine and his sister Marie (spinster) appear on a certificate of refugee status issued in Athens in 1922. They had left Smyrna for Athens, where they had relatives. Their visit was long enough to receive news [view letter] from their cousins who had left Smyrna for Beirut, and then they sailed to Trieste to be with Josef.
The cousin’s letter and an insurance certificate are among many Ottoman, Greek and French documents I have inherited which shed light on their life before Trieste. Christine and Marie had a shop in the Rue Franc in the centre of Smyrna and evidently knew many Levantine families. My father told me that as a child they were not allowed to speak about the past as Aunt Marie had been traumatised by the violence she had witnessed and was saddened by the loss of the life she had left behind. Hopefully the documents will bring more of their story to light.
Josef’s business involved regular travel to visit local agents and farmers in Turkey to buy crops, often before they were harvested. These were imported into a bonded warehouse in Trieste for distribution. He married Erminia in 1927 and raised three children; Janni, who died before I was born, my father George and my aunt Cristina.
Josef had the habit of bringing at least one of his sons with him on business voyages and one of my father’s earliest memories was being woken from his bunk and taken on deck to watch the sun-rise over Agia Sophia, dominating the Istanbul skyline.
From friends on this site I have been informed that the family house in Bornova, Smyrna is still standing and what is more it underwent recent restoration - views / further information in the book published by Evelyn L. Kalças:
I have a limited number of archive photos dating from the family residency in Turkey, though without any inscriptions on their reverse. I only recognise my youthful grandfather (Josef) on the far left of the group in this photo, of a range of group outings / hunting. Wouldn’t it be great if someone recognised any of these characters?
I will be grateful for any readers out there who can provide more information on my continuing quest. joe_murat[at]hotmail.com
Note: Thanks to the translation work of researcher George Poulimenos, a rough family tree of the Murat family c. 1800-1918 period was created, and hopefully in time other sources should be able to bridge the gaps in knowledge.
submission date 2009