Greek Key & Chinoiserie

Santorini, Greece

You might have read my post a while back about how I discovered quite recently that my late dad had hidden his Greek heritage his entire adult life and had created an entire "wasp European nobility" background. In the early 1900's when he was born, there was widespread discrimination against immigrants, so he created a last name (Allen), education (St. Andrews in Scotland), wardrobe (all Brooks Brothers), and home (tony and very waspy Lake Forest, Illinois) insulated from this. I learned through my reading that Greek immigrants during this period were even targeted by the Klu Klux Klan.

Greek Key

Greek Key Barbie via Worthpoint

You may recall that I recently posted that I discovered on Ancestry by researching my family tree that my father was Greek and from Santorini. He had kept this a secret for fifty years. You can read the post here. 

On my to do list and wish list since learning this has been to do a DNA test to learn more. I just received an email from Ancestry that their DNA testing normally priced at $99 is on a summer sale for $59. Click here to link to learn more.

Is Blue and White Genetic?

Santorini, Greece - Town & Country Magazine

This is a rather strange story. Yesterday, I came across this beautiful photo above of Santorini on my Instagram feed and ordered a frame on Framebridge called Santorini because it is cobalt blue. Keep reading....

My father passed away a long time ago, but during his life, he was always extremely secretive about himself. He was an only child with no relatives except for his mother in California who was married several times. My father said he was English and Austrian and had gone to college in Scotland. 

A lot of this and other things didn't add up, so I always had in the back of my mind to research on Ancestry at some point. I did so just recently and discovered that my father had hidden for fifty years that he was Greek and his family was from Santorini.