My gt gt grandfather, Nicholas Svombo, was Greek. His wife, Ellen, was Irish. They married in Ireland & settled in Cardiff.
In 1876, Nicholas died. That same year, one of his sons also died. There were a number of children, including Anne Cleopatra, who was about 3 years old. For some reason, while my gt grandfather was away at sea ~ a cabin boy of 13 or 14 ~ this little girl was 'sent back to Greece'. Presumably her mother ~ an Irish lady called Ellen ~ couldn't cope. My grandfather returned with a doll for his baby sister and was appalled to find that she had gone. He lived into his 80s and his constant wish was that he might see his sister again. I understand that he didn't speak to his mother after this.
It's strange, though, because I can only assume that Ellen knew who had her daughter and, during WW1, some cousins, apparently, almost caught up with Cleopatra in Athens, where she looked like a 'rather grand lady' ~ so they must have known how to find & recognise her.
Then, neighbours claimed to have seen an advert in a local Glamorgan paper, presumably from Cleopatea, seeking her sister, Mary Calliope.
At some stage some people knew how to find her & contact her ~ but not my gt grandfather, it seems. It's very odd, but Cleopatra just disappeared from our family.
