Black and white wedding portrait.  The bride is on the left, the groom is on the right.  Bride is wearing a white short-sleeve tea-length dress with dropped waist, a wide white sash around the hips with pleated skirt.  Her headpiece is made of flowers and has a long floor-length veil flowing down the back.  She is wearing a long strand of pearls, elbow length white evening gloves and is holding a bouquet of flowers that include white and red roses.  The groom is a head taller than the bride and is standing to her left and slightly behind her.  He is wearing a dark suit, white shirt and white tie accented with an oval tie-pin and a flower boutonniere on his left shoulder.   The background is dark, emphasizing the elegant presence of the bride and groom in this portrait.

Foti (Frank) Panayoti Avgidis was born in Balukiser(sp?), Turkey in 1894 of Greek parents. In 1912 he immigrated to America in order to escape being drafted into the Turkish Army. As a young man he worked in his brother in law's bakery in Crystal City, MO. His brother in law returned to Turkey to bring his family back to America, but was caught up in the massacre of the Greeks by the Turks. All of my father's family, mother, father, sisters and brother in law were all massacred. Mr. Avgidis then worked for the railroad, laying railroad ties as the west was becoming the new frontier. He worked all the way to the state of Washington.

Merssini Kefala was born in Pelikintos (sp?), Mytelene, Greece in 1904 (?). She immigrated to America in 1923 accompanied by her sister in law to be. They came to Stallings, IL to the farm owned by Peter and Vasil Kefalas, her brothers.

Mr. Avgidis was a friend of Peter and Vasil Kefalas and thereby the couple became acquainted. They were married December 7, 1924 in the home that Foti had built for his new bride.

They had two children, Diana and Frances. There were married 48 years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Avgidis are deceased along with their daughter Diana.

The content on this site is made available for research and education purposes only. The use of these materials may be restricted by law or the donor.

Any other use, such as exhibition, publication, or commercial use, is not allowed except by written permission in accordance with the NHM Image Rights and Reproduction Policy.

For questions on image rights and reproduction, please contact nhmcollections@hellenicmuseum.org