Matthew (Alexander) Ziffo^[1]

1818 - 1912  (93 years)

• Name	Matthew (Alexander) Ziffo
  Birth	14 Sep 1818	Chios, Greece
  Gender	Male
  Death	17 Jun 1912	Trieste, Italy/Austria
  Notes	Residence: Athens; after 1851 Trieste. According to his son, John (Matthew) Ziffo, his father "was born in the Island of Chios about 2 1/2 years before the Massacre. On that terrible day his Mother with her two daughters, and a young maid, carrying my Father, took to the mountains to cross the island; following a long trail of refugees and guided by shepherds over mule paths. The maid soon got tired, left the child on the mountain side and fled. A Mr Agelasto, [this would be Michael Pandely Agelasto] the father of John [Michael] Agelasto whose firm (Frangopulo Agelasto & Co of London and Liverpool) [Theodore (Matthew) Ziffo] joined when he came to London, was following and recognizing the child picked him up and took him to the island of Syra. By a fortunate coincidence his mother and sisters also landed in Syra. One can imagine her joy at being re-united with her boy whom she had feared lost." He was brought up by relatives because his mother died when he was quite young. He was sent to Leghorn to complete his studies, then returned to Syros. By age 28 he held a "quite important social position being the only banker received at King Othon's court, the foreign embassies and in best society." Then came the financial crash and Crimean War. His bank guaranteed John Ralli, "his father-in-law for a substantial amount, in the hopes of saving him from bankruptcy but ultimately [both] were ruined." Then, "Ambrogio di Stefano Ralli of Trieste (who afterwards became Baron Ralli) offered him the post of manager...paying in full all his creditors." He lived for 52 years after the family moved to Trieste and "during all those years having to support a large family he never managed to accumulate more than £10,000 which gradually disappeared as the two [daughters] grew up and expenses increased with dowries to get them married. When he was about 70 Rallis pensioned him off." (John Matthew Ziffo) Matheo Alexandre Ziffo, Trieste, Merchant invested in The Bank of Alexandria Limited (London Gazette 27 Sep 1873).
  Person ID	I459	Negroponte-Agelasto
  Last Modified	4 Oct 2008

  
  

  Father	Alexander (Ambrosios) Ziffo   d. 1822
  Mother	Loula (Dimitrios) Petrocochino,   b. 1796   d. Abt 1825, Syros, Cyclades Islands, Greece (Age 29 years)
  Family ID	F185	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Despina (Zannis) Ralli,   b. 08 Sep 1824, Athens, Attica, Greece d. 03 Apr 1869, Trieste, Italy/Austria (Age 44 years)
  Marriage	16 Nov 1842	Athens, Attica, Greece   [2]
  Children	1. Maria (Matthew) Ziffo   2. Julia (Matthew) Ziffo,   b. Abt 1843   d. 1917 (Age 74 years) + 3. Theodore (Matthew) Ziffo,   b. 25 Dec 1845, Athens, Attica, Greece d. 06 Dec 1901, Athens, Attica, Greece (Age 55 years) + 4. John (Matthew) Ziffo,   b. 07 Dec 1848, Athens, Attica, Greece d. 30 Mar 1938, 18 Cleveland Gardens, Bayswater, London, England UK (Age 89 years)   5. Alexander (Matthew) Ziffo,   b. Abt 1850, Athens, Attica, Greece   6. Ambrosios (Matthew) Ziffo,   b. 18 Jan 1851, Athens, Attica, Greece d. 05 May 1881, Malabar Hill, Bombay, British India (Age 30 years)   7. Constantine (Matthew) Ziffo,   b. 21 Dec 1853, Trieste, Italy/Austria d. 12 Dec 1923, Trieste, Italy/Austria (Age 69 years)
  Family ID	F186	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	16 Feb 2010

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 14 Sep 1818 - Chios, Greece Marriage - 16 Nov 1842 - Athens, Attica, Greece Death - 17 Jun 1912 - Trieste, Italy/Austria  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Documents

  Ambrose M Ziffo probate Matthew Ziffo petitioned the court on 5 Oct 1881 to have his son Ambrose's estate administered by Stephen Augustus Ralli and Alexander Anthony Vlasto, both of 25 Finsbury Circus, London.

  
  

• Sources

  [S6] John (Matthew) Ziffo, 16 Nov 1933 letter to Ambrose T. Ziffo from his uncle John Ziffo, (Collection of Panorea Ziffo). [S17] Sturdza, Mihail-Dimitri, Sturdza, Dictionnaire Historique Genealogique ... Grece, (self, Paris, 1983), 390.