The analysis, conducted by the OGUS Digital Mapping Initiative Team, represents one-third of the total migrant records collected thus far and marks a significant milestone in the project titled In Their Footsteps: Mapping Ottoman Greek Migration to the United States. The newly analyzed data is now available through a fully interactive website.
Drawing from a random representative sample of 2,246 migrants collected from the Ellis Island Foundation’s Passenger List Digital Archive, the research team manually gathered and analyzed records documenting migrants who were listed in passenger manifests as Greek or Turkish nationals and or of Greek race, citizens of the Ottoman Empire by birth, and who arrived in the United States between 1892 and 1930.
The interactive map includes five dynamic renders and a statistical analysis of migrants’ places of birth, last residence in the Ottoman Empire, port of embarkation, and destination in the United States. The fifth render, titled The Journey, illustrates the full migration paths taken by each of the 1,031 migrants, tracing their movement from birthplace to final U.S. settlement.
“The mapping of this journey marks a significant milestone in our collective knowledge of Ottoman Greek migration to the United States. For the first time, both academic researchers and the public have a visual map of Ottoman Greek migration patterns to the United States at their fingertips,” Topalidis said.
“The In Their Footsteps project complements existing scholarship’s estimates of Ottoman Greek migration during the first three decades of the 20th century. Future updates will move us beyond estimates and toward accurate statistical and geospatial analysis of their settlement patterns.”
Visitors to the website can click on locations in both the former Ottoman Empire and the United States to view detailed information for individual migrants. The dataset currently available represents an initial phase of analysis, with additional entries to be collected, processed, and mapped in the coming year.
The In Their Footsteps project team was established in the spring semester last year and consists of Bryce Peacher, Zach Daegling, and Dr. Topalidis. Peacher is a doctoral student in integrative anthropological sciences at the University of Central Florida, an expert in interdisciplinary research that employs geospatial information science, and an adjunct professor teaching geographic information systems at Flagler College. Daegling is a 2025 graduate of Flagler College with a Bachelor of Science in coastal environmental science.
This initial phase of the In Their Footsteps project is generously supported by the Modern Greek Studies Association’s MGSA 2022 Innovation Grant. The research team also acknowledged the Ellis Island Foundation for maintaining the Passenger List Digital Archive that made this analysis possible.
Supporters interested in learning more about the project or contributing to its continued research can visit the Ottoman Greeks of the US Digital Mapping Initiative homepage, and those interested in supporting the project with a donation can do so here.
