WHITE MYSTERY GREEK HISTORY
Posted Friday, May 25th, 2018 at 4:20 am
Pictured here is Papou Emmauel, Yaya Lillian and Uncle Christ (first born of the Cotsones children followed by Georgia, Chrisanthe, Dorothy and John) in 1913. These are the Greek great-grandparents of Miss Alex White & Francis Scott White.
Chris Cotsones, the oldest brother of our grandmother, Georgia Alexander. He is wearing a traditional Greek costume, called a foustanella.
Pictured here is the same family years later with parents Emmanuel, Lillian, and their children (left to right) Christ, Georgia, Dorothy, and Chrisanthi. The youngest sibling, Johnney, was born after Christanthi (Sandy) passed away. See more photos of the family here.
Parents of Emmanuel Cotsones, which are in turn the great-great-grandparents of Miss Alex White & Francis Scott Key White. The boy is the youngest brother of our great-grandfather, who is the grandfather of Gus and Pete Cotsones, currently of Kankakee.
THE EMANNUEL AND LILLIAN COTSONES FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM & STORY, 1913-1948
by Diane Alexander White, May 2020
The album contains photos of Lillian and Emannuel Cotsones’s family after they immigrated to the United States in 1913. They are buried at Evergreen Cemetery, Chicago IL. My name is Diane Alexander White and I am a grandchild and daughter of Georgia Cotsones Alexander who was the second born child. The photos have been organized by year, family and friends and location. Where possible names are included with photos leaving an informed historical document for future generations. The pages were photographed and shared in the cloud with our family.
When Lillian Vournazou Cotsones (Vrontama. GR) and Emannuel Cotsones (Kosma, GR) immigrated to the US they had been married for one year and gave birth to their first child, Christ E. Cotsones (1913-1991). Uncle Christ’s company Army photo is in the inside of the back cover. He was enlisted in the Army and trained in Hawaii until he was discharged with a stomach ulcer and worked for Pfizer Pharmaceutical until his retirement. He loved to play the horses the race track and lived with Yaya Lillian until his death. He is buried at Evergreen Cemetary, Chicago IL. The second born was Georgia E. Cotsones Alexander (1915-2009) who is featured throughout the album as a young woman who would travel with her friends the Costac sisters, Sophie, Evelyn and Lillian. Our mother Georgia married Angelo Alexander in 1953 and had two children, Diane Alexander White,1955- and Maria Martucci 1959. Our mother Georgia had incredible style that was unmatched by her love for her family and church. My parents were savers and purchased beautiful objects and custom made furniture that we are still enjoying today in the two flat we purchased together in 1989 on the Westridge, Chicago. Her honestly and faith were attributes that carried her to the end of her life. She is buried at Elmwood Cemtary next to her husband 36 years, Angelo D. Alexander. The Costacs sisters married and remained friends to the end of their lives. The next child born was Chrysanthe (Sanda, Sandy 1917) who lived till 9 years old and died of a burst appendicitis. Her family was devasted by her death, so young and full of life. She is buried at Evergreen Cemetery, Chicago IL. Aunt Dorothy Cotsones Mavros / Kountoupis was born (1918 – 2010) and was the fourth child of Lillian and Emannuel. Aunt Dorothy married Phillip Mavros from Manganiti, Ikaria GR. They had two daughters, Maria Kochilas 1941 and Lillian Apostolou 1943-1989. After Uncle Phillip’s death in 1970, Aunt Dorothy remarried George Kountoupis who was a close friend of Uncle Phillip’s until his death in 1983. Dorothy lived in Greece from 1970-1985 and moved to Tucson to be close to Uncle Johnney and family. The 5th child of Lillian and Emannuel was John E. Cotsones (1926-1999) who served in the Merchant Marines and seen in later pages of the album. Uncle John married Angeline Costas, whose children are Jeanne 1949-2020, Michael 1953 and John Jr. 1961. They raised their family in Beverly, at 10609 South Bell, Chicago IL. Visiting their family for family holidays and dancing in the living room to the 1960’s top 40 was my favorite thing to do. It is where I learned the twist while listening to Chubby Checkers on the stereo. My cousins were on the forefront of trends in music and fashion and for that I am grateful.
When Lillian and Emannuel came from Greece they lived in Kankakee, IL, where Emannuel’s brother Nick Cotsones lived with his wife and 8 children. They eventually moved to South Chicago near 93rd and Commercial where Emannuel operated a candy store next to the Gayety Theater on Commercial Ave. The Great Depression took place in 1929 and devasted the country similarly to our present situation in 2020 with Covid-19. The Greek community in the 1900s was tightly knit with Greek School and church life playing a daily roll in their life as they assimilated into American culture. The Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, Chicago was started by Greeks that immigrated from the Spartan villages of Greece. Emannuel was educated at a secretarial school on the island of Spetsis GR, and spoke fluent English which was a valuable asset in the early 1900s. He was the secretary of the church Board of Trustees. He suffered a stroke at his candy store and was dropped off at home by a taxi where he was left on the sidewalk and robbed before being taken upstairs where the family took care him for 6 months while paralyzed until his passing in 1936. The Board of Trustees covered the expenses of the burial which alleviated a cost to the family. Christ, Georgia, Dorothy and John who was 9 years all worked and brought money home to their widowed mother Lillian to who made sure all of the children graduated from high school during the Depression which lasted until WW2. Christ sold newspapers on a street corner, Georgia worked at Cunag Candies in Hyde Park, Dorothy worked at Fannie May Candies and Johnny shined shoes for a nickel per pair on street corners.
This story has a common thread among early immigrant families seeking a new life in America. The early arrivals were eager to establish themselves and get a foothold in the American dream that they had heard so much about in the small villages of Greece. By working hard they were able to send money to their families in Greece who were struggling in an agrarian economy. By sponsoring family members to come to America their businesses grew in the restaurant business and as wholesale food suppliers. The Greek restaurants had a reputation for serving hearty meals at every price point.
Obviously there is more to be said and I’ll try to leave a video memory at some point to flesh out the details, but until then please enjoy and absorb the life of the Cotsones family through the following photographs, enjoy!
Great-Grandmother, Lillian Vournazou Cotsones, Great-Grandfather Emanuel Cotsones with the first Parish Council at St. Constantine and Helen. Find your Yiayia too! Photo of our family at Maria K for Easter in the late 1970s that was on display at Hellenic Museum exhibit called “Family.”
Alexander’s Restaurant “Steaks & Cocktails”
Angelo D. Alexander was the father of photographer Diane Alexander White and grandfather of Alexandra White, Francis White and Nicholas White. In 2025, Diane Alexander White remembers Alexander’s Steakhouse as follows, “The Alexander Brother began their restaurant empire in Hyde Park near the University of Chicago in the 1920s. By the time that Angelo D. Alexander left Poulithra, Greece to join his brothers in 1925, George, Nick and Peter had established Alexander’s Restaurant on 63rd and Dorchester. They also opened Alexander’s Restaurant on 63rd and Stony Island next to the CTA Englewood El Train Line that has since been torn down. George, Nick and Peter opened Alexander’s Steak House on 79th and Exchange near the Illinois Central Train stop in 1960. Success was immediate right from the start. The South Shore neighborhood was accustomed to restaurants that offered hamburgers, fries and milk shakes but no one had seen the likes of the Alexander’s low lit interior, comfortable booths, linen table cloths, a bar that ran the length of the restaurant and the star of the show that was Alexander’s Garlic Dressing. The garlic dressing was added to the iceberg lettuce with Greek feta and Kalamata olives with their most popular menu item which was a prime rib sandwich on toasted white bread and hand cut french fries. The restaurant was known for prime rib, lobster, thick cut steaks, chops and Dover sole fish. The cocktails were generously poured by the bartenders such as Babe Spirison, and served by the most devoted of waitresses. Some of their names were Jeanie, Dixie, Helen and others who worked decades with the Alexander organization. The knew exactly what drinks their customers liked and had it on the table as they walked in the door. The hostess was Kay Dagres who also knew the customers by name and where their favorite table was. The restaurant was an intimate experience where everyone knew your name and expense accounts were the norm. As children we considered it a big treat to sit at the bar and order a kiddie cocktail with a little umbrella while conversing with our Uncle Nick who would impress upon us the importance of knowing Greek history. His words of wisdom were to, “always remember where you came from and that you are always number one”, meaning that you put yourself first.
My mother, Georgia Alexander worked at the cash register and made change for the waitresses when customers paid their bill in cash because credit cards had not been invented yet. The cigarettes were sold behind the cash register during the years when people smoked indoors. Cousin Eugenia Hrones worked the cash register as did Aunt Menda, Uncle Nick’s wife. It was a family affair. Next to the cash register was a Walt Disney celluloid that featured a short and tall ancient Greek next to the Parthenon that depicted my Uncle Nick and Peter. They wore laurels on their head, sandals and togas bordered with the Greek key. We were proud to say that it was a gift from the Disney Studio from an executive who had dined at Alexanders.
The kitchen was a bustling world of it’s own. Andy the cook ran the grill and cooked the steaks to order, Martha the salad girl mixed the garlic dressing in the salad, Uncle Kosta who came from Poulithra Greece in 1969 worked in the kitchen and cut the prime rib and would grind the meat for the hamburgers from scratch. His sons, Jimmy and Steve Alexander also worked as bus boys and car parkers. They lived in a frame house next door that can be seen in the vintage photos to the right of the restaurant. Rainbow Beach was two blocks away, US Steel Southworks was nearby and many of the executives had their three martini lunches at Alexanders. The neighborhood transitioned in the early 70s and by the early 1980s the Nick and George were ready to hang up their hats and retire. We moved to the North Side of Chicago in 1974 to where we still reside and where I raised my children, Alex, Francis and Nick White.
On a side note: many Greeks lived in South Shore especially since we had Sts. Constantine and Helen Church on 74th and Stony Island.”
Here is a FB post about Alexander’s Steak House.
Lots of comments and photos here of Alexander’s.
The Alexander Brothers (pictured above)
On the right, Angelo D. Alexander. Wife is Georgia Cotsones. Children are Diane Alexander White and Maria Martucci.
On the left, Peter D. Alexander. Wife is Anastasia (Tessie) Papaspirou Alexander. Children, Thais Ladas, Danae Alexander and Darice Lovell.
Top left, George D. Alexander. Wife is Evangeline Alexander. Children, Demetri Alexander and Dianthe Polites.
Top right, Nick D. Alexander. Wife is Menda Govostis Alexander. Children are James Alexander and Dean Alexander.
Alexander Siblings
The Alexanders (our mother’s father’s family) were born in Poulithra, Greece. The parents were Olga and Demetri Alexandraki. From oldest to youngest, the siblings were George Alexander, Gianoula Hrones, Nick Alexander, Peter Alexander, Angelo Alexander, Chrysoula Kalivas, Rena Skoularena, Achilles Alexander, Eutihia Harduval, and Kosta Alexander.
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