My great-great-grandmother Kitsa Grancharova was born in Vasiliada (Βασιλειάδα), Kastoria in 1903 and immigrated to the United States in 1925. Throughout her life, she always said she was Greek, and she was a member of the Greek Orthodox Church.
However, she was raised by her aunt Maslina Grancharova, who was a member of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (which I know to have been quite pro-Bulgarian) and participated in the Ilinden Uprising (Εξέγερση του Ίλιντεν). Maslina was expelled from Greece in 1913 along with several of her relatives, and she moved to Bulgaria. In addition, a recent document I found shows that my grandmother Kitsa was married in Sofia, Bulgaria, not in Kastoria where she and her husband were born.
Is there some historical reason that could explain this discrepancy?
According to the "ethnography Vilayets Adrianople, Monastir and Salonika," published in Constantinople in 1878 and reflects the statistics of the male population by 1873 Zagorichane (Zagoritchané) has 560 households with 1,600 residents of the Bulgarians.
In 1889, Stefan Verkovich ("topographic etnograficheskіy ocherka Makedonіi") writes about Zagoriche:
"Mountain to the east of this village [probably dug] the road leading to perch near the road to Klisura is a Bulgarian village or town Zagoriche 350 houses and 480 couples. Their tax 31 080 piastres. Residents of almost all Bulgarians within a few Romani except . The area is good for bread and flax. There are several gardens. The inhabitants of a small part of deals with agriculture, because arable land is not enough. The surrounding mountains and Vitsi Mirihska live boars and bears. Most of the residents as Klissura and lehovtsi trip to work abroad Among them there are a lot of rich people. There are three churches - a newly built and beautiful, five priests, one general and one Greek school. The area is favorable for cattle, flax and hemp. There are vineyards, but only for domestic consumption. There are 15 shops.
According to statistics Vasil Kanchov ("Macedonia. Ethnography and Statistics") in 1900, 3300 inhabitants live Zagoriche Bulgarians.
Zagorichantsi actively participate in the Ilinden uprising, during which the village was completely burnt, 55 people were shot, stabbed or burned, and many women were raped.
On March 25, 1905 joined forces andartski about 300 people under the leadership of George Tsondos attacked the village and made a terrible massacre, which killed about 100 people, and the whole village was burned down again.
According to the Turkish magazine "Turk Hayati":
"... The majority of the Christian population in Macedonia Bulgarian. Patriarchate really took place under his influence, many Bulgarian villages and almost the entire population is considered to be the Greeks, however, it was Bulgaria, Bulgarian and spoken little understanding of Greek prayers
Ivan Grancharov-> Vangel Grancharov and Zoya(Zuwitza?) Grancharova (Belova)->Sotir Tancheff(1892-1951) and Kitcha Tancheff(Grancharova)(1903-1995)->George Tancheff(1928-1999), Mary Jane(Genevieve) Tancheff (May)(1945-2009) ->Tanya Tancheff->????->Matthew