[5][6] Near the end of the 1790s, Ioannis Mexis traveled to the Holy Lands and from then on he took the surname Hatzis and is referred to as Hatzigiannis.

He was active in trade and the sea from a young age with great success due to his resourcefulness and risk-taking nature.

Hatzigiannis Mexis had become a member of the Filiki Eteria and was the leader of the aristocratic section of Spetses who did not want to participate in the Greek Revolution of 1821.

Panagiotis (1800-1885) participated in the revolution with a privately owned ship and became the president of the Spetses Eldership.

For his sons it is stated that they had married daughters of the Vassilis Gini, Laskarina Bouboulina and Lazarai.