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Randy’s latest Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge over at GeneaMusings.com asks us to write about our ancestor who had the most children. It’s funny because I’ve been working on the line of my most prolific ancestor, Miguel do Monte who had 21 children.
Who was Miguel do Monte?
Miguel is my 6th great grandfather. He was the son of Bartolomeu da Costa and Barbara de Paiva. He was born around 1690 in Achadinha, a village on the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores.
Miguel was married three times:
Wife #1: Maria Furtada m. 17 Jan 1717
Wife #2: Maria da Costa m. 5 Nov 1725
Wife #3: Tereza Furtada m. ca 1744
How Many Children By Which Wife?
Miguel first wife was Maria Furtada. Miguel and Maria had four children.
Children with Wife #1
Maria b. 10 Dec 1716
Manoel b. 15 Mar 1719
Andre b. 3 Mar 1722
Jozeph b. 16 Nov 1723
All of these children were born in Achada, Nordeste, Sao Miguel Island which is where Maria was from
Maria died in 9 Aug 1725 in Achada.
Miguel was most…ummm…active…with wife #2, Maria da Costa.
Children with wife #2
Antonia, b. 21 Nov 1726
Francisca I, b. Mar 1728
Miguel, b. May 1730 (my ancestor)
??? do Monte (male), b. 16 Jun 1730
Francisca II, b. 17 Jan 1733
Manoel, b. 30 Apr 1734
Felicia, b. 22 Sep 1736
Roza, twin, b. 28 Aug 1743
Maria, twin, b. 28 Aug 1743
Anna, b. unknown
Antonio, b. unknown
All but Francisca II were born in Achada. She was born in Achadinha.
Now we get to wife #3, Tereza Furtada. Miguel and Tereza married soon after his second wife died. Keep that in mind because in 1744 all of Miguel’s children from his second marriage were unmarried and most likely living at home.
Children with wife #3
Margarida I, b. 21 Aug 1745
Rosa, b. 17 Nov 1746
Margarida II, b. 3 May 1748
Joam, b. 15 Jul 1752
Izidorio, b. 4 Mar 1755
Barbara, b. 23 1758
I’ve only been able to track down the marriages of 5 of his 21 children thus far.
Miguel Lived into His 70s, But What About His Wives?
My 6th great grandfather died 16 Jul 1764. He was probably 72-73 years old.
His wives were not so fortunate.
Maria Furtada was only about 30 at her time of death.
Maria da Costa was probably just pushing 40 when she passed away.
Tereza Furtada died at the age of 45.
Given the dates of birth of the children and the death dates of the first two wives, my guess is they died in childbirth.
Tereza’s story is different. She died 4 years after her last child was born. I’m venturing a guess here, but maybe she was plumb worn out.
She was raising 7+ children from Miguel’s second marriage. Then, she had 6 more of her own. I wouldn’t be surprised if she died from exhaustion.
Are These Where Some of My DNA Matches Come From?
Every time I try to figure out my Azorean DNA matches I think of Miguel do Monte. 21 children…even if only the 5 that I have found marriages for had children, that’s a heck of a lot of descendants since the 1700s!
Just think, they could be spread all over the world by now.
If your ancestor is Miguel do Monte born in Achadinha around 1692, tell me about it in the comments. We’re cousins!
2 thoughts on “SNGF: Miguel do Monte Had 21 Children”
When my husband was grade school aged child his father was in the USAF and they spent some time stationed in the Azores. I hear lots of good stories from that time in his life. But 21 children is a good many!!
My great-grandmother was Mary Peters de monte- probably anglicanized. She was born and Portugal in 1977 and immigrated to Honolulu in 1883 with her uncle Manuel after she was orphaned. She married my great-grandfather Howard Leslie Dobson and died July 3rd 1962. Don’t have any information on her family but I’m wondering if she is related to this family of do Monte’ s. Would you have any suggestions on how I might be able to find out? As you can tell have very little information. Any help you could give would be wonderful. Thank you.
When my husband was grade school aged child his father was in the USAF and they spent some time stationed in the Azores. I hear lots of good stories from that time in his life. But 21 children is a good many!!
My great-grandmother was Mary Peters de monte- probably anglicanized. She was born and Portugal in 1977 and immigrated to Honolulu in 1883 with her uncle Manuel after she was orphaned. She married my great-grandfather Howard Leslie Dobson and died July 3rd 1962. Don’t have any information on her family but I’m wondering if she is related to this family of do Monte’ s. Would you have any suggestions on how I might be able to find out? As you can tell have very little information. Any help you could give would be wonderful. Thank you.