Genealogy, History, Heritage, How To
I didn’t plan on researching the whole village. No, really. I didn’t. I started out following the trail of my great grandmother, Maria (de Braga) Pacheco Smith, in Maia like a good genealogist. Maia is a village on Sao Miguel Island in the Azores. I found more ancestors and added more lines. I found…
I thought I understood the migration trail the Azorean sugar plantation contract workers took to Hawaii: Azores to South America to San Francisco to Hawaii. After reading an old newspaper article about the voyage of the S.S. Hansa in 1882, the ship my Pacheco ancestors were on, I found that I was wrong. I expected…
My mom used to tell me that sharing was good especially when my siblings and I were fighting over over a toy. Not only is sharing good for siblings, it’s good for genealogists. Case in point, I’ve confirmed the relationship of a man on a “Fiche de Emigrante” card all because I posted a link…
I am back with another Mystery Photo of the Week. Can you help us identify these children? How about pinning down the time frame? This one comes from the collection of my cousin, Bobbie. Three children beautifully attired and very serious and we have no idea who they are. Bobbie is related to both sides…
The desire to link people of the same surname from the same region is strong. After all, how many families with the same surname in a small Portuguese village? The problem is that Portuguese surnames are fluid, they evolve, they come out of thin air (or so it seems). Five children might use five different…