Genealogy is challenging. Portuguese genealogy has challenges all it’s own. Have you fallen into these pitfalls and misconceptions along your research trail? If so, you’re not alone. I bet we’ve all made similar mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them, then learn how to get around them. Let’s see this list of 10…
Category: Portuguese Hawaiian Roots
Problem with Names Part 4: Inconsistency!
This is part 4 of the series the Problem with Names in which I discuss some of the difficulties surrounding Portuguese names. In this article, I tackle inconsistency. It can be the more confusing part for many genealogists to learn that their ancestor wasn’t all that hung up on their name or the spelling. The…
The Problem with Names Part 2: Latinization
For many early Portuguese immigrants to Hawaii, their main contact outside of the plantation was through the local Catholic Church. For many genealogists, church records may be the only way to identify links back to the “old country”. When researching, you must be aware of the many name variations or you may miss your ancestors….
The Problem with Names Part 1: How’s that Spelled?
Many of the first wave of Portuguese immigrants carried very little if any documentation with them. They were most likely poor and illiterate. The people in Hawaiian taking information from these immigrants usually had no prior knowledge of the language. Portuguese enunciation was different from what they were used to. Also, the recorder wasn’t always…
52 Ancestors Week 15: The Curious Spelling of Jozimas
Onward to week 15 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. This week is all about spelling. The question was posed as thus: How Do You Spell That? What ancestor do you imagine was frequently asked that? Which ancestor did you have a hard time finding because of an unusual name? Picture if you…