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….
Tag: Naming Patterns
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…
My Very Common Middle Name
[Fearless Females: Prompts for Women’s History Month, March 3rd–Do you share a first name with your female ancestors?] I don’t think I’ve come across any Melody’s among my female ancestors. That makes me one of a kind. And, originality wasn’t in my ancestors’ genes. I’ve got a whole host of Maria, Barbara, Brigitte, Margaret, Catherine,…
The Demotion of X, Y, and Z in Portuguese Names
I’ve been working exclusively with the records of Achada in the Azores for the last month. I’ve worked from the 1870s back to the early 1700s. I’m getting a snapshot of spelling conventions and how things change over time. It’s interesting to me to see how widely used the letters x, y, and z were…
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Your Most Unique Ancestral Name
This week Randy asks us to name our ancestor with the most unique name for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun. I couldn’t come up with anything in my ancestry for a first and last name combination, so I’m going with the most unusual first name. I found my maternal Great Great grandfather in several records but…