A Marriage Record Found

[Research Journal #6, Entry #5]

My next stop would be to find Jozimas and Maria's marriage records. Marriage records intimidated me. They were long and wordy. I was learning which phrases to pick out but it wasn't all that easy for a novice like me!

I figured that they were married somewhere around 1870 based on the birthdates of their children. Jose was the earliest child found and he was born in 1872. I decided to go backwards from there.

I found Jozimas and Maria's marriage record in the microfilm for 1871. They were married in Divino Esperito Santo Church on 28 Aug 1871. Jozimas' parents were listed as Jacintho de Braga and Roza Pacheco. Maria's parents were listed as Felicianno de Mello Castanho and Roza Botelho. Both set of parents were residents of Maia.

My First Portuguese Adventure

Research Journal #6, Entry #5

I set out for the Family History Center one day determined that this intimidating structure would not beat me! My first stop was the card catalog file. I knew that my couple was from the town of Maia and that the church I needed was Divino Esperito Santo.

By this time I had purchased a syllabus for Portuguese genealogy by Doug da Rocha Holmes and I had the LDS Family History Library word and phrase list for Portugal. I located the microfilm, loaded it into the reader, and prepared for my first experience with Portuguese language records.

I decided to research something I was familiar with: baptismal records. I wanted to find Maria's siblings. This would help me get familiar with the records and establish time frames for my family.

It wasn't as bad as I thought. Soon I found there was a certain cadence to the films and the language used in the records. I found Jose de Braga's record. His maternal grandparents were given as Felicianno de Mello Castanho and Rosa Botelho. Their sister, Marie Grace was also in the records. Her maternal grandparents were listed as Felicianno de Mello Botelho and Rosa Jacintha. Their brother, Seraphim, stuck with Felicianno de Mello and Rosa Jacintha. One more brother, Jacintho, sprung from Felicianno de Mello Castanho and Rosa Botelho.

Although the names differed, they didn't concern me too much. Anyone who has worked with Portuguese records knows that the names change with the time of day. My only concern was about Rosa. Were Rosa Botelho and Rosa Barquiera the same person? I wouldn't know until I found other earlier records. At least, I knew I'd be looking for a Felicianno and a Rosa.

Maria's Baptismal Record Found

[Research Journal #6, Entry 3]

I began visiting the Portuguese Genealogy Chat on AOL (run by my friends and fellow researchers, Cheri Mello and Linda Crandall) and was boosting my research self esteem. I learned that I could order baptismal records for my Portuguese kin by mail. I was pretty sure the Family History Center in Oakland would have the microfilm I needed, but the last time I went they scared me to death (not on purpose, I don't think) So, I took the easy way out and sent for the baptismal certificates for my great grandmother, Maria dos Anjos de Braga. Since I was fairly certain of her birthdate, I had a good chance of getting the record I requested.

If you've ever ordered records from the Arquivo in Ponta Delgada, you know that it tries the patience of a Saint while waiting for the anticipated results. I think they used something akin to the Pony Express back in the mid 1990s! At least, it felt like it!

Several weeks later, I received my records. I had some assistance translating the record. Maria was baptised 16 Jun 1876 in Divino Esperito Santo Church, Maia, Ribeira Grande, Sao Miguel Island, Azores. Her parents were given as Zosimos [sic] de Braga and Maria da Conceicao. Her grandparents were Jacintho de Braga and Rosa Barquiera and Felicianno de Mello and Rosa Botelho. Felicianno and Rosa were Maria's parents! I needed other records to confirm this information, but I now had somewhere to start.

First Stop: Passports and Consulate Logs

My great great grandparents, Jozimas de Braga and Maria da Conceicao de Mello arrived in Hawaii in Jun 1882. I had information from the census on when my Gr Gr Grandparents migrated to Hawaii. I checked the ship indexes and found their entry. This helped me find them in the Azorean Passports

The couple was recorded in the consulate logs, but only Jozimas parents were listed. I then looked up the couple in the passport book by Robert DeMello. This is what it says:
Braga, Zosimo [sic], 32
Father Jacinto Braga
Mother Rosa Pacheco
From Maia

Wife Maria da Conciecao [sic], 36
Children: Jose 7, Maria 5, Maria 2 years old
#282 Monarch

While the passport revealed details about Jozimas de Braga and his parentage. There was nothing about Maria's parents. I was going to have to do research in Portuguese language records. I'd never researched those records before. I have to admit they scared the dookies out of me! I didn't know Portuguese except for a few swear words--and I didn't think that would be very helpful!

Finding Maria's Father

[Research Journal #6, Entry #1]
My Gr Gr Great Grandmother was Maria da Conceicao (de Mello) de Braga left for Hawaii in 1882. She didn't leave many clues as to who her parents were. I knew she was from the town of Maia, Ribeira Grande, Sao Miguel Island, and that she married Jozimas de Braga. Beyond that, her history was a blank. I wanted to figure out who her parents were so that I could go further back in my research. I had explored all California and Hawaii resources. I was ready to move on to the records of Sao Miguel Island.

In this journal, you'll see that I found out the names of her parents easily. However, locating her father was a big challenge.