Hi Beatrix, Palheiro is not as common as many other Portuguese names. Souza (old spelling - now spelled Sousa - so check both ways) is one of the most common Portuguese surnames.
Juan is Spanish for John. You won't see that spelling in the Portuguese records, you'll see Joao with the tilde (~) over the "a." Routa Delagada is Ponta Delgada. San Miguel is Spanish. Sao Miguel is Portuguese with the tilde over the "a" again. If your ancestor immigrated in 1917, those records are online from the Centro de Conhecimento dos Acores (CCA) (Center for Knowledge of the Azores). They have records leaving the Azores. The direct link to the port of Ponta Delgada is here: http://pg.azores.gov.pt/drac/cca/ig/passaportes/default.aspx?divisao=3 Click on the year that covers 1917. Enlarge it a bit and start looking at every Joao (under the "Nome" for name column) for a combination of Joao Sousa Palheiro or Joao Palheiro Sousa (or Souza). You may also want to check every Joao Sousa/Souza or Joao Palheiro, in case his name wasn't compounded on the emigration lists. You can go over to the "naturalidade" (native of) column and check to make sure the "concelho" (council/county) lists Ponta Delgada or P.Delgada. The next place is the parish or church. If you think you find him and you need help reading, copy the URL and post it to the list. The CCA site works in Internet Explorer, NOT Firefox. Once you get his parish from the emigration "Passaportes" you can write to the archives in Ponta Delgada for his birth. Info on how to do that and a form letter can be found on the Azores Genweb here: http://homepage.mac.com/kmacardoza/Genealogy/genresources.html Cheri Mello Listowner, Azores-Gen Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
