Debbie, Thank you for sharing all the info. Ally Vieira Anselmo in Ribeira Seca, Sao Miguel Pinheiro, Nunes, Silveira in Praia do Almoxarife and Pedro Miguel, Faial Silveira, Rodrigues in Sao Jorge
In a message dated 3/30/2011 2:56:50 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, wolgemut...@msn.com writes: Linda, My cousin worked for a physician in the Bay Area and he treated many Azorean Portuguese patients. Once he found that my cousin was Azorean Portuguese, the doctor noted to my cousin that there were several physical problems to look for because of the family "interbreeding" on the small islands. I googled this topic and found the following illnesses related to Azorean Portuguese: Azorean Disease (Machado-Joseph Disease, Joseph Disease, Spinocerebelllar ataxia type III) _http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/96243/azorean_disease_the_plight_of_portuguese.html?cat=70_ (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/96243/azorean_disease_the_plight_of_portuguese.html?cat=70) , _http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/gegd_0002_0001_0/gegd_0002_0001_0_00053.ht ml_ (http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/gegd_0002_0001_0/gegd_0002_0001_0_00053.html) Bipolar / Schizophrenia research project in the Azores _http://www.usc.edu/dept/pubrel/trojan_family/winter07/island.html_ (http://www.usc.edu/dept/pubrel/trojan_family/winter07/island.html) My great-grandfather and my grandmother had ataxia type III. It manifested itself when they were in their late 70's. My grandmother was picked up by the police several times when walking for exercise because they received calls that a drunk woman was walking on the streets. She wasn't drunk but just started losing control of her limbs. My father begged her to stop and eventually she quit walking on the streets and just around her retirement complex. Eventually my ggfather and grandmother were bedridden in their 80's when their legs totally gave out. There is family lore of a Freitas brother of my great-grandmother who was mentally ill. I haven't been able to find any references to him in the US census records yet. He immigrated from the Flores island and lived with a variety of Californian relatives from time to time. He burned down a home that he lived in. I know an Azorean Portuguese descendant who has been in a California mental institution for almost 20 years with bipolar/schizophrenia. I have been noting disease trends in my genealogy research. There is alcoholism on my mother's side of the family and I've traced back its roots to the mid-1800's. On my husband's side of the family, I've noted the generic trend of certain relatives having a bicuspid heart valve. I think that it is an important aspect of genealogy research that can be helpful to descendants reviewing our genealogy records. Linda, you don't have to worry about having an opinion about Azorean family intermarriages and illness. It is a reality. Debbie Wolgemuth Researching Azoreans: Jorge (Flores), Freitas (Flores), Enos (San Miguel), Silveira Matos (Faial), Rodrigues (unknown) Immigrated to: Merced, CA -- 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."
