Fayal was the second largest port in the Azores. As such, it saw many foreign ships, including whalers and fishing vessels that would often stop to sign up crew replacements. So, the short answer to your question is, yes, a native of the Azores can have the surname Williams. Often surnames became "remastered" to make them sound more Portuguese or more English. Major settlement of the Azores was, of course, by Portuguese nobility, who were offered land and power to colonize the newly discovered islands in the 15th century. Shortly after they were joined by Flemish expatriates under an agreement by the respective kings of Portugal and France. Owing to the history of the islands, persons from Scotland, France, Italy, and Spain, were also permitted to settle in the islands from time to time.
Re: GGF - Can you decipher the parents' surnames? the parish he was married in? On May 10, 11:23 pm, Cheri Mello <gfsche...@gmail.com> wrote: > Repost for shevory at comcast.net > > I'm not sure where to send this inquiry, but maybe you can direct me. I > signed up seeking information about my great-grandfather, Frank Williams > from Fayal. I have not seen anything from anyone concerning Fayal. Also, > could a native of the Azores have the surname "Williams"? That is part of > the mystery. I have a copy of his marriage record but cannot make out some > of the information. His father's name was Joseph something, and his mother > was Antonia. -- 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."
