Mary K, My guess is that the male ancestor did not come from Rio de Janeiro. There isn't one on Sao Miguel island. Since Ponta Garca has a phoentic spelling to it on your source, someone took a guess at Rio de Janeiro and since that is a famous city, that is what they thought they heard.
I can't remember how many Ribeirnhas there are in the all the Azores. 4 or 5. If I had to take a real wild guess, I would think that Rio de Janeiro might be Ribeira das Tainhas, next door. Not that the words sound alike. It's just that Ribeira das Tainhas is a long name. And it sort makes sense with what Shirley Allegre found. One migration states him from Ponta Garca (east of Ribeira das Tainhas) and the other states Sao Miguel, Vila Franca meaning the Sao Miguel Arcanjo church in Vila Franca (west of Ponta Garca). Ribeira das Tainhas wasn't an official freguesia until something like 1980. Although some people migrating from Tainhas did state Tainhas, some stated Sao Miguel (Arcanjo) in Vila Franca. I've seen it both ways. The reason I know this is because those are my villages too. Get your ancestors' marriage from Ponta Garca in 1855 from the film. See what they say about where they lived and where they were baptized. That will help clear up your mystery. 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."
