Pam M, Your 2 questions: <<First, I want to ask if there is a place we can visit in the New Bedford or RI areas to get some help with Portuguese records?>>
You're not ready to utilize the Portuguese records yet. You'll need to confirm that the island is indeed Sao Miguel and then find the freguesia (fregh-Z-ah) which is the village. Most of Europe is that way (find the village). I have a how to guide posted here on the Azores Genweb: goo.gl/9CO4r You might want to bookmark the Azores Genweb site: goo.gl/HuNWh Tracing your ancestor(s) in America and collecting all the clues and analyzing them will help you find the freguesia over there. One man on this list started about 10 weeks ago and he just found one freguesia on one ancestor! Your 2nd question: <<Secondly, any thoughts about why Salvador does not seem to exist in records from 1926 until much, much later in his life?>> You don't say what records you have searched. Judy P. gave you something that she found. However, if a person was born about 1926, they would not be an adult until about 1944. It's tough to find records on people between the 1940s to the present due to privacy and stuff like that. You will be able to find them on the 1940 census (just released) when it's fully indexed. Since he served in WWII, you'll find records on that. The rest will be you sleuthing via the how to link I posted above. Good luck. Post what you find from the various sources here and we'll help you make sense of it. 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."
