Hi Rod,
I'll check my records and see if I happened to record them.
As for Amarante, I am pretty sure I have seen people using this surname on Sao Jorge and the women were not given the "Dona" title, while others were. Without knowing more about who used it and who didn't, it's hard to say.
But here's how it works.
Firstly, it is used by either royalty and the lesser nobility. There are no royals found in the Azores, with the exception of a rare stay by someone in the 1600s who had taken refuge. But there are tons of noble families. Many of the original settlers were of this class. And I do mean class. They were surely the upper class and acted like it, just as one can imagine what that means. The women were given the use of Dona and if the family remained wealthy and important, or at least maintained ties and were remembered as having such ancestors, they kept using Dona.
There is also the use of Dona a little more loosely. This is for wealthy families who might not have any links in recent generations to the noble class. When one of my ancestors returned from Chile as a rich man to Terceira, his daughters were given this title by priests recording their names. But they had no recent nobility and so this is an example of wealth and current status.
So the question is the status of your ancestors when they were living. No doubt they descend from the nobility, at least that's what I will presume by the other names you mentioned. Sao Jorge is full of families who can trace their roots back to these settlers and noble families. It's much more difficult for this on Pico and most Terceira families. So in that respect you are lucky. One reason it's easier is the book I mentioned about the Sao Jorge families, because it bridges the gap in records and the original settlers from the 1400s and early 1500s.
Doug da Rocha Holmes
Sacramento, California
Pico & Terceira Genealogist
916-550-1618
Sacramento, California
Pico & Terceira Genealogist
916-550-1618
---------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Looking for AMARANTE, MACHADO, AZEVEDO,
BETTENCOURT, SILVEIRA, in Velas, S. Jorge
From: TheAussieRod <theaussie...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, May 01, 2013 4:15 pm
To: azores@googlegroups.com
Hi Doug,"Amarante", per se, gives a woman the premium "Dona"? Why is that?...I can't find the marriage of Joao and Josefa Rosa (Azevedo Bettencourt) :(--But if I stumble upon Pico or Terceira, I will let you know.Thank you.Cheers,Rod
Terça-feira, 30 de Abril de 2013 22:31:50 UTC, Doug Holmes escreveu:Rod,Amarante is often associated with ladies using the "dona" title.Look on the CCA website for the manuscript for Genealogias da ilha de S. Jorge and you will find other older generations of Amarante.You still have at least 50-100 years of records you can search on your own and hopefully you can find a link to the original settlers before the records run out.If it turns out along the way that you find a Pico or Terceira branch, I'd be interested.I do a lot of research for other people and myself in the Sao Jorge records and I often find people from Pico/Terceira. With Pico being only across the channel, it is to be expected, of course.Boa sorte,Doug da Rocha Holmes
Sacramento, California
Pico & Terceira Genealogist
916-550-1618-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Looking for AMARANTE, MACHADO, AZEVEDO,
BETTENCOURT, SILVEIRA, in Velas, S. Jorge
From: TheAussieRod <theaus...@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, April 30, 2013 2:30 pm
To: azo...@googlegroups.com
Hi, I am tracing my ancestry, and I got somwhere near 1800s.The surnames are very common in Velas, and the title "Dona" for the laddies suggest they were somehow important, so maybe I can fit them into some existent geneology.These are the names and aproximate dates:D. Josefa Victoria de Azevedo Bettencourt de Amarante - born 3 Dec 1847; married. 22 Aug 1882 (yes, she married old...)Her parents were:António de Azevedo Bettencourt de Amarante (born 18 Jan 1808, married 22 Aug 1842)D. Laureana Leocadia Bettencourt de Amarante (born 28 May 1811)Her grandparents were:From her father side:João de Azevedo Machado Bettencourt (died before 1842)Isabel Vicencia da SilveiraFrom her mother side:João de Azevedo BettencourtJosefa Rosa de Azevedo Bettencourt (died before 1842)I would very much appreciate any help.Cheers,Rod--
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