Interesting Eric E. I few years ago I was in Hawaii and I went on a tour of a sugar plantation there. The tour guide did say that the first wave of laborers were Chinese bachelors. And China is on a continent. Being a bunch of bachelors who weren't used to an island environment created a bit of a dilemma. I don't remember the tour guide's exact words anymore, but being bachelors they partied too much after hours, rabble roused, went stir-crazy due to being on islands, etc. So the plantation owners thought that bringing over entire families who were used to living on islands would be much more calming. So they initially recruited from the Azores and Madeira, which was successful, then from the Philippines.
Eric's information came from an Azores government publication and mine came from a sugar plantation tour guide. Those new to genealogy can see how stories can change and now you know why some of us tell you to take your family stories with a grain of salt. The basic truth is there. You've got to cut through some of the embellishments to find the truth. And evaluate the source. Which source is more reliable? This is what genealogists do. Cheri Mello Listowner, Azores-Gen Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada -- For 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." --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to azores@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores.
