I would like to be the voice of my 3rd great grandfather, Francisco Ferreira Drummond, on the use of “Dona” in Portugal and Azores until the XVIII century.
On the first volume of his Annaes da Ilha Terceira, on page 19, note n. 5, he writes: “…signal d’estima, que antigamente só era concedido pelos Reis a seus descendentes, e aos ricos homens....” In other words: a tribute of respect, in ancient times, given only by the Kings to his descendants, and to the rich man. He also says: “Que diremos hoje à liberdade, e à lisonja com que este appellido se dá.....” Here we can see how the use of “Dona” became common at his time – he wrote this around 1830. Besides what he wrote, I can only confirm what others already mentioned. In Portugal, Azores and Brasil, Dona or Senhora, is a respectful and common way to talk to someone older than you. The same doesn't apply to Dom, the old title given to a noble, rich man, this one is out of use in our days. Senhor is the correct and respectful choice one can use. Isabella Baltar myportuguesegen.blogspot.com > > -- 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. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores.
