Hello,
I'd like to tell an amusing story. A few days ago we had to do 2
errands in Woburn, MA, around noon, and then we got hungry. So, we
drove down the street to the supermarket in Winchester, MA. We went
in to see if there was any .prepared food. we could purchase and pick
up a few items. We were pleasantly surprised to see that one of the
soups was Portuguese Kale soup. So, of course, my husband bought
some. When we got to the register, the lady at the register
started chatting about it; she said she makes it. I said I made it
once, and it took me an entire day. (I am not Portuguese) We went
to leave the store, and another shopper was behind us and she asked to
chat with us. She wanted to discuss the soup, also. We pulled
our carts over and chatted for 20 min. She was .shocked. to find
out my husband had spent his early childhood in Cambridge, MA, and
then in East Cambridge. She was shocked again when he said his last
name was PACHECO ! :o) It turns out that was her maiden name !
She said her family had a Manny Pacheco, and that they owned and ran
the "Willow Furniture Store" in Cambridge. Of course, my husband
knew of it. (There is also a Pacheco Jewelry Store in
Cambridge.) When my husband was a teen, his parents moved to
Cambridgeport. This lady said that, when she was young, her parents
moved next door to Arlington, MA. I said - That's where I grew
up. She was pleasantly surprised to find out that we both graduated
from Arlington High during the 1960's. (I spent my very early
childhood next door in Winchester, MA, so I was familiar with all of
this area.)
We had so many things in common with this lady that it was
unbelievable - for the 3 of us. In fact, I thought this lady
resembled my husband's younger sister, and maybe his aunts. So,
it's entirely possible that she is a "distant cousin."
To back up a little, I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that my husband's
PACHECO grandparents both arrived separately around 1905 from Sao
Miguel. And, Antone ("Tony") Pacheco married Elsie MOURA in
Cambridge, MA, ~1911. They had 5 young children and she was pregnant
with twins, when Tony was killed in a car accident; it was 1929.
Elsie delivered one month later, but both boys died before they were
2. * After 6/7 yrs. of trying to research this family, I have
come to the guess that Elsie became so angry at her husband - for
being killed - and leaving her, that she hardly ever spoke about him
again. And she told most of her grandchildren that they had no
Pacheco relatives in the area.
Because of my on-line queries, a couple years ago I found out that
another Pacheco family in Cambridge .was. related to them - as they
came from the same village in Sao Miguel. (a village bordering on
Ponta Delgada) There were several Pacheco families in Greater
Boston in 1910 and 1920, and I don't know if they were all from "St.
Michael's." I checked census information yesterday, and there
were well over 100 people in Bristol County, MA, in 1910, and well
over 200 in Bristol Co. in 1920. (Cambridge and Somerville are in
Middlesex County) (Tony was found with the PACHICO spelling)
Unfortunately, the lady at the supermarket did not offer us her name,
so I can't write to her. But, I did mention where we lived.
I've been posting about this family for 6/7 yrs. at www.rootsweb.com
so you can find more details in the archives of the Lists and Boards
there. The MOURA family has been much more difficult to learn
about, but Elsie had 2 sisters and 2 brothers, and their mother in
Cambridge with her - at least for a short time. I don't know what
happened to their father, but I have a guess.
Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA)
P.S. ~2 mos. ago we went to a store in our town and met a lady,
maybe in her 20's, whose best friend was a PACHECO from Cambridge.
She worked at the store, but we haven't gone back to see if she
mentioned us to her friend.
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