I have heard and it was discussed on line a while back about Machado-Joseph Disease. My mother use to tell me that my father's brother, my uncle, was not quite right, but would say that there were rumors it was because of interbreeding and he has a heart problem which could be the biscupid heart valve because I remember them talking about something like that. My mother's niece had three daughters and one son, but one of the daughters had a health issue. The parents were born in Sao Miguel, but the children were all born in the states. They brought this daughter to Mass General Hospital, Boston and I remember my mother telling me that she had some type of blood disorder and I think lactose intolerant too, but was told by this doctor they there was some type of interbreeding at some point. Alcoholism was definitely a problem. My mother's father and brother were total alcoholics. My mother and father did not drink at all, maybe a glass of wine at functions, but that was it. My father's brothers who I mentioned above were big drinkers, but one has passed on and the one above had to stop because of his health issues. It's amazing how that affected their lives, too. It would be nothing for them to drink 180 proof. I know the wines don't have the sulfate like we do here which is so much better, but it was like they had nothing else to do, but drink. What a disease that is. I remember growing up and hearing cousins shouldn't marry cousins because of mental illnesses that could come about. I guess we've learned that over time and being so populated it really doesn't come about as often of course. Did you know that past President Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt were cousins, I want to say third cousins. I think these diseases that you mentioned were definitely from interbreeding. My husbands family are from Canada and Maine and his mother's paternal side has schizophrenia, two or three died from that line because of it. You do wonder. Linda
_____ From: azores@googlegroups.com [mailto:azores@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Debra Wolgemuth Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 11:53 AM To: Azores Genealogy Subject: RE: [AZORES-Genealogy] Coelho from Santa Maria Linda, My cousin worked for a physician in the Bay Area and he treated many Azorean Portuguese patients. Once he found that my cousin was Azorean Portuguese, the doctor noted to my cousin that there were several physical problems to look for because of the family "interbreeding" on the small islands. I googled this topic and found the following illnesses related to Azorean Portuguese: Azorean Disease (Machado-Joseph Disease, Joseph Disease, Spinocerebelllar ataxia type III) http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/96243/azorean_disease_the_plight_of _portuguese.html?cat=70, http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/gegd_0002_0001_0/gegd_0002_0001_0_00053 .html Bipolar / Schizophrenia research project in the Azores http://www.usc.edu/dept/pubrel/trojan_family/winter07/island.html My great-grandfather and my grandmother had ataxia type III. It manifested itself when they were in their late 70's. My grandmother was picked up by the police several times when walking for exercise because they received calls that a drunk woman was walking on the streets. She wasn't drunk but just started losing control of her limbs. My father begged her to stop and eventually she quit walking on the streets and just around her retirement complex. Eventually my ggfather and grandmother were bedridden in their 80's when their legs totally gave out. There is family lore of a Freitas brother of my great-grandmother who was mentally ill. I haven't been able to find any references to him in the US census records yet. He immigrated from the Flores island and lived with a variety of Californian relatives from time to time. He burned down a home that he lived in. I know an Azorean Portuguese descendant who has been in a California mental institution for almost 20 years with bipolar/schizophrenia. I have been noting disease trends in my genealogy research. There is alcoholism on my mother's side of the family and I've traced back its roots to the mid-1800's. On my husband's side of the family, I've noted the generic trend of certain relatives having a bicuspid heart valve. I think that it is an important aspect of genealogy research that can be helpful to descendants reviewing our genealogy records. Linda, you don't have to worry about having an opinion about Azorean family intermarriages and illness. It is a reality. Debbie Wolgemuth Researching Azoreans: Jorge (Flores), Freitas (Flores), Enos (San Miguel), Silveira Matos (Faial), Rodrigues (unknown) Immigrated to: Merced, CA > From: patli...@verizon.net > To: azores@googlegroups.com > CC: man...@netsite.com.br > Subject: RE: [AZORES-Genealogy] Coelho from Santa Maria > Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2011 01:23:49 -0400 > > I believe most of us are cousins by interrelated marriages. As you had once > told me the first Furtado to come to the island of Sao Miguel had brought > down that name through the male and female lines. > > As I told Pat Girard I don't believe there are dead ends. I have cousins > married within my parents lines together and within their own lines > together. I look back and see the same names in both my father's lines > that's in my mother's lines, why is that. > > I also think it's another reason why children didn't survive because of the > same blood lines. > > Sorry, but that's what I believe. > > You have Furtado and de Sousa from Ribeira Grande as I do and we aren't > related there? > > My mothers father's maternal side, Rosa (possibly a name dropped) came down > from the Travossos/Cabral/Velho line. > > Linda > > > -----Original Message----- > From: azores@googlegroups.com [mailto:azores@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of > Manoel Cesar > Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 3:06 PM > To: azores@googlegroups.com > Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Coelho from Santa Maria > > Linda, > > One must be careful about surnames in Azores. > They come from the parents, from the father or the mother; come from > paternal or maternal grand-fathers or grand-mothers, or even from great > grandparents. And, also important, sometimes, not so often, they are simply > adopted, with no connections to the original surmanes of the family. > > In this case concerning Jorge Velho married to Africa Anes, the surname > Velho was adopted. > Frutuoso says that Jorge Velho was nephew of the King of Fez, and he was > baptized at the presence of the Prince (Infante) D. Henrique, took the > christian forename Jorge and has honored Gonçalo Velho (Cabral) with the > surname Velho. > > Catarina Nunes Velho married to Jorge Furtado was from the true Velho's, > connected to the family of Gonçalo Velho (Cabral) who was sent to Azores in > 1444 by Prince D. Henrique in order to colonize the islands of Santa Maria > and São Miguel. > Gonçalo Velho (Cabral) brought his nephews Pedro and Nuno, sons of his > sister Violante Velho Cabral who was married to Diogo Gonçalves de > Travassos. > > You and I do descend from Pedro, but not through the Furtado line, as far as > know. > > Our common ancestors in this line are João Rebelo and Maria Travassos, > maried about 1600. Their daughter Ana Cabral, born 30 Apr 1606 in Ribeira > Frande, S. Miguel, is the 3rd grandmother of Rita de Jesus, my 4th > grandmother who married my 4th grandfather José Furtado born 19 Mar 1784 in > Vila Franca do Campo, S. Miguel. > > > Manoel > > > > > 2011/3/29 Linda Norton <patli...@verizon.net>: > > Hi Margaret and Manoel, > > > > Manoel, you gave me this info years ago: > > > > According to Frutuoso, Jorge Furtado was grandson of Martin Anes > > Furtado de Sousa from S. Miguel. He married first to Catarina Nunes > > Velho and had Leonardo Furtado and a daughter ?name. Leonardo married > > Beatriz Perdigoa and they had Jorge Furtado, Francisco Furtado and > > Maria de Sousa. Jorge Furtado married again to Guimar Camelo, had four > children, one named Jorge as well. > > Also, descendants of Martim Anes Furtado de Sousa and the reference to > > Jorge Furtado de Mendonca brought by Frutuoso in his book on the male > lines. > > > > There is another line of Furtado's through the females. Diogo Afonso > > Columbreiro, son of Afonso Anes da Costa m. Branca Roiz de Medeiros, > > daughter of Rui Vaz de Medeiros and Ana/Mecia Goncalves, daughter of > > Jorge de Mendonca. The sons of Diogo and Branca are Pedro Furtado and > > Sebastiao Afonso. I think Sebastiao had a son, Aleixos Furtado de > > Mendonca. So, Jorge Furtado de Mendonca under the Medeiros chapter has > > his surname passed by his daugher in the island on a distant third > > gradson and the brother of Diogo, also named Afonso Anes as his father > > married Ines Martins daughter of Martim Anes Furtado de Sousa. > > > > I am going to take a shot in saying that Africa Anes and Jorge Velho > > brought down these lines both on female and male sides? So can I say > > we have an Anes/Velho club in this group? > > > > Linda Borges Furtado Norton > > > > > > -- > 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." > > -- > 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." -- 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." -- 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."
