Thank you for all of your responses....the "dona" title that I see so much in Sao Jorge appears more in certain family groups, Avila, Bettencourt, Norohna(especially) and I'm sure others as well.
I've seen in Pico young people, not related to a woman I know, call her Dona Maria...she's a family matriarch and it appeared to be a title of respect. I began calling her the same and it seemed quite accepted. The title has a different feel in the records I've been reading so I guess it is used in several ways. I'll make some notes as I come across them from now on and see if I notice connections. Nancy Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:16:44 -0800 From: [email protected] Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: titles To: [email protected] I think there was an "old" meaning for Dona (that's where the nobility comes in) and there is also a "new" meaning for the title. According to the 1967, The New Appleton Dictionary of the English & Poertuguese Languages: "dona, f. lady (also cap.); proprietress, owner, title of respect prefixed to the first name of a woman. Brazil, wife, spouse, as in dona da casa (lady of the house." Celeste, Hayward, CA Celeste Perry [email protected] --- On Thu, 2/19/09, Cheri Mello <[email protected]> wrote: From: Cheri Mello <[email protected]> Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: titles To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, February 19, 2009, 11:44 PM I'm not sure if I remember right, but a loose translation might be along the lines of a "lady" but no royalty involved. -- Cheri Mello Listowner, Azores-Gen Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, R. das Tainhas, Achada _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live™: E-mail. Chat. Share. Get more ways to connect. http://windowslive.com/online/hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_AE_Faster_022009 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. 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." -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
