Trevor, My immigrant ancestors came from the same freguesia and they were double first cousins. They married 3 or 4 years after arriving in the America. My ancestor's sister married her first cousin too. But the brother married someone from the other side of Sao Miguel. On another collateral line, she was from the Azores and he was from Brazil. All married in America. I also have many examples of a collateral line marrying an Italian, Polish, etc. About the only common thread I can find is that they were all Catholic.
When immigrating, the arrival records said who they were coming for in America. Many of these people are relatives. Many of them know of their neighbors in the old country. Many of them worked and worshipped together. But many of them met others at work or at church as well. I wouldn't say it's prevalent though, but it did happen. Cheri Mello Listowner, Azores-Gen Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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." -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
