I will attempt to find the page(s) in John P. Colletta's "They Came in Ships" or Michael Tepper's "American Passenger Arrival Records" and tell everyone where to read this name change thing.
Names were not changed. They were simply verified. Ellis Island employed translators. However, in making published (printed or Internet) lists, transcription errors have occurred. And there are many reasons. Here's an example: In 1901, two teenagers left Sao Miguel. Their names on the Ponta Delgada end were Rosa de Jesus and Maria da Gloria. That's the way names worked then. No surname. On the American end, the names of Rosa de Jesus and Maria da Gloria appear on the passenger lists in the same script and the same ink as everyone else on the page. However, it is very clear that someone with a thicker pen, in a different handwriting wrote "Viola" after both girls names. So I get to claim Ellis Island changed their names, right? Both girls were from the Correia family. In researching Maria da Gloria, my great-grandma, I found her in America as Maria, Mary, and then eventually just Gloria since that is what everyone really called her (it was a complete shock to my dad for him to find her her first name wasn't Gloria). However, in all the documents I found on her, she listed her maiden name as Correia. Then I tried researching her big sister, Rosa de Jesus in America. Her maiden name never turned up as Correia. What did she state to people her maiden name was? Viola, the family alcunha. Because the American list was made from the Portuguese one, and because women didn't use surname then, a surname needed to added to the girls. So when they went to verify the passengers or when they were disembarking, a surname needed to be assigned. Can you guess who answered the question? My guess it was Rosa, since she was the older sister and her paper trail in America uses the alcunha of Viola, where as her sister's uses the surname of Correia. If I didn't research both sisters, I would have never figure out why their name was "changed." I also would not have learned of the family's alcunha either. (alcunha for the newcomers: A nickname, often added to or substituted for a family surname. They can be occupation related (as in my story), they can be a characteristic, such as shorty, or they can be a personality trait, for example. Seriously. George Pacheco found someone who's surname was "Por Exemplo." That ancestor must have done a lot of explaining and making sure people understood by saying "por exemplo.") 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."
