John, The unknown fathers usually were those that had "somthing to loose". Their were either married or belonged to richer families and seduced the naïve girls. So it is common for descendants of unknown fathers to have "another famiy" that they know nothing about.
I consider single mothers as tough women who decided to face society and raise their children, while other just abandonned them at someone's doorstep. João ________________________________ From: John Vasconcelos <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2012 1:09 AM Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] unknown father (applications to priesthood) Joao, I also agree with you that many "unknown" fathers (and in some cases mothers) were known locally at the time of the birth of the child. In many of those cases, that information "died" with that generation. In my family, there was a case that became widely known throughout the extended family. My father had a half brother who immigrated to the New Bedford area before my father was born. They first met when my father later immigrated to the US in 1909. He eventually had 9 children and over the years I eventually met all but one of these (half) first cousins (who incidently were quite a bit older than me). This individual became known as "Tio Francisco da America" to my Azores first cousins some of who immigrated to Southern Massachusetts in the 1960's. I still maintain contact with that :branch" of the family. John Vasconcelos On Wed, Feb 15, 2012 at 11:35 AM, joao ventura <[email protected]> wrote: Dear Listers, > > > Some of you know that I am studying all the existing applications to >priesthood for the Azores (17th, 18th and 19th centuries). > > > Today I found a very interesting case that I want to share with you. A >youngman wants to become a priest. He is 21 years old (he was born in 1714 and >the application is from 1735, in Terceira Island). He was born to unknown >parents, but once it was not possible for him to become a priest without >proving that his parents were catholic, there is a mention to his father: a >priest from Sé and a single woman. To make this more interesting, the mother >was born to unknown parents, who were also unvealed: a priest and a single >woman. > > > > This record proves something that I have been suspecting for a long time: >most unknown fathers/parents were known, but were not recorded officially, >unless they legitimized the children. > > > > João Ventura > Terceira > > > P.S. - Always check you spam/bulk/trash folder before delete it: many emails >go there from people you know, even from this list! -- >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." -- 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." -- 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."
