You could start by writing to the archives and asking them what they have and if they are catalogued. There are wills and deeds for Nordeste since my Simas ancestors had them. Rodrigo Rodrigues cites many wills and property transfers and someties it is the only way to trace a lineage back further than existing vital records. I think that a will would only be of genealogical value (beyond 1 or 2 generations) in the case of landed gentry, i.e. morgados who inherited as determined in by an "entailment" (víncula). Those entailments were very detailed as to who begat whom and who could inherit the estate (which could not be divided or parcelled out but had to be inherited and passed on as an entirety) in succeeding generations. (A morgado is a squire, as in "Lark Rise to Candleford", who might also be a hereditary peer, for those of you who have been watching "Downton Abbey". ) Confession rolls (Easter duty records which even in America were duly kept before Vatican II) were a very exact census of all the residents of every household members of communion age in each village homestead. Alas, those rolls have not been catalogued and many have been lost. John Miranda Raposo
From: Richard Francis Pimentel <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 10:30 AM Subject: RE: [AZORES-Genealogy] Wills in Nordeste Village I looked at one film a number of years ago and found them very difficult to read I could not make any sense to their organization other than they were arranged by date. I believe John Raposo had looked at some perhaps he could add more. I don’t think they are arranged by village. Rick Richard Francis Pimentel Spring, TX Formerly of Epping, New Hampshire Researching, Riberia Grande, Riberinha Ponta Delgada, and Achada Grande, Sao Miguel, Acores From:[email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of joe azores Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 12:13 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Wills in Nordeste Village Does anyone know if a Nordeste Village-Sao Miguel "will" from the 1680 era would hold any useful genealogy information, as to parents or grand parents in it? I read that you need to know the deceased person "house number" before asking for a copy of their will? How do you find out the house number of a ancestor? Does the archieve in Ponta Delgada look up and provide copys of wills? How much does a copy of a will-cost? If anyone knows. Thank You-Neil Teixeira -- 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."
