Hi Mike, I made a post about this a month ago. Here it is again:
<<Degrees of consanguinity: 1st degree: uncle/niece or aunt/nephew marriage 2nd degree: 1st cousins 3rd degree: 2nd cousins 4th degree: 3rd cousins Consanguinity (consanguinidade in Portuguese) means related by blood, such as cousins. Affinity (affinidade in Portuguese) means related by marriage. Example: the wife dies so the hubby marries his sister-in-law. When a degree of consanguinity or affinity happens, a document called a dispensation for the marriage had to be made from the Church or in some cases, Rome. Some exist and some don't. Because the Diocese seat for the Azores is in Angra, these records are in the archive in Angra. An index to these records will be online someday. >> So Mike, you did answer one of your questions. Consanguinity means that they were related, and specifically, by blood. What type of info will the dispensation papers get you? There's not a set format like the baptisms, marriages, and deaths. It's a collection of papers with the priest interviewing the couple with documentation of how the couple is related. All of that or some of that may be in the dispensation packet. I'm not sure how many are fairly close to complete. Joao Ventura would know since he works with them the most. And some dispensations were lost too :( I've seen 2 dispensations. In one of mine, Vitorino wanted to marry Maria (2nd cousins). The reason given was that the people in the freguesia saw Vitorino going over to Maria's house a bit too often. So Maria was getting a reputation (that's modern words - this was the mid-1700s and I don't remember their words, except now it comes across as kind of funny). Vitorino felt bad about Maria getting a reputation from his visits and because Maria was getting this reputation, no man would want her. So he said he would marry her. I remember Joao kind of laughing at that point, saying that's probably the story that they told the priest, because they just wanted to get married. Then there were separate interviews with Vitorino and Maria. The priest asked Vic if he ever kissed Maria or held hands. Vic said he did nothing with Maria. Maria's paperwork said she did nothing with Vic. So the priest said that Vic had to fast so many days (or certain days) and pray the rosary (for what?? Thinking his cousin was cute??) The other one was for 1st cousins, in the early 1800s. Manuel wanted to marry Maria. She had already given birth to a couple of his kids. He met Maria when he was working at his uncle's. This priest really let Maria have it. It said something like "Maria was a poor and miserable girl, giving in to the flesh..." The priest didn't say a word about Manuel being a horny dude, going after his cousin, seducing her, or anything. It was all on Maria. Um, it takes two! But that's the way it was then. I think Maria's father kicked her out of the house for getting pregnant (I wonder if Manuel kept working for him?) And the priest reiterated that Maria was a poor and miserable girl. Poor didn't mean financially here. I think both had some money or land (that was in the dispensation too). The poor and miserable part had to do with the spirit and not being strong enough to resist Manuel's advances. So that's a sample of what could be in a dispensation. They are all different. 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."
