I have been following some of the discussion about "fitting in" and becoming "anglicized", and I have to say that there is a two-edged part to this discussion that is very relevant because it is similar for most of the ethnic groups that came to the US.
Most of the immigrant populations left their homeland and family because conditions were so horrible in their country that they needed to try a new beginning. Just as a little kid going to a new school or a new friend's house feels excitement but also fear, they were experiencing those contrasting emotions. The fact that even today 3, 4, 5 generations later the remnants of our families still live in relatively ethnic regions with identifiable Portuguese sub-communities. New Bedford and Fall River continue to be highly ethnic as do some communities around San Francisco even though the language and many of the customs have become less and less Portuguese. Like the Italian and Irish neighborhoods in many cities, these groups support the need for old world traditions and ethnic pride but in the new country that is our home. The last 40 or so years has seen little immigration because their lives are much more stable post-Salazar and their economy less fragile. It was very telling to learn when I visited a few years ago that the Azores is very much NOT a backward country-that the places my grandparents used to talk about as being so poor were now able to cope well in a global economy with international airport and hotel accomodations available that rivaled five star hotels in the US. They kept their traditions but blended into the new society and the new economy. The melting pot not so much as real a concept as more of a soup pot with identifiable unique ingredients. The US in general is a nation of many diverse groups and many have maintained their identity but still fit in and strengthen the fabric of US life. This is especially true in the ethnically identifiable places such as those mentioned. My grandparents never had to learn English because they could work in factories with Portuguese bosses and go to schools with Portuguese speaking teachers. However, they also recognized that the succeeding generations needed to be part of the new country they were in and sometimes they sublimated their own heritage to accomplish that. If they were lucky enough to live in communities where it was possible to do both, they have done so and so it is possible to have a Fall RIver, MA with as many Portuguese people there as there is in Sao Miguel. A place where feast days and music and culture are totally blended so that the Portuguese foods and dances are featured during the 4th of July celebrations, and the hotdog and hamburger are staples at a chamarita, and grocery stores sell Linguica and Chourico next to the hotdogs and keilbasa. On Aug 11, 2012, at 7:48 PM, DAWN JOSEY wrote: > in my case my first ancestor here from portugal seems to have said his name > but people couldn't understand or pronounce it. we cannot fully be sure of > his name. manoel jose became manoel jose figurehead on one census. perhaps > they couldn't understand him or spell his name which some think was > figueiredo which people mistakingly took to be his occupation of carver of > figureheads as one story goes. of course we know that names change > intentionally and otherwise over the years. > much of our family folklore and culture can be traced back to the portuguese > culture although no one was aware of it until it showed up in research. > i think in the end "foreigners" or " people from away" just wanted to blend > in and fit into their new environment . to be accepted by neighbors as one of > them so did many things to accomodate that. > Dawn Josey > > some summize people thought he might have carved figureheads. his name Jose > became Josey and the figurehead was lost. > > On 08/11/12, Lorinda Sevenans <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> I just have to chime in here. >> >> My grandfather came to California in 1901/02 (I've seen both dates and >> haven't found a ship). All I know is that his father's last name was Luiz >> (on my grandfather's death certificate) and that my grandfather was always >> known as Joseph Souza Lewis, his mother (who immigrated as a widow with 3 >> children), Mary Lewis, his brother Arthur Lewis and his sister is also Mary >> Lewis. He married a Portuguese woman (her mother was born in Mass., her >> father in the Azores) named Ida Lucille Vieirra (I've seen several spellings >> for this). >> >> My mother and her siblings grew up speaking Portuguese in their home, but I >> NEVER knew this until I started doing research. In fact, my mother told me >> they were Irish, which I believed until I met her cousin, Francisco "Sonny" >> Silva, when I was in my teens. So I always thought that her mother was >> Portuguese and her father Irish until about 2 years ago when I joined >> ancestry.com and began doing a little research. >> >> I think that the first generation born in America just wanted to blend in >> and not call attention to the differences they had with "Americans." I found >> a first cousin on Ancestry who grew up in the same town with our >> grandparents and she told me a lot about the family that my mother never >> mentioned. I only met my grandparents once when I was 8 years old. I'm not >> really sure about my mother's relationship with her family, but I know it >> wasn't very close - unlike most Portuguese families. >> >> I'm really sorry she didn't feel the desire to share more about our heritage >> with me. I've been trying to share with my grown kids and grandchildren. >> They may not appreciate it now, but I hope they will later. >> >> Lorinda >> >> On Sat, Aug 11, 2012 at 2:16 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: >> Well written Cousin Sam. >> I sometimes think some of us from "this era" misunderstand the "drivers" >> that led our ancestors to success. They stopped at nothing. They were >> survivors ... would do whatever to give their children a better chance at a >> more prospective future. That is what I "read" in the various attempts to >> "Americanize" themselves (might be viewed as 'anglicized' in the current >> day). It was competition in its rawest sense ... your family (farm?) against >> the existing (old New England) farmer. You did (as a father or parent) to >> see that your children (born in the country that YOU as an immigrant chose) >> did whatever you perceived as advantageous to your children. >> >> In my opinion ... THAT is what drove our ancestors to do as they saw >> necessary in the remarkably competitive environment of those times. Would >> you do less for your children? ... try to think in their shoes. I admire >> their decisions as much as I regret the loss of heritage that such decisions >> entailed. >> >> I can recover that lost heritage through study. I could not recover from >> death of my immigrant ancestors or their children from poverty driven in >> part by a disgusting irreverence for the humans who came to US shores driven >> by hope. >> >> Best to you all. >> >> In a message dated 8/11/2012 3:49:52 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, >> [email protected] writes: >> I was born in 1946 and am the youngest of 6 children. Both my parents were >> Portuguese, 1st generation for one a 1st & 2nd for the other. My mom’s >> mother was an immigrant but; her father was born in the U.S. My parents >> spoke Portuguese to each other but; if one of us children came into the room >> they switched to English. They definitely wanted us to be known as >> Americans! Not Americans first, Americans period. My older siblings tell >> me they experienced prejudice even though there were many Portuguese >> descendents in our town in CA. I know neither of my grandmothers ever spoke >> to us about where they were from or their early life. My grandfathers were >> both dead before I was born. None of my family were striving for “upper >> crust” stations in life. They were quite happy to be successful farmers. I >> think prejudice against Portuguese people must have been very real for them >> but; it probably depended on where you lived and perhaps, your level of >> education as well. Just my two cents worth, Sam in CA >> >> >> >> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of >> Gayle Machado >> Sent: Saturday, August 11, 2012 10:50 AM >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Anglicization of names >> >> >> >> Len, >> >> >> >> My grandfather's first wife was Irish. Her family looked down on the >> Portuguese as the N(word)s of Europe.(Sorry, not a word I would use. ) As a >> result, he anglicized his name. His children from that marriage used >> Marshall. His wife died young. When he decided to remarry, my grandmother's >> family were not biased against his heritage (being Portuguese themselves) so >> his second family returned to the Machado surname. >> >> >> >> However, outside the family, my father would never acknowledge his heritage >> or the fact that he spoke Portuguese fluently. To my great disappointment, >> he refused to teach my sister or I saying this was the U. S. and English was >> the only language we needed. >> >> >> >> Gayle >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> 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." > > > -- > 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." Thank you, Frederick Souza 19 Owen Drive Stonington, CT 06378-1012 860-535-2670 [email protected] -- 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."
