If João da Câmara was found (i.e."foundling") in Bretanha and placed at birth with Madalna Arruda do Couto, then his baptisim should be recorded in Bretanha. It probably reads something like "João, exposto," which means a foundling, or "filho de pais incógnitos", which is different; it means the identity of his parents is unknown, "dado a criar a Madalena Arruda do Couto, mulher de Francisco Medeiros Grota." However, if he is a foundling abandonned to a convent in Ponta Delgada, and baptized there, you will have a very difficult time finding his baptism. Does his marriage record say wher he was born? If it says Bretanha, you are in luck. It fit says S, Jose, S, Pedro, S. Sebastião in Ponta Delgada you are looking for a João, placed with Madalena Arruda do Couto, wife of Francisco Medeiros Grota, of Bretanha, a needle in a haystack. That assumes he was not passed from one foster parent to another before settling in with Francisco and his wife. "da Câmara" in his case means he was a ward of the state, raised by foster parents. The story of some of these foundlings is heart breaking. Others were more lucky. I hope this helps. John Miranda Raposo
________________________________ From: Lee <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, September 9, 2012 8:47 AM Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Question regarding foundling children I was told that Joao da Camara, husband of Ana Joaquina de Souza; was foundling and was raised by Francisco Manuel da Grota and Madalena Arruda do Couto. My question; would Joao (born I'd say between 1820-1833 beause Ana was born 1833) have had a baptismal record? Would it be worth it for me to try and find it? Also, believe Ana died in 1882 per the note on the left side of her baptismal record - but not sure about that. Any help greatly appreciated. Lee................ -- 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."
