Eça de Queirós is a very funny writer, although he tackles serious subjects. I think he was way ahead of his time.
On Sat, Aug 9, 2014 at 12:58 PM, MaryAnn Santos <[email protected]> wrote: > The Relic is pretty funny! > > MaryAnn > > > On Sat, Aug 9, 2014 at 12:52 PM, nancy jean baptiste < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Thanks MaryAnn and Diane! I'm looking forward to reading his works. >> >> Nancy Jean >> >> ------------------------------ >> From: [email protected] >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: RE: [AZORES-Genealogy] Naming of Expostos >> Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2014 09:11:17 -0700 >> >> You might also try searching at http://books.google.com. They have links >> to sellers and a link to Worldcat to search for the books in libraries that >> might be near you. Google also tells you if eBooks are available. Some >> books have previews available. >> >> >> >> I suggest searching by the author’s name in this format "José Maria Eça >> de Queirós" (with the quotes). I seemed to get more results that way even >> for individual books. The results will include both English and Portuguese >> versions. >> >> >> >> Diane George >> >> >> >> *From:* [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] *On >> Behalf Of *MaryAnn Santos >> *Sent:* Saturday, August 09, 2014 7:02 AM >> *To:* [email protected] >> *Subject:* Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Naming of Expostos >> >> >> >> Yes, there are in English translations. Amazon has copies of *The Sin >> of Father Amaro* ranging in price from $6.50 to $2,423.64!! I think that >> must be a typo. >> >> >> >> An english translation of *The Maias *by Queiroz came out a few years >> ago and is another excellent read. I thoroughly enjoyed *The Relic, *too. >> I read it first in English and then in Portuguese. Although I think it's >> out of print now. Since I live in NYC I buy a lot of used books at Strand. >> They have great deals on hardcover new and used books (and paperbacks) and >> you can buy them online. Here's the link. >> >> >> >> http://www.strandbooks.com/ >> >> >> >> MaryAnn >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On Sat, Aug 9, 2014 at 9:37 AM, nancy jean baptiste < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >> MaryAnn, >> >> Are these books available in English? Do you know how many he has written? >> >> Thank you, >> Nancy >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> From: [email protected] >> Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2014 14:07:21 -0400 >> Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Naming of Expostos >> To: [email protected] >> >> Thank you, John. I had forgotten about Father Amara and as an aside, *The >> Sins of Father Amaro* is an excellent read - as are all of the Queiroz >> books I've read. >> >> >> >> MaryAnn >> >> >> >> >> >> On Fri, Aug 8, 2014 at 1:16 PM, 'John Raposo' via Azores Genealogy < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >> In my researching experience, I have noted the following: >> >> >> >> When people from the villages went to the convents in Ponta Delgada and >> Ribeira Grande to have foundling babies placed with them, there was not, >> necessarily, a connection between the foster parent and the baby. >> >> >> >> As for the villages, if an unmarried (or widowed) woman was pregnant, I >> think that in such small places where everybody knew everybody else, I >> doubt that the pregnancy could go unnoticed. And, the parish priest, who >> heard confessions at a time when people really worried about what would >> happen if they died in a state of mortal sin, must have known what his >> penitents were up to. I think that when a baby was left at somebody's door >> in a small village, everybody knew, or thought they knew, who the mother >> (and maybe the father) were. Sometimes these children might have been left >> at the doors of relatives, but they would have required a nursemaid, i.e.a >> woman with breast milk. >> >> >> >> As for names, again, there is no one answer. Babies who were placed with >> and stayed with the same family to adulthood (as opposed to being shipped >> out as servants from family to family) sometimes took the family name. >> Sometimes an "*exposto*" took a name, e.g. Bettencourt, with no apparent >> rime or reason. However, a closer look shows that the Bettencourts were a >> prominent family in the village and perhaps it was an open secret that this >> baby was the offspring of the squire's son (or daughter). >> >> >> >> Infant mortality for *expostos *was much higher than among non-*exposto >> *babies. >> The state paid a stipend for the first few months of life for babies placed >> with nursing foster-mothers. When the subsidy stopped, the infant mortality >> rate rose substantially. >> >> >> >> Eça de Queiroz touched on this subject in his novel *O Crime do Padre >> Amaro; *one of the characters made her living by taking in >> unwanted/illegitimate babies of the socially promminent and arranging for >> their deaths. Eloise Cadinha, a member of the List, sent me her notes on >> this subject, and with my thanks to Eloise, I am enclose them: >> >> >> >> >> >> Most of us as we research our ancestors will find an exposto or two. It >> is indeed miraculous that they were able to survive to adulthood, to marry >> and to have children. >> >> >> >> Expostos - a translation. A very sad situation. >> >> >> The following is my poor translation of part of an article written by >> Henrique Bras 1884-1984) in *Boletim de Instituto Histórico da ilha >> Terceira*, 1947. >> >> >> >> "In the last three centuries there is a long list of *filhos da igreja* >> (children of the church), also known at times as baptism records, of >> unknown fathers and mothers in the parish registers of Terceira, who were >> often baptized with the most noble or notable or the very rich people of >> Terceira who stood as godparents. At a more recent time the number of >> children secretly abandoned at the *rodas* (wheels) had greatly >> increased, and in spite of the many recently born innocents who died when >> abandoned, and of the few to whom the fear of discovery still did not keep >> them from strangling babies before they saw the light of day. Providing >> the support of these children who survived became on of the most difficult >> problems for the various city >> halls on the island, demanding a new special tax...which the people >> agreed was needed but not without grumbling and finding fault with the new >> tax. >> >> >> >> On April 29, 1800, the Conde de Almada, Captitão General of the Azores, >> in Angra, informed an official of the Royal Court that in the ten years the >> cathedral registered annually an average of 97 *expostos* baptized and >> also registered an average of 83 who had died! And this was only those >> *engeitados* (abandoned ones) who had arrived at the cathedral to be >> baptized, those that had been left in the *Casa da Roda*, and this >> record was only for Angra. >> >> >> >> The city council continued without resources to provide for these >> children and thought about creating a lottery for that purpose. >> >> >> >> It needs to be said: with a population of about 10 to 12 thousand people, >> there were yearly on an average 97 recently born abandoned children of >> unknown parents, legally registered and of which 83 of these died -- >> naturally by affectionate handling, sheltered and well wrapped care. >> >> >> >> [My note: the author mentions Carlota, a weaver of Angels, from the >> famous novel by Eça de Queiroz, . I asked a cousin if he knew of this >> novel, *O Crime do Padre Amaro, *and he said that he had read it >> long ago, and it was about a woman who got rid of unwanted infants. She >> killed them by wrapping them up and drowning them in the river. She was >> referred to as something like the "maker of angels." The idea being that >> she was creating angels by killing them.] >> >> >> >> On the October 20, 1782, the vicar of the diocese of Angra, Dr. João >> Vieira de Bettencourt, gave the rector of the cathedral, Pedro da Camara >> Merens, the commission to organize a private book to register the baptisms >> and deaths of these abandoned children. >> >> >> >> In the year of 1783 there were registered 120 baptisms and 81 deaths of >> expostos: >> >> >> In 1784, 94 baptisms, 73 deaths >> In 1785, 97 baptisms, 86 deaths >> In 1786, 94 baptisms, 105 deaths >> In 1787, 86 baptisms, 100 deaths >> In 1788, 100 baptisms >> In 1789, 95 baptisms >> >> >> There were no deaths recorded for the years 1788 and 1789 but were >> continued the following year. One can see that in 10 years the births and >> deaths of the foundlings was amazing. >> >> >> >> "Painful emotions squeeze the soul when one looks through the pages, tiny >> tragedies sown through this private book of the cathedral. The records >> indicate the names of the amas (wet-nurses) nominated by city hall for each >> *exposto*. They were single women, 'loose' women, married women and >> widows. >> >> >> >> In the *Casa da Roda*...in the city of Angra, there was the *rodeiro* >> (the man in charge of the wheel) and he had at least one assistant, in >> order to rescue quickly any of the new guests secretly left at the door in >> the silence of the night. The newly born was left there, shivering in the >> cold until the door providentially was opened. It was rare to announce a >> visit to the *Roda*, for fear of the discovery of the mother which was >> of great importance to the municipality, in order to avoid the expense of >> providing a wet-nurse for the child -- and so that justice also >> intervened. >> >> >> >> Sometimes a little one was carried there by a caring person saying he had >> found the abandoned child in some hidden place. Thus on 16 September 1782, >> Francisco da Silveira, gravedigger of Sao Pedro, Biscoitos, arrived at the >> *Roda* with a bundle. It was a baby girl who had been placed at the >> door of the home of the sexton of the church. She was soon baptized and >> given the name Delfina. This man delivered this baby to the *Roda* >> knowing that she would not cost the finder any money for finding the >> child. He also presumed that she would be cared for, but this child died >> and her death was not recorded in the church register. >> >> >> >> The *Casa da Roda* was next to the residence of the *pai dos* >> *engeitados* (the father of the abandoned ones) who was a councilman in >> the senate of the city hall, and who had the municipal duty to care for the >> *expostos*, and also the place elected by the municipality for the >> receiving of these abandoned ones. >> >> >> >> This councilman had a most distressful mission. The city did not have >> money for the number of abandoned children growing larger each year, and >> for the prompt payment for the wet-nurses, and for this and for other >> reasons, the milk from these women was not sufficient to fulfill the need >> for these babies. >> >> >> >> The *expostos* arrived at the Casa da *Roda* and there they waited two >> to fifteen days for a wet-nurse. The priest noted the baptism of the >> children in the register: baptized in the *Casa da Roda*, with the name >> of Francisco, found very young and had not been given a wet-nurse and he >> lasted a few days; Jose, baptized in the *Casa da Roda*, died without a >> wet-nurse; Manuel after being >> baptized died in the *Casa da Roda*. >> >> >> >> One particularly unhappy *exposto* to whom the godfather, Cosme de >> Mascarenhas, the bell ringer of the cathedral (this man throughout the >> years became godfather to nearly all the newly baptized *expostos*), >> gave the name Abraão (Abraham), and none of the wet-nurses wished to care >> for him the priest wrote in the record of baptism (20 March 1783, p19, book >> number 1). The bell >> ringer had discovered that the newly born child was Jewish and had given >> him a suitable name. These wet-nurses ... they refused to nurse this >> newborn heretic. Sixteen days passed, with Abraham suffering and in pain, >> until he finally died. >> >> >> >> These death records note the approximate age of the child. These >> unfortunate children said farewell to their miserable existence between >> three days and three months. Few of the *expostos* reached the age of 1 >> year and very few beyond one year. >> >> >> >> The author did not know if the position of the city official in charge of >> the wet-nurses was lucrative -- but he did know that it was truly an >> industry. The wet-nurses naturally came from the poorest sections of the >> city and outlying areas, but it was the city that provided most of the >> wet-nurses. At times it was not enough and the city had to go to the >> peasants in villages such as Sao Bartolomeu and Santa Barbara. It was an >> industry that had wet-nurses who could kill off these charges with hideous >> rapidity. The wet-nurses received three *expostos* each year, one >> following the other after the death of the one before. >> >> >> >> [The author listed three wet-nurses and the infants received. One >> of them in 1785 had 5 expostos. Inacio, April 5; Marilia, May 17; >> Violante, July 22; Antonio, Aug 20; Mateus, Sept 21.] >> >> >> >> This private book of the *expostos* from the cathedral made it easy to >> study them. In previous times it was extremely difficult to learn about >> them because there were no statistics. But whoever turns the first pages >> of this register of the cathedral rarely turns two pages. >> >> >> >> There were many reasons why children were abandoned by their mothers and >> fathers. Some of the reasons being: an illegitimate child, extreme poverty >> and too many mouths to feed, perhaps the death of the father, or just >> simply an unwanted child. >> >> >> >> One can research the smaller villages and not find a single exposto in >> the baptism records.. At least this has been my experience. In the larger >> towns and villages many expostos are found, certainly many abandoned from >> the smaller villages. In years of famine more children were left as >> foundlings. These abandoned children were left at churches, convents, and >> at the doors of many homes. >> >> >> >> Many children were left at convents. In many of the convents through >> Europe there was what was called the *Roda*, or the Wheel. It was a >> wheel that could spin from the outside of the building to the inside. >> Goods or other articles for the convent were left on the wheel, and usually >> there was some kind of a bell to let the nuns know that something had been >> left on the wheel. In time, desperate mothers and fathers left their >> children on the wheel. >> >> >> >> In reading some of the *exposto* baptism records in certain villages, >> the priest notes to which mother in the village the child was given. The >> child had to have a nursing mother, and usually one can check back and find >> that nursing mother in the record. And sometimes the priest noted where >> the child had been found. >> >> >> >> When an exposto (male) married he had already a surname or perhaps was >> given one at the time of the marriage. I wish I knew more about this. As >> for surnames of the *exposto*, they run the gamut from Azevedo to >> Xavier. As for the *exposta* (female) I don’t think she was ever given >> a surname, or at least I can’t remember seeing one on her marriage record >> or on the baptism records of her children. >> >> >> >> Many parents when abandoning their children believed it would only be for >> a certain period of time. When the child was left at the convent or at >> church or at the doorstep some clues were left so that the parents could >> later claim their child. Notes sometimes were left with the name of the >> child, or perhaps a certain type of clothing, or an embroidered blanket, >> some colored ribbons. These were the clues and apparently the church did >> keep a record of these possible identifiers. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> John Miranda Raposo >> >> >> >> On Friday, August 8, 2014 10:18 AM, Herb <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> >> I'm sure this topic has been discussed here before, but I don't recall >> seeing it. When an exposto was born and baptized and given to a family to >> be raised, did he take on the adopting family's names, or did he use his >> real parents names? Did the new parents always know who the real parents >> were? These were small villages and everybody basically knew everybody's >> business. It didn't take long for news to travel from one end of Mayberry >> to the other, right? Herb >> >> -- >> For 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." >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Azores Genealogy" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores. >> >> >> >> >> -- >> For 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. 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