To those who are new to research or getting back to it after a hiatus..... This is basically a do-it-yourself research list. You ask questions and we try to give you answers or point you in the right direction.
Some good sites for you to bookmark: Azores GenWeb: http://goo.gl/ZBAC1y The "How To" from the Azores GenWeb: http://goo.gl/kCb7U2 The Maps from the Azores GenWeb: http://goo.gl/QO7l9D The Azores GenWeb is a big deal! Once you find your freguesia, you'll want to use the Centro de Conhecimento dos Azores site (CCA). They have scanned all the baptisms, marriages, and deaths and digitized them an uploaded them. The site is a little cumbersome to use, so you'll want to try the Maps section from the Azores GenWeb site or the Tombo.pt site to access the CCA records: http://goo.gl/L222ZV You'll be adding more links to specific sites for your island(s) as you go along. There are too many to list here. And yes, if you have found your freguesia (village) and you are researching in the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal, yes, the records will be in Portuguese. The television show, "Who Do You Think You Are?" and others don't make this part very clear. The producers contact the archives months (sometimes a year) in advance and work is done by various researchers. And if the celebrity does not read that language, a translator is paid by the show to translate the documents. Then they find another person to present the information to the celebrity. I think it was in the last episode with Melissa Ethridge where she was dealing with French records. The person presenting the information was from the University of Oklahoma or something! That person in that archives did NOT work for that archives, but had a specialty area in French records, so the show flew that archivist there to present that part to Melissa Ethridge. That archivist didn't do the research, and probably didn't do the translation either. Moral of the story: Unless you are on a TV show, don't expect your records to be handed to you on a silver platter. It's not going to happen. Just keep chugging along and ask questions, and we'll try to get you going! Cheri Mello Listowner, Azores-Gen Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada -- 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.
