Barbara Velha, a widow, an aged beggar, "...died with all the sacraments of the sainted church; she made no will for she had nothing; she was buried in the churchyard near the main door of this church..."
I've read that in the mid/late19th century, it was the custom that on one day of the week (Sundays, I think, but am not sure now) the poor of a parish would go from door to door collecting alms, and that it was the practice to give something if one could. The wealthier one was, the more obligated to give alms-- not forgetting the religious obligation as well. I don't know if this was the case earlier too, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a centuries old tradition. Anyway, my impression is that begging was sort of an informal socio-religious based welfare system. hope that helps, :) Linda On Tuesday, October 11, 2016 at 6:42:23 PM UTC-7, Maria wrote: > > LEFT side first name- BARBARA VELHA > > This is the second widowed woman in the same time frame where the priest > wrote "mendicante" which I think in (spanish) it's a beggar. Wow! That > very sad considering they had grown children. I can visualize them in rags > begging on the street and even though it was so long ago, it breaks my > heart to think they were left to beg when they were widowed. Maybe there's > a better translation for mendicante. Also, I couldn't figure out where she > was buried and wondered if someone could translate that about the burial(?) > please? Some municipal place. > > Thanks!! > > > > http://culturacores.azores.gov.pt/biblioteca_digital/SMA-VP-SANTOESPIRITO-O-1708-1733/SMA-VP-SANTOESPIRITO-O-1708-1733_item1/P11.html > > Maria Elena > -- 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 azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/azores.
