my pleasure! On Wednesday, October 12, 2016 at 7:46:55 PM UTC-7, Maria wrote: > > Yes that is so kind of you to share the information with me. > Thank you Linda. > Wow- that was tough living. It makes me think about the conditions of our > ancestors. We are so abundantly blessed today to have the necessities of > life and then some. I can't imagine how hard their lives were. > Sent from my iPhone > > On Oct 12, 2016, at 9:15 PM, linda <[email protected] <javascript:>> > wrote: > > Hi Maria Elena, > > Mendicant denotes begging, but, no, I don't think we can assume > homelessness. Nineteenth century travel writers to the Azores describe the > material poverty and the custom of begging, but I don't recall reading any > accounts of homeless elderly women. > > Ok, here's a quick summary of a description from one of the books I have: > Saturday was the customary day they made their rounds; the beggars the > author observed (on Sao Miguel) were all elderly impoverished women. He > says that "Mendicity [sic] is confined to the aged and infirm poor and to > the crippled and blind, for whom there is no legal provision. They are > therefore dependent on the charity of the wealthy, to whom they make a > weekly application and receive alms." "Their strength is to sit still; and > they will wait on a staircase or at a gate for more than an hour, in dismal > expectation of the smallest pittance." During the period when your Barbara > Velha lived, the monasteries and convents distributed surplus food to the > beggars as well as alms; later the religious houses were dissolved, and the > author (writing about 20 years afterwards, if I recall correctly) suggests > that added a bit more hardship to their lives. > > I recall reading an obito for a man in Cedros, Flores where the priest > wrote that the man's occupation was "a beggar and nothing more". His tone > struck me as exasperated, and now I wish I'd noted where exactly I saw it > because now I'd like to look at it again. > > hope that's useful for you, > > Linda > > > On Wednesday, October 12, 2016 at 4:43:07 AM UTC-7, Maria wrote: >> >> Linda, thank you for clarifying. Yeah, i saw those words, "that "she >> had nothing". I looked to see if it said that in the other obits but it >> didn't. And the priest used the word " VELHA" ( as in old? I wondered ) >> to punctuate her status. >> >> It saddens me that with grown children the mother would be homeless. >> Does mendicante also mean homeless (?) >> Maria Elena >> >> On Oct 11, 2016, at 10:34 PM, linda <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> 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 [email protected]. >> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/azores. >> >> -- > 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] <javascript:>. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/azores. > >
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