What an amazing story John….as sad as it is, it is a treasure to know this piece of history of your family!
Susan > On Oct 17, 2016, at 2:26 PM, 'John Raposo' via Azores Genealogy > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Let me give you the true story of my maternal grandfather. Both he and my > grandmother had emigrated to Fall River. They were single, did not know each > other and came separately, to work in the cotton mills in Fall River. They > ended up meeting in the mill where they worked and married in Fall River in > 1910. They had 4 children and lived in a 3rd floor cold water flat. After > World War I my grandfather became ill and began wasting away. The doctors did > not know what was the matter with him but suggested that he could regain his > health if they returned to Bretanha. My grandfather was all for it but my > grandmother dreaded the idea. She knew that despite the small fortune (by the > standards of the island) they had saved and would be taking back, life back > on the island would be much more difficult than life in the cold water flat. > At least they had cold running water, a coal burning stove and an indoor > toilet not to mention paying jobs in the mills. Nevertheless my grandmother > returned with my grandfather. The doctors were right; my grandfather’s health > was restored. > > So far so good. Several of my uncle’s maternal uncles had gone to Brazil and > became vastly wealthy. (I have verified this; they were very rich!) One of > them died unmarried and intestate. My peasant grandfather had it in his head > that since the uncle had no children, his nieces and nephews were his heirs. > (In reality, in Portugal, Brazil and Massachusetts, an unmarried man without > issue’s estate would pass to his parents, if still living, then to his > siblings, and only if he had no living siblings would the nieces and nephews > inherit. Of course my illiterate grandfather was not about to pay a lawyer to > advise him.) So, in 1927 grandpa mortgaged everything he owned to finance his > Brazilian ventures to claim his fortune. And off he went to Fortaleza, > leaving my grandmother with 6 children. Once he got to Brazil his uncles read > him the law: he was not an heir; they were. My grandfather became paranoid > and imagined a grand conspiracy that included his uncles hiring hit men to > kill him. He ended up in a psychiatric hospital. Being illiterate there were > no letters back home to explain the situation. There were rumors that he had > died, that he had taken up with a mistress and had a new family, that he was > living the life of a rich man. My grandmother was the sole support for > herself and her children. The mortgage holders were kind: they knew there was > no money to squeezed out of my grandmother. My grandmother never believed > that her husband had abandoned her or started a new family. In fact my > grandfather died in the psychiatric hospital in 1943. The Red Cross was only > able to provide that information to the family in 1958. His land and house > were sold and half the proceeds went to liquidate his debts and reclaim the > family honor. Sic transit gloria mundi (And so ends earthly glory). > > John Miranda Raposo > > > > On Monday, October 17, 2016 4:21 PM, Cheri Mello <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I'm starting the topic of lost husbands in its own thread since Paul's topic > was different. However, when Margaret brought the following up, I had > questions. > > Margaret said: > <<They are all saying the same thing i.e. husband was away, not missing. The > number of years gives the reader an insight at this lady's situation. > Unfortunately this happened to many women on the islands with immigrated > husbands. Some waited for many years, others didn't. Does this answer your > question?>> > > I would say it's a fairly safe bet for the man to leave. Why did he leave? > Some of my thoughts would be he left to try to make a better life. One would > like to think that he went somewhere with the intent of making money to send > back for his wife and children, (assuming he had children already). Suppose > he was not successful in making enough money. He's in a new county and she's > back in the Azores. It must be very difficult for her, and more so if she had > children. > > Suppose the husband and wife decided that they could not stand each other. > I'm sure very few got divorced back then. He could leave and start up a new > family in a new country and no one would know. > > From the couple of ideas I thought of above, the husband could start over and > no one would know. He could have a second family! But everyone in the > freguesia knew if she had a 2nd family! > > Does anyone have historical insight as to these situations? > Cheri Mello > Listowner, Azores-Gen > Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, > Achada > -- > 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] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/azores > <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] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/azores > <https://groups.google.com/group/azores>. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. 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