Thank you John for this wonderful and informative article. I wish I had someone important enough to have such a rich history of their lives.
Call me green with envy Marilyn On Fri, Apr 28, 2017 at 9:43 AM, Margaret Vicente <[email protected] > wrote: > John, > > Wonderful article and so complete. I will take me a while to digest it. > > May I email you privately as you may have the answer for my question with > having all this background on the family? > > Thank you so much! > > Margaret > > > > > > On Fri, Apr 28, 2017 at 10:40 AM, 'John Raposo' via Azores Genealogy < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Margaret, >> >> This is from an article I wrote many years ago. >> >> Yankee Azoreans >> >> >> John Miranda Raposo >> >> >> This is not a work about the thousands of immigrants who have come to New >> England from the nine islands of the Azores. Rather, this work is primarily >> concerned with the descendants of Thomas Hickling, a Boston Yankee who >> settled on São Miguel and became the patriarch of a large clan on both >> sides of the Atlantic. >> >> Thomas Hickling was born in Boston on 21-2-1744 into the prosperous >> merchant family of William Hickling of Nottingham, England and Sarah >> Townsend Sale. At the age of eighteen, his father arranged an >> apprenticeship for him with the prosperous Green brothers and in 1764 he >> married their sister, Sarah Emily Green, fifteen years his senior, in >> Boston's old Trinity Church.[1] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn1> There >> is some speculation that it was a marriage of convenience, arranged either >> for social or economic reasons, or both. In any event Hickling fulfilled >> his marital duty becoming the father of two children by his first wife. >> Catherine Green Hickling was born in Salem in 1768 and William Green >> Hickling was born in 1765. Their father soon left his family and located to >> the Caribbean where he traded in molasses which he shipped back to his >> father's distillery in Boston.[2] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn2> He must >> have been an enterprising sort, for he perceived the commercial >> possibilities in the Azores because in 1769 be was living in Ponta Delgada. >> Thomas Hickling never returned to America and never lived anywhere else. >> >> He became one of the principal developers of the orange trade, the export >> of oranges to England, which became the basis for the colossal fortunes of >> many of São Miguel's socially prominent families and paid for the >> construction of many a *palácio*, those grand manor houses with their >> lovely English and French gardens still seen throughout the island. In 1820 >> Hickling exported nearly 5,700 crates or oranges and 2,000 crates of lemons >> from Ponta Delgada. But the firm of his sons-in-law Ivens & Burnett >> exported over 11,000 crates.[3] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn3> At the >> height of the *orange age *93% of the oranges produced in São Miguel >> were exported. But the Hicklings and many other "gentlemen farmers" >> were brought to financial ruin at the end of the century when the orange >> trade came to an end, victim of a blight that first attacked the orange >> groves in 1834, again in 1860 and finally destroyed the remaining groves at >> the end of the century. The financial ruin resulted in a reduced standard >> of living for these "gentlemen farmers", many of whom could no longer >> afford the upkeep on their lovely homes and gardens. Many can still be >> seen in the suburbs surrounding Ponta Delgada and Lagoa, their >> dilapidated state a silent witness to both the greatness and the misery of >> the age.[4] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn4> >> >> News traveled slowly and it must have been months before Hickling learned >> that Sarah Green, the wife he had last seen twelve years earlier, had died >> in Boston in May of 1774. He could not have mourned her death very much for >> not long after, in February 1778, the young widower married Suzanne >> Sarah Falder of Philadelphia, fifteen years his junior. It must have been >> love at first sight since the young Sarah just happened to be passing >> through Ponta Delgada in the company of her father, Thomas Falder. Between >> the time of their marriage and 1808 they produced 16 children, all born in >> São Miguel, including two sets of twins.[5] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn5> Thus, >> came into being the first generation of Yankee Azoreans. >> >> Throughout his lifetime on São Miguel, the Protestant Hickling was very >> ecumenical; whenever a Protestant minister was unavailable at the frequent >> arrivals of new Hicklings, he had them baptized in the Catholic Church. >> [6] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn6> >> >> In 1776 Thomas Hickling was appointed American Vice Consul in Ponta >> Delgada, a post he held until his death some fifty years later. Hickling >> became socially prominent and popular for his sincerity and friendliness. >> His diplomatic and social positions on the island made him a natural good >> will ambassador who often received and entertained visiting foreigners. >> Over the years his business ventures made him a fabulously wealthy man and >> he built three magnificent estates on the island. In 1792 he was living on >> *Rua >> da Misericórdia*. His first manor house with a curved northern side and >> curved outer steps leading to what must have been a magnificent lawn, was >> built in Rosto do Cão in the parish of São Roque on the outskirts of Ponta >> Delgada.[7] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn7> In >> 1812 he began building the *Palácio de São Pedro*. Built in the Georgian >> colonial style, it cost Hickling nearly $30,000.00, a huge fortune at the >> time and it was considered the grandest private residence on the island >> well into the second half of the 19th century.[8] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn8> It >> still stands today at the water's edge in the eastern end of Ponta Delgada >> as the Hotel São Pedro, the *grand dame* of hotels, lovingly preserved >> and filled with period furniture, by its late proprietor, Vasco Bensaúde. >> >> But it is Hickling’s *Terra Nostra* park and botanical gardens in Furnas >> that stands as a perpetual monument to his memory. Hickling chose the >> Furnas valley to build his summer home in 1782, which he appropriately >> named *Yankee Hall*. Furnas is blessed with thermal springs of warm >> water and Hickling built his home on high land facing *o* *Tanque*, a >> natural pool fed by these warm springs. All around the house Hickling began >> developing what eventually became a magnificent botanical garden, planting >> many specimens from America and from other lands where he maintained >> commercial interests. For the rest of his life, Hickling divided his time >> among his three estates. >> >> Thomas Hickling died in Ponta Delgada on 31 August 1836 and lies buried >> in the protestant Cemetery. He was succeeded as vice-consul by his son >> Thomas, Jr. (1781-1875). Sarah Falder died in 1849 and was buried beside >> her husband. >> >> In 1848, with the financial crisis caused by the first attack of blight >> to the orange groves, *Yankee Hall* and the gardens were sold to the >> Marquês da Praia who restored and expanded Hickling’s masterpiece.[9] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn9> So >> grand an estate did it become, that his descendant put the house and estate >> at the disposal of the King and Queen during their visit to the island in >> 1901. >> >> In 1970 the island's government formally recognized Thomas Hickling’s >> place in Azorean history and horticulture by erecting a monument to his >> memory close by the entrance of his beloved *Yankee Hall*. >> >> >> >> The Azorean Hicklings: the descendants of Thomas Hickling >> >> >> *§1* >> >> >> 1 - Thomas Hickling was born in Boston on 21-2-1744 to William Hicking >> and Sarah >> Sale. He was married in Boston on 22-8-1764 to Sarah Emily Green, >> daughter of >> Rufus King and Katherine Stanbridge, who died in 1774. In February >> 1778 in Ponta >> Delgada, he married Sarah Falder, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth >> Falder. He was >> Vice Consul of the United States in Ponta Delgada from his >> appointment in 1776 until >> his death on 1 Sept 1834. Sarah Falder died in Ponta Delgada in >> 1849.[10] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn10> >> >> By his first wife he had: >> >> 2 - Catherine Green Hickling (1768-1852) , visited her father and >> his estates in São >> Miguel from 1786 to 1788 and it is from her diaries, portions >> of which were >> published in *Insulana*[11] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn11> that >> we know about her father's activities and his projects >> as well as what the island's gardens looked like in 1786. She >> married William >> Prescott and they became the parents of several children, >> three of whom survived >> infancy. Among them was the celebrated author and historian >> William Hickling >> Prescott (1796-1859) who visited with his grandfather in 1815. >> [12] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn12> >> >> 2 - William Hickling was born in Boston on 14 June 1765. He >> died in 1794. >> >> Thomas Hickling and his second wife Sarah Falder were the >> parents of[13] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn13>: >> >> 2 - Mary Hickling (c. 1778-1805) married John Anglin of County >> Cork. After her >> death, John Anglin married his sister-in-law Ana Joaquina. >> >> 2 - Elizabeth Flora Hickling (1783-1832) married William >> Breakspeare Ivens, an >> armigerous English gentleman, in 1805, who was in the >> Azores with his friend >> William Shelton Burnett on a business venture. George III >> granted him a coat of >> arms in 1816. Both men fell in love with Hickling sisters. >> By the time he died >> in 1851, the orange blight and a financial scandal left >> him and his family in >> financial ruin.[14] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn14> >> >> They were the parents of eight children, among them: >> >> 3 - Robert Breakspeare Ivens was born in Ponta Delgada on >> 9 Mar 1822 and >> died in Lisbon on 20 Feb 1889. He was married to >> Luisa Soares Borralho by >> whom he had two children. >> >> By Margarida Júlia de Medeiros Castelo Branco, born >> in Água de Pau in >> 1832 to José Jacinto Raposo do Rego Castelo Branco >> and his wife Ana >> Jacinta Matilde, he had two illegitimate children: >> [15] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn15> >> >> 4 - Roberto Ivens was born in Ponta Delgada on 12 >> June 1850 and died in >> Lisbon on 28 Jan 1898. He was a famous >> geographer and explorer of the >> African continent. The expedition to the >> African continent by Ivens and >> Brito Capelo, ranks with the exploration of the >> Louisiana Purchase by the >> Americans Lewis and Clark. A monument to his >> memory stands in Ponta >> Delgada near the Esperança Convent. >> >> 4 - Duarte Ivens was born in Ponta Delgada on 31 Aug >> 1852. >> >> 2 - Sarah Clarissa Hickling (1783-1849) married her >> brother-in-law's friend, >> William Shelton Burnett. >> >> 2 - Ana Joaquina Hickling (1785-1824) and John Anglin have >> descendants in the >> United States as well as in the Azores. A grandson, Dr. >> João Hickling Anglin, >> was the rector of the local lyceum and was a respected >> researcher who published >> many scholarly works. >> >> 2 - Charlotte Sophia Hickling (1787-1877) married Jacinto Soares >> de Albergaria. >> >> 2 - Frances Hickling (1789-1867) married Joaquim António de >> Paula Medeiros, a >> local physician. They have many descendants in São Miguel, >> some of whom >> have married into the local nobility. >> >> 2 - Frederick Hickling was born on 1 Oct 1791 and died in August >> 1794. >> >> 2 - Harriet Frederica Hickling (1793-1853) married John White >> Webster, a Harvard >> professor. He met Harriet while doing some research on the >> geological formation >> of the island.[16] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn16> The >> salary of a Harvard professor was more an honorarium in >> those days, than a decent salary. Harriet aspired to social >> prominence and >> entertained lavishly at their Cambridge, Massachusetts >> home, spending well >> beyond her means. Professor Webster went into debt to >> support his wife's >> lifestyle. One of his creditors, Professor George Parkman, >> pressed Webster for >> repayment and threatened to take legal action which would >> have ruined Webster. >> Professor Webster murdered Parkman and dismembered and >> incinerated the >> body. Nevertheless he was discovered, tried, condemned and >> was hanged in >> August 1850. *Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. John White >> Webster*, became >> one of the most famous cases in American jurisprudence >> because of the missing >> * corpus delicti*.[17] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn17> >> >> Two of their daughters went on to marry Dabneys from Faial, >> another Yankee >> family established in the Azores. Harriet Wainright Webster >> married Samuel >> Wyllys Dabney, who was United States Consul in Horta.[18] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn18> The >> Consulship of >> Horta passed on to succeeding Dabney generations, as did >> the Vice-consulship of >> Ponta Delgada to succeeding Hickling generations. The >> Dabneys resigned their >> consulship in 1891 when a new State Department rule >> prohibited consular >> officials from engaging in commercial enterprises in their >> posts. Wyllys and his >> family returned to the United States and established Fayal >> Ranch in California.[19] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn19> >> >> 2 - Samuel Hickling (1795-1799). >> >> 2 - Amelia Clementina Hickling (1796-1872) married Hugh Chambers >> in 1822 and >> settled with her husband in New Bedford where he died in >> 1823. She was >> pregnant and returned to the Azores where her daughter >> Emmeline was born in >> 1823. Amelia then married Thomas Nye in New Bedford in 1827 >> and had several >> more children. >> >> 3 - Emmeline married Edward Coffin Jones of Nantucket >> in 1844 and they >> lived in the magnificent Rotch-Jones-Duff >> mansion, today a house and >> garden museum open to the public in New Bedford. >> >> 2 - Mary Anne Hickling (1800-1888) married her brother-in-law, >> William Ivens, in >> 1833 in the Protestant Chapel in Ponta Delgada. They had >> several children. One >> daughter, Catherine (1836-1933) married Ricardo Júlio >> Ferraz and they are the >> ancestors of a very numerous Ivens-Ferraz family, including >> Generals, Admirals, >> Finance Ministers and a Prime Minister of Portugal.[20] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftn20> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Senator John Forbes Kerry: the Hickling Connection >> >> Edward Coffin Jones and Emmeline Hickling Chambers were the parents of >> Sarah Coffin Jones (1852-1891) who married John Malcolm Forbes (1874-1904), >> a railroad company executive and a great-grandson of the Reverend John >> Forbes (1740-1783) and Dorothy Murray. They had several children. After >> Sarah’s death, John Malcolm Forbes married Emmeline’s cousin Rose Dabney >> (1864-1947) and they had three children. Rose Dabney was the granddaughter >> of Harriet Frederica Hickling and the ill fated Professor John White >> Webster. >> >> Senator John Forbes Kerry (1943- ) is the son of Richard Kerry and >> Rosemary Forbes, maternal grandson of James Grant Forbes (1879-1955), >> and great grandson of Francis Blackwell Forbes (1839-1908). Francis >> Blackwell Forbes is also a great-grandson of the Reverend John Forbes and >> his wife Dorothy. Thus, Thomas Hickling’s descendants by his great >> granddaughters Rose Dabney and Sarah Coffin Jones, and the descendants of >> Francis Blackwell Forbes and his wife Isabel Clark, are cousins. Former >> presidential candidate Senator John Forbes Kerry, like his Hickling >> cousins, is a great-grandson of Francis Blackwell Forbes. >> >> If there is an after life, Thomas Hickling must have an enormous grin on >> his patrician face. >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> [1] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref1> >> José Manuel Bela Morais, “Descendants of Thomas Hickling”, MS, Lisbon, n.d. >> >> [2] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref2> >> Isabel Soares de Albergaria, *Quintas, Jardins e Parques da Ilha de São >> Miguel*, Lisbon, Queluz Editores: >> 2000. >> [3] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref3>Sacuntala >> de Miranda, *O Ciclo da Laranja e os *gentlemen farmers* da Ilha de S. >> Miguel: 1780-1880, *Ponta Delgada: Instituto Cultural de Ponta Delgada: >> 1989. >> [4] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref4>Sacuntala >> de Miranda. >> [5] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref5> >> Francis >> Millet Rogers, “Boston Brahmins in the Azores” *Atlantic Islanders of >> the Azores and Madeiras*, >> North Quincy: The Christopher Publishing House: 1979. >> [6] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref6> >> Bela Morais,“Descendants of Thomas Hickling”. >> [7] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref7> >> Francis Millet Rogers, “Boston Brahmins in the Azores” *Atlantic >> Islanders of the Azores and Madeiras*, >> [8] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref8> >> Bela Morais,“Descendants of Thomas Hickling”. >> [9] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref9> >> Isabel Soares de Albergaria. >> [10] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref10> >> José Manuel Bela Morais, “Descendants of Thomas Hickling”, MS, Lisbon, n.d. >> Francis Millet Rogers, “Boston Brahmins in the Azores” *Atlantic >> Islanders of the Azores and Madeiras*, >> North Quincy: The Christopher Publishing House: 1979. >> [11] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref11> >> Catherine Green Hickling, *Diário: 1786-1789* in *Insulana*, Ponta >> Delgada, Instituto Cultural de Ponta >> Delgada: 1993. >> >> [12] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref12>Author >> of *The Conquest of Mexico*, *The World of the Aztecs*, *The World of >> the Incas*, *History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, the >> Catholic*, *The Conquest of Peru*, *The Rise and decline of the Spanish >> Empire*. >> [13] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref13>These >> are the children which this author has been able to document. >> [14] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref14> >> José Manuel Bela Morais, et al, *Ivens Ferraz: Origens e sua >> Descendência*, Lisbon: 1999. >> [15] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref15>Francisco >> de Simas Alves de Azevedo, in *Centenário: Hermengildo Capelo e Roberto >> Ivens, Conferências e Comunicações. *Comissão das Comemorações do >> Primeiro Centenário da Travessa da África por Hermengildo Capelo e Roberto >> Ivens, Academia Portuguesa da História. Lisbon: 19-6-1985. >> Carlos Maria Machado, *Genealogias**, *MS, Biblioteca e Arquivo Regional >> de Ponta Delgada, n.d. >> >> [16] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref16>John >> White Webster, *A description of the island of St. Michael, comprising >> an account of its geological structure. *Boston: 1821. >> [17] >> <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref17>Helen >> Thomson, *Murder at Harvard*, Boston, Houghton Miffin: 1971. >> Robert Sullivan, *The Disappearance of Dr. Parkman*, Little, Brown, >> Boston: 1971. >> [18] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref18> >> He was the son of the second consul, Charles William Dabney and grandson of >> the first consul, John Bass >> Dabney. (see Joseph C. Abdo, "The Dabney Family of Faial" and >> Francis Millet Rogers, “Boston >> Brahmins in the Azores”) >> [19] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref19> >> Bela Morais, “Descendants of Thomas Hickling”. >> [20] <https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=8hm7pjej0es4g#_ftnref20> >> *Ibid.* >> >> >> On Friday, April 28, 2017 9:18 AM, Margaret Vicente < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> Hello, >> >> Does anyone in the list have a complete list (including deceased >> children) of the well known - Thomas Hickling and of his 2nd wife Sarah >> Faldes? who lived and died in Ponta Delgada, island of S. Miguel? >> >> Mr. Hickling was from Boston, USA. His 2nd wife was from Philadelphia. >> Because they were not Catholics their marriage is not in the Church >> records. Hoping some savvy research may be able to help. >> >> I'm also looking for a correct timeline of when his first wife died in >> Boston. Trying to reconcile the the two marriages. >> >> Thank you. >> >> -- >> Margaret M Vicente >> -- >> 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]. >> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/azores. >> > > > > -- > Margaret M Vicente > > -- > 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]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/azores.
