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> On Apr 28, 2017, at 7:40 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] > 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] 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] > 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] > > 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] 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] > > 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] > 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] 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] 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] > > 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] 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] > > 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]: > > 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] > > 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] > > 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] 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] > > 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] 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] > > 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] > > > > > > > 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] José Manuel Bela Morais, “Descendants of Thomas Hickling”, MS, Lisbon, > n.d. > > [2] Isabel Soares de Albergaria, Quintas, Jardins e Parques da Ilha de São > Miguel, Lisbon, Queluz Editores: > 2000. > [3]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]Sacuntala de Miranda. > [5] Francis Millet Rogers, “Boston Brahmins in the Azores” Atlantic > Islanders of the Azores and Madeiras, > North Quincy: The Christopher Publishing House: 1979. > [6] Bela Morais,“Descendants of Thomas Hickling”. > [7] Francis Millet Rogers, “Boston Brahmins in the Azores” Atlantic > Islanders of the Azores and Madeiras, > [8] Bela Morais,“Descendants of Thomas Hickling”. > [9] Isabel Soares de Albergaria. > [10] 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] Catherine Green Hickling, Diário: 1786-1789 in Insulana, Ponta Delgada, > Instituto Cultural de Ponta > Delgada: 1993. > > [12]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]These are the children which this author has been able to document. > [14] José Manuel Bela Morais, et al, Ivens Ferraz: Origens e sua > Descendência, Lisbon: 1999. > [15]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]John White Webster, A description of the island of St. Michael, > comprising an account of its geological structure. Boston: 1821. > [17]Helen Thomson, Murder at Harvard, Boston, Houghton Miffin: 1971. > Robert Sullivan, The Disappearance of Dr. Parkman, Little, Brown, Boston: > 1971. > [18] 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] Bela Morais, “Descendants of Thomas Hickling”. > [20] 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. -- 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.
