Gomes from Flores and Martin from Pico; To Hawaii and California

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Cheri Mello

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May 27, 2019, 12:36:34 PM5/27/19
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Repost for Dixie Schafir,  dschafir at aol.com (which is the registered email to this list - the alternative that she provides does not type out the "at" so it is obscured by the Google Group List-serv).

I tried to change my Email address as I have a new one: it is dixiem...@gmail.com

My grandmother’s family name is Coelho:  They came from Flores. They owned Sulphur Springs in Hayward, CA. The women  used to do their laundry in the creek, and hang their clothes on the bushes to dry. 
They came around Cape Horn by sail, via Hawaii. 
I still have Portuguese relatives on Oahu. That is why so many of our people had Elephant Ears growing in their yards - they are poi plants.  I guess they came to CA that way because of the winds. 
Some of my relatives on Oahu owned Dutch Boy Paint for years, maybe still do. 

When they came to CA the debarked at Alviso landing and walked to what became Hayward.

My Grandfather’s family name is Martin and came from Pico around  Cape Horn. They landed in Yerba Buena, which became San Francisco. They found SF so lawless they migrated across the Bay to ranch. Their ranch is now part of Turtle Rock Ranch State Park over by Mt Diablo. They moved on when their house was destroyed in a earthquake. 
My grandfather Anthony Martin was Hayward’s blacksmith and wheelwright for years. His place of business was on A Street. His house was across the Street from All Saints. He was a extraordinarily strong, and like most Victorians skilled at many tasks. He put the copper dome on the Old Hayward Library (now demolished) He also took his blacksmith rig out to Crow Canyon when they were grading the road through there and changed out the Mule’s shoes. When pulling the graders the mules  would go through 2 pair of shoes a day. I once saw him change horseshoes on a horse when he was in his 70’s. He was unbelievably fast! 
Grandfather Martin was such a staunch supporter of the Church the Pope sent him a Certificate praising him and offering perpetual blessings. He once went back to Spain to fetch a new priest for the congregation. There was some sort of Civil War raging and hechad to roe in from the ship to get the priest. They had a rough time of it to keep from drowning.
He and the priest would go down to Santa Cruz and fish all day with Mr Stagnaro while the family would camp on the beach in front of what is now Penny Arcade. Grants would stand on the gunwhales, cigar clamped in his teeth, and fish all morning that way. 

Rosemarie Capodicci

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May 27, 2019, 1:59:51 PM5/27/19
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What a wonderful story! 

Rosemarie
Researching Sao Jorge, Terceira, Graciosa, Faial and Pico, Azores,
Isola delle Femmine, Sant' Elia, Sicily


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Sam (Camas, WA)

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May 27, 2019, 5:48:09 PM5/27/19
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Dixie; Have you done the FTDNA family finder test?  I am a Coelho though my line is from Santa Maria.  Very likely some of the branches went to Flores.  Do you have Rego, Figueiredo, Bairos in your lines?

 

Sam (Mazatlán, MX)

Sonia Pacheco

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May 28, 2019, 1:21:47 PM5/28/19
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Poi is made from taro 

Taro = inhames 

Inhames are native to the Azores, and there are actually a number of different varieties found in the islands. 

Whereas in Hawaii the traditional way to eat taro is to make a paste with it, in the Azores, inhames are usually boiled and salted and eaten that way (you can also fry slices of the boiled inhame until it's crispy on the outside).  I grew up eating inhames, and I loved poi, but didn't connect the two until a few years ago. 

From: azo...@googlegroups.com <azo...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Cheri Mello <gfsc...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, May 27, 2019 12:36 PM
To: Azores Genealogy
Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Gomes from Flores and Martin from Pico; To Hawaii and California
 
[EXTERNAL SENDER]

Dixie Schafir

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May 28, 2019, 3:21:11 PM5/28/19
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I don’t think I’m related to those families. I believe my family turned up on Flores very early, around 1498. 
Pirates raided Flores  years later I was told, and destroyed the records kept by the Catholic Church. 
I am related to the Silvers, the Souza family I believe, the Martins from Pico. Grandfather Martin would put on his ‘smoking jacket ‘ in the afternoon, have tea and a pipe of tobacco. He was 6’4” and the strongest man in Hayward in his youth. His wife was Louisa Coelho. 

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Pamela Hand

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May 29, 2019, 11:11:33 PM5/29/19
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Hi Dixie

Where on Flores Island does your grandmother Coelho come from? We have Coelho ancestors from Corvo Island and Ponta Delgada On Flores Island. 

My 2x great grandfather Antonio Jose de Fraga (1838-1914) was born in Ponta Delgada, Flores. His paternal grandmother was Rita Coelho (1758-1830 born Corvo. 
His maternal great grandfather was Jose Coelho Ramos also born Corvo. There were Coelho godparents at both his parents’ baptisms.

Just wondering if we have a connection. I have tested on FTDNA.

Thanks for your family stories. They give me an insight into early life in California as most of Antonio’s siblings settled in the Oakland area ofCalifornia.

Regards
Pam



Dixie Schafir

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May 29, 2019, 11:50:47 PM5/29/19
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My great Aunt Mary Silver,  who lived on B St in Hayward,  often took care of me when I was small. This would have been the forties. 

During the Great Depression many young men rode the rails through Hayward seeking work. They had her house marked with a hobo sign that told other out of work men she was a woman who would help them. When they stopped at her house she set up a little table in the back yard and fed them a meal. Some would help with chores, others went on their way. It did not matter, she was charitable to all. 
In that era crime was almost nil as Americans had not been corrupted by the media. 

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Dixie Schafir

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May 30, 2019, 12:11:31 PM5/30/19
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I cannot remember if I said this: It would have been my Grandmother Louisa Coelho's mother who came from  Flores, Azores. Their homestead is now part of Sulfur Springs State Park, Hayward. Her name was Anna Coelho. Beyond that, I don't know much about her as she died before I was born, by many decades.
What I do remember about the older ladies is this: When they let down their hair at night, it was so long! To the waist was common, but one of my relative's hair reached to just above the her ankles.They wore these long white nighties from neck to ankles, and with that thick, long hair down or in a braid, to my child's eyes, it was a wonder to behold.
When their husbands died, they wore black from that day on.
All of them loved John Phillip Souza's music, which they played on a wind up Victrola.

Cheri Mello

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May 30, 2019, 9:53:20 PM5/30/19
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Repost for Dixie Schafir,  dschafir at aol.com

It is likely we are related as Flores is a very small island. The population today is about 4000. 
My family came so long ago to CA and I was so young while they were living,  I wish I knew more. They were wonderful people. 
I used to have a child’s rosary made of orange coral my Grandmother  gave me, telling me the coral was from Flores.

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