Ribeira Seca, Ribeira Grande: mid-1600s - Where does the family name Vieira come from?

[Carlos Melo]

Hi, 

Following a recent thread about Ribeira Seca, Ribeira Grande, I am writing to ask for your help with abandoned children´s records and how we can infer information from the Godparents. 

To find the origin of my mother´s family name Vieira, I traced her paternal grandfather's ancestors, all of whom from Ribeira Seca for centuries, until I reached Paulina Vieira who married Domingos Teixeira (son of Domingos Frois and Maria Gaspar) on September 18, 1688:

http://culturacores.azores.gov.pt/biblioteca_digital/SMG-RG-RIBEIRASECA-C-1667-1721/SMG-RG-RIBEIRASECA-C-1667-1721_item1/index.html?page=31

Marriage Godparents:

Captain Major Pedro da Ponte Bicudo Raposo and his son Anacleto de Sampaio and his sister Angela de Sampaio (Joao Moniz Carneiro's wife).

Although Paulina Vieira was abandoned at birth, I believe that I have found her baptism record because no other Paulina was born in Ribeira Seca in the previous 30 years and only one Paulina was born a couple of years later, but she'd be only 14 or 15 at the time of the marriage, so I strongly believe that this is the correct baptism record:

http://culturacores.azores.gov.pt/biblioteca_digital/SMG-RG-RIBEIRASECA-B-1664-1701/SMG-RG-RIBEIRASECA-B-1664-1701_item1/index.html?page=19

Her Godparents are Domingos da Silva Sousa & Maria Gomes (widowed...). 

Here are my questions:

(1) Could her baptism Godparents be her actual parents? They do not show up in her marriage record, though.

(2) Should I search for more information on he marriage Godparents?

(3) Her husband was baptised at home by a priest other than the priest of his parish:

http://culturacores.azores.gov.pt/biblioteca_digital/SMG-RG-RIBEIRASECA-B-1664-1701/SMG-RG-RIBEIRASECA-B-1664-1701_item1/index.html?page=9 

I cannot find his the marriage record of his parents, Domingos Frois and Maria Gaspar. I have only found a marriage between a Domingos Frois and a Maria Travassos on Abril 2, 1657, but I do not believe that they are the same people. 

Should I search records from nearby parishes as well?

Vieira is a common name, especially in Ribeira Seca, so I know that my work is cut out for me, but I would still like to try and find the origin of my family name, and by that I mean the family from mainland Portugal that introduced this family name to Ribeir Seca. So, here is my last question:

(4) Would an abandoned child just adopt a random family name? What were the customary naming practices for abandoned children. I'd expect her to have the family name Camara or Espírito Santo, not Vieira.

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks in advance for your help. 

Best regards,

Carlos 

[John JMR]

This is what I have:

https://culturacores.azores.gov.pt/biblioteca_digital/SMG-RG-RIBEIRASECA-C-1667-1721/SMG-RG-RIBEIRASECA-C-1667-1721_item1/index.html?page=31

Page 27 verso, SMG-RG-RIBEIRASECA-C-1667-1721/
Domingos Teixeira filho de Domingos Teixeira and Maria Gaspar, com Paulina Vieira filha de Pais Incognitos; Test- Capt Pedro da Ponte Bicudo Rapozo e seu filho Anecleto de Sampayo e madrinha Angela de Sampayo mulher de Joao Moniz Carneiro

------------------------------------------------------------------

JR

[Carlos Melo]

Thanks for the clarification, John. I read Frois instead of Teixeira because the priest used different abbreviations, but you must be right. 

Cheers,

Carlos

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[Cheri Mello]

Carlos,

1) Anything is possible, but her Godparents would have been known to the community and it's highly unlikely that they would present a baby to be baptized and lie about it. 

2) Catholic marriages don't have godparents (padrinhos). They have witnesses (testemunhas). I don't think researching them would be productive.

3) JR answered #3.

4) Paulina's baptism is in the first time period. These early records don't have a lot of information. But women in the first time period used surnames so your ancestor was Paulina Vieira. She probably has a middle, religious name, such as Espirito Santo, but it's not recorded in that time period. She may have been raised by a Vieira family (the records do not state anything) and so she adopted their surname. Yes, she could have adopted any surname she wanted to, but there was probably a Vieira family that raised her or were kind to her.

Cheri Mello
Listowner, Azores-Gen
Researching: São Miguel island: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada

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[Carlos Melo]

Dear Cheri,

Once again, thank you very much for your comprehensive answers to all my questions. 

I wonder how many newbies have you been helping over the years through this group.

Thank you so much!

Carlos

. 

[Cheri Mello]

You're quite welcome.

This group has been around for 20 years. And I helped on the America Online (AOL) Portuguese chat in the Genealogy Forum too in the 90s!

Cheri Mello
Listowner, Azores-Gen
Researching: São Miguel island: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/701858e2-086a-4e91-9d19-607183abc16bn%40googlegroups.com.