Catholic or Jewish Roots?

[lori pacheco]

This question keeps coming up for me so I want to ask it here. Does
anyone know whether the roots of their azorean ancestors were Jewish
(Sephardic)? I was baptised Catholic;.however, this subject has
intrigued me for a while and I cannot find much informatioon on it. I
would love any feedback from you

[Elaine Sharp]

Lisa,

Just go to the Archives of this list and search Sephardic Jews and I think
it will answer your questions. Also, google Azores Sephardic Jews. I
believe there are many of us on this list who are also Catholic and more
than likely have Sephardic Jewish ancestry somewhere. Proving it is another
matter. A good book is The Cross and the Pear Tree - A Sephardic Journey by
Victor Perera (this is the correct spelling - no i). Although some people,
I think question some of his writings, it is a good start.

Hope this helps.

[Ema...@aol.com]

Many do criticize  this book-.  I remember years ago on the old Azores List  there was much discussion about The Cross and the Pear Tree.  The Jews, who when forced to convert, did not choose name of fruits and flowers etc  as noted in the Pear Tree.   They choose names that were most common.  The Jews wanted to blend in with their Catholic  neighbors.  They did not want to stick out as sore thumbs as many continued secretly with their Jewish beliefs..  They had enough problems to begin with as Jews. 

 

Portugal was and is a small country.  The truth is that this being so, we Portuguese all have Jewish blood. (not necessarily those who within recent years immigrated to Portugal or the Azores)

 

It is a pity that the priests did not note - a Jewish convert - in the register for our genealogy purposes.  It was not done...a Catholic was a Catholic.  In some registers a priest might note - negro, mulato - but they were Catholics. 

 

For those interested in reading more about converted Jews,...

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/search

 

In Keywords type: Jewish converts in Portugal

[Lionel Holmes]

Good point, Eloise.

Lionel

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[Cheri Mello]

I think the DNA studies say about 20% of the Portuguese population has Jewish blood (I'd have to find the studies).  Those are scientific studies.  Our DNA study fluctuates between 12 - 20% Jewish.  Currently we have 20.6% in a Jewish haplogroup.


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

[janet laytham]

I am also interested. When I was in the Azores a genealogist told me that the names Pimental and Branco were probably names of Sephardic origin.

[onemst]

There was a Portuguese play write, one Antonio Jose de Silva, who wrote "A Vida do Grande Dom Quixote", who was burned at the stake in 1737, becuse he was thaught to be a practicing Jew. His family had converted to Judaism. I got this from The Historical Research Center. Barbara T. --- On Mon, 2/14/11, lori pacheco <loretta...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[lori pacheco]

Thank you Lisa. I looked up Pacheco (my grandfather) and Perreira (my
grandmother's) name and both were on the list. Too many Jewish customs
are very familar if you know what I mean.? so I am doing this
research.

[nancy jean baptiste]

I had been intrigued with the dna studies as well as possible jewish connection through my de Castro Cardosa line...my paternal grandmother from Pico. I don't know what the jewish haplotype is but my grandmother was a U5.....from the hinterlands of Finland and the Sami people....I have her line back in Candelaria to the early 1600's....I guess no jewish there although that line certainly practiced cousin marriage! I do like building my genealogical DNA library...I have 3 lines now and hope to add another soon!
 
Nancy Jean
Pico, Furtado, Cardosa, de Castro, Silva
Sao Jorge, de Lemos, de Sousa Pereira, Texeira Baptista, da Silveira, Viterino Bettencourt, Viera, Oliveira
Santa Maria, Cabral, Moreira, Travassos 
 

---

From: gfsc...@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:11:28 -0800
Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Catholic or Jewish Roots?
To: azo...@googlegroups.com

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[John Raposo]

I have written on this subject many times. It continues to be a very controversial subject. The estimates of the percentage of Jews in the Azorean population is greatly exaggerated in both the low and the high side. I have only one proved set of Jewish ancestors: Francisco Fernandes, o Castelhano foi escudeiro e era natural de Sevilha, sendo o seu nome todo Francisco Fernandes Pincho, segundo o genealogista Agostinho de Barros Lobo. Veio por 1500 e tantos para esta ilha de S. Miguel, onde fez testamento com sua mulher a 9.7.1544, sendo morador em S. Pedro de Ponta Delgada; foram sepultados na igreja da mesma freguesia junto ao cruzeiro (Nota N.º 1). Frutuoso cita-o algumas vezes como se pode ver no início do Liv.º IV das Saudades da Terra. Casou com Maria Fernandes, que, segundo se diz, foi sambanitada em Sevilha pelo que deve ser por ela que se transmitiu a ascendência de cristãos novos aos seus descendentes, entre eles, Gaspar Dias e os filhos de António Mendes Pereira.   I recommend the following two works: Braga, Paul Drumond, A Inquisição nos Açores, Instituto Cultural de Ponta Delgada, Ponta Delgada: 1997, which is the most comprehensive research on the Jewish presence in the Azores. The other is: Almeida Mello, José, Sinagoga Sahar Hassamain de Ponta Delgada, Nova Gráfica, Ponta Delgada: 2009, about the presence of modern Jewry in the Azores, the Moroccan serphadim that arrived in the 18th century. Their synagogue in Ponta Delgada is being restored. The synagogue in  Newport, RI was built in the same style.

--- On Mon, 2/14/11, lori pacheco <loretta...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: lori pacheco <loretta...@gmail.com> Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Catholic or Jewish Roots? To: "Azores Genealogy" <azo...@googlegroups.com>

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[lori pacheco]

Thank you John. How do i make contact with these two works you
mention? are they book articles or websites? Again, thank you

On Feb 16, 6:15 pm, John Raposo <marra...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I have written on this subject many times. It continues to be a very controversial subject. The estimates of the percentage of Jews in the Azorean population is greatly exaggerated in both the low and the high side. I have only one proved set of Jewish ancestors:
> Francisco Fernandes, o Castelhano foi escudeiro e era natural de Sevilha, sendo o seu nome todo Francisco Fernandes Pincho, segundo o genealogista Agostinho de Barros Lobo. Veio por 1500 e tantos para esta ilha de S. Miguel, onde fez testamento com sua mulher a 9.7.1544, sendo morador em S. Pedro de Ponta Delgada; foram sepultados na igreja da mesma freguesia junto ao cruzeiro (Nota N.º 1). Frutuoso cita-o algumas vezes como se pode ver no início do Liv.º IV das Saudades da Terra. Casou com Maria Fernandes, que, segundo se diz, foi sambanitada em Sevilha pelo que deve ser por ela que se transmitiu a ascendência de cristãos novos aos seus descendentes, entre eles, Gaspar Dias e os filhos de António Mendes Pereira.
>  
> I recommend the following two works: Braga, Paul Drumond, A Inquisição nos Açores, Instituto Cultural de Ponta Delgada, Ponta Delgada: 1997, which is the most comprehensive research on the Jewish presence in the Azores. The other is: Almeida Mello, José, Sinagoga Sahar Hassamain de Ponta Delgada, Nova Gráfica, Ponta Delgada: 2009, about the presence of modern Jewry in the Azores, the Moroccan serphadim that arrived in the 18th century. Their synagogue in Ponta Delgada is being restored. The synagogue in  Newport, RI was built in the same style.

> --- On Mon, 2/14/11, lori pacheco <lorettajwri...@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> From: lori pacheco <lorettajwri...@gmail.com>
> Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Catholic or Jewish Roots?
> To: "Azores Genealogy" <azo...@googlegroups.com>
> Date: Monday, February 14, 2011, 5:43 PM
>
> This question keeps coming up for me so I want to ask it here. Does
> anyone know whether the roots of their azorean ancestors were Jewish
> (Sephardic)?  I was baptised Catholic;.however, this subject has
> intrigued me for a while and I cannot find much informatioon on it. I
> would love any feedback from you
>
> --

> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to Azores+un...@googlegroups.com.  Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive.
> For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."

[John Raposo]

You might be able to buy one or both from Livraria Gil in Ponta Delgada which you can find on the internet.

--- On Thu, 2/17/11, lori pacheco <loretta...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: lori pacheco <loretta...@gmail.com> Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: Catholic or Jewish Roots? To: "Azores Genealogy" <azo...@googlegroups.com> Date: Thursday, February 17, 2011, 3:17 PM

Thank you John. How do i make contact with these two works you mention? are they book articles or websites? Again, thank you On Feb 16, 6:15 pm, John Raposo <marra...@yahoo.com> wrote: > I have written on this subject many times. It continues to be a very controversial subject. The estimates of the percentage of Jews in the Azorean population is greatly exaggerated in both the low and the high side. I have only one proved set of Jewish ancestors: > Francisco Fernandes, o Castelhano foi escudeiro e era natural de Sevilha, sendo o seu nome todo Francisco Fernandes Pincho, segundo o genealogista Agostinho de Barros Lobo. Veio por 1500 e tantos para esta ilha de S. Miguel, onde fez testamento com sua mulher a 9.7.1544, sendo morador em S. Pedro de Ponta Delgada; foram sepultados na igreja da mesma freguesia junto ao cruzeiro (Nota N.º 1). Frutuoso cita-o algumas vezes como se pode ver no início do Liv.º IV das Saudades da Terra. Casou com Maria Fernandes, que, segundo se diz, foi sambanitada em Sevilha pelo que deve ser por ela que se transmitiu a ascendência de cristãos novos aos seus descendentes, entre eles, Gaspar Dias e os filhos de António Mendes Pereira. >   > I recommend the following two works: Braga, Paul Drumond, A Inquisição nos Açores, Instituto Cultural de Ponta Delgada, Ponta Delgada: 1997, which is the most comprehensive research on the Jewish presence in the Azores. The other is: Almeida Mello, José, Sinagoga Sahar Hassamain de Ponta Delgada, Nova Gráfica, Ponta Delgada: 2009, about the presence of modern Jewry in the Azores, the Moroccan serphadim that arrived in the 18th century. Their synagogue in Ponta Delgada is being restored. The synagogue in  Newport, RI was built in the same style. > --- On Mon, 2/14/11, lori pacheco <lorettajwri...@gmail.com> wrote: > > From: lori pacheco <lorettajwri...@gmail.com> > Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Catholic or Jewish Roots? > To: "Azores Genealogy" <azo...@googlegroups.com> > Date: Monday, February 14, 2011, 5:43 PM > > This question keeps coming up for me so I want to ask it here. Does > anyone know whether the roots of their azorean ancestors were Jewish > (Sephardic)?  I was baptised Catholic;.however, this subject has > intrigued me for a while and I cannot find much informatioon on it. I > would love any feedback from you > > --

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[belle...@gmail.com]

I found this book on google "From Iberia to Diaspora" Studies in Sephardic History and Culture" by Yedida and Norman Stillman and you can read a preview of it in English online here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=hYn4cblnkP0C&pg=PA20&dq=A+Inquisi%C3%A7%C3%A3o+nos+A%C3%A7ores&hl=en&ei=_o1dTb39KZS2sAOStajCCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

"E"

[lori pacheco]

Thank you everyone for your help. Very responsive and passionate
group !

On Feb 17, 4:13 pm, bellema...@gmail.com wrote:
> I found this book on google "From Iberia to Diaspora" Studies in Sephardic  
> History and Culture" by Yedida and Norman Stillman and you can read a  
> preview of it in English online here:
>

> http://books.google.com/books?id=hYn4cblnkP0C&pg=PA20&dq=A+Inquisi%C3...
>
> "E"

[Linda Norton]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there were Jewish people that came to the
island to escape persecution so some of them are carrying the Jewish
surname. I want to say Pimentel is one of them.

There was a site I saw a few years back that actually showed each area of
the island that were descendants from a particular country, i.e., Vila
Franca were people from France.

Linda Borges Furtado Norton

-----Original Message-----
From: azo...@googlegroups.com [mailto:azo...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of
lori pacheco
Sent: Monday, February 14, 2011 12:43 PM
To: Azores Genealogy
Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Catholic or Jewish Roots?

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[Ema...@aol.com]

Vila Franca is an old city near Lisbon.  Vila Franca de Xira.  According to -Nossa Senhora da Vida- 3rd Visconde de Botelho, that Vila Franca do Campo was named by Goncalo Vaz Botelho, one of the early colonizers in Sao Miguel.  It is thought that he was born in the region of Vila Franca de Xira, close to Lisbon where his family had good estates (seigniories).  Many of us are descendants of Goncalo Vaz Botelho.

Eloise

[Linda Norton]

Could it still be possible that people who settled in that area near Lisbon could have been from France? I know that Portugal was settlers from all different countries when it became established.

 

Linda

---

From: azo...@googlegroups.com [mailto:azo...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Ema...@aol.com
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 9:22 PM
To: azo...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Catholic or Jewish Roots?

[belle...@gmail.com]

I don't know about way back when but I can tell you my cousin in Lisbon's wife is from France. They have been married about 55 years. Not sure if he met her in Lisbon or France. but they settled in Lisbon. His brother married a woman from Germany and they also settled in Lisbon. Also, my great-aunt, I found a few months ago, who was born and lived in the Azores had a boyfriend from France and they had a child (not sure of which island - another of my brick walls) together but the child died in infancy and then my aunt came to the US.

"E"

[jane collins]

Bettencourt is a French name. Both of my grandparents were from the Azores.   Jane --- On Sat, 2/19/11, Linda Norton <patl...@verizon.net> wrote:

[John Raposo]

Indeed it is. The Bettencourts went to the Azores via the Canary Islands and then Madeira. They are among my ancestors.   John Miranda Raposo --- On Sun, 2/20/11, jane collins <godspe...@yahoo.com> wrote:

[Shirley Allegre]

My husband has BETTENCOURT in his ancestry, from Sao Jorge island.

Shirley

[drv...@cs.com]

Aguiar can be traced from Azores from Portugal, from Sprain back to
France

Loretta

-----Original Message-----
From: jane collins <godspe...@yahoo.com>
To: azores <azo...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sun, Feb 20, 2011 10:38 am
Subject: RE: [AZORES-Genealogy] Catholic or Jewish Roots?

Bettencourt is a French name. Both of my grandparents were from the
Azores.
 
Jane

--- On Sat, 2/19/11, Linda Norton <patl...@verizon.net> wrote:

From: Linda Norton <patl...@verizon.net>
Subject: RE: [AZORES-Genealogy] Catholic or Jewish Roots?
To: azo...@googlegroups.com
Date: Saturday, February 19, 2011, 6:52 PM

Could it still be possible that people who settled in that area near
Lisbon could have been from France? I know that Portugal was settlers
from all different countries when it became established.
 
Linda

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

[Alvin Goularte]

My father had a sister who married a Bettencourt. It is obviously a common
name as I am acquainted with at least five different Bettencourt families.

Al

[jane collins]

Al...there are tons of Bettencourts in the Bay Area. That's why my research is so hard. My grandfather was John Enos Bettencourt, grandmother Anna Costa. His brothers names are so common, I can't verify.   Jane --- On Sun, 2/20/11, Alvin Goularte <als....@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Alvin Goularte <als....@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Catholic or Jewish Roots?

Azores+unsub...@googlegroups.com. Follow the confirmation directions

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[George Pacheco]

good sephardic site

http://www.saudades.org/

 

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