Hi Fellow List Members, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to join in this discussion of Freitas ancestry. Here's my Freitas Family... Antonio de Freitas c.c. Beatris Goncalves parents of- Manuel de Freitas bapt 1695 c.c. Helena Rodrigues m. Arco da Calheta parents of Francisco de Freitas b. 1727 c.c.Josefa Maria(da Silva) m. Arco da Calheta parents of Antonio de Freitas (widower, 1st wife Lourenca Rosa) bapt 1751 c.c. Ana de Jesus m. Calheta 1789 parents of Francisco de Freitas bapt 1795 c.c. Alexandrina Rosa m. 1830 Calheta parents of Antonia Roza de Freitas c.c. Antonio da Camara m. 1873 parents of Julia Augusta de Freitas b. 1883 c.c. Antonio da Silva Se' m 1900 Calheta parents of Maria Madelina da Silva Se' b. 1901 c.c. Joao Evangelista da Silva Se' parents of Me -(my parents...) The next sequence of events focuses my Grandma Julia Augusta de Freitas.. Age 17 - She and Antonio da Silva Se' marry Age 23 - She migrates with her husband and two of their three children to USA. The oldest being my mom, who was almost 5 yrs old and her brother 3 yrs old. The youngest child (19 months old) was left with Julia's parents. Age 30 - Grandma Julia dies from complication of a miscarriage, leaving three children in the USA and one child still in Madeira all under the age of 12. This was Feb 1914. In July 1913 the child that was left in Madeira with his maternal grandparents obtains a passport to join his parents in the USA. I just recently learned of this, thanks to ARM providing a copy of that passport record. I now need to establish when this child of 8 yrs old actually traveled to the USA. By 1923 at the age of 18 he would also be dead, killed in a job related accident. The emotional roller coaster of life. The above is my maternal de Freitas story... in another posting I'll share my paternal de Freitas ancestry. My mom loved telling the story of how she and dad had to pay the priest 10 extra dollars to married them, because they were 1st cousins, one generation removed, as she continued with her story, she would laugh, while saying, it was a good thing the priest didn't "zero-in," on the fact that her mother and dad's mother were both from da Freitas families. The priest probably would have charged another $10.00 or possible wouldn't have married them at all. What was this next money for, I asked... "to separate the blood, so that their children would be "normal." Ah! normal whatever that is... ;-)). To date I haven't established if my paternal and maternal grandmothers were related. . Patricia (Pat) Julia Silva (da Silva Se') Corbera (by the time I came along our surname of da Silva Se' had been shortened to just Silva. California USA Denise1270@aol.com wrote: Hello José, Thank you so much for reading my LONG story! It is a sad one indeed. Not only Portuguese women had this type of situation happen to them. I'm happy to know there are Freitas in Canada! The name is popping up here in New York state a bit more now too. Now that you mention the name Pico do Arieiro, I'm sure that was it. I just couldn't remember the name. We went from seeing the town inside the volcano, to the snow capped pico to waterfalls that were in the rocks along the cliffs going around the island. What a diverse place to live! Regards, Denise D'Antona In a message dated 1/19/2006 4:19:43 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, jose.fernandes@yrdsb.edu.on.ca writes: Denise, There are some Freitas living in Canada! I want to thank you for sharing your story. I felt sad for our people, especially our women who have suffered so much over the years. My grandmother told of many stories similar to yours. The mountain that you saw must have been Pico do Arieiro, but I am sure Paulo will tell you that. Greetings from Canada. José Fernandes ============================== Find your ancestors in the Birth, Marriage and Death Records. New content added every business day. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13964/rd.ashx