Hello everyone: My brother holds a picture taken by our now deceased father about 1932 in Madeira. The label says "grand uncle Jose and grand aunt Florinda". An accompanying photo is labeled "Os Marmelos- hospital and sanitarium where Jose was director." I believe that the hospital was Os Marmelieros. A while back I wrote a letter to the hospital requesting any information that they might be able to give me regarding Tio Jose. I wrote in Portuguese with apologies for my lack of skill with the language. I have never received an answer. Does anyone have any ideas of how to get any information about these people? I did not even see these pictures until after my father's death. He and his siblings left Madeira in 1921 when they were boys. All of my uncles are also deceased, as is the only cousin I met while in Lisboa a few years back. As there was still family there in 1930s, I am hoping to find some family connection still on the island. Does anyone have any ideas? Family names from Madeira are da Silva from Funchal, da Costa Vieira from Santa Luzia, Soares from Camara de Lobos, de Freitas from Machico. I have been very lucky with my research backwards from late 1800s but not so going forward into the 1900s. Thank you very much, Mary da Silva Frost

Hi Mary, You are right, it's the "Hospital dos Marmeleiros", which still exists with that name and was the very place where I was born, altough it's now much better than the place it used to be back then. As I'm now working as a technician in computer support on our regional health services, I often go there (at least once a week) and I know the place upside down, even the secrete passages....;) Unfortunately the Hospital records prior to 1975 where mixed up by the dumb people in charge of moving them to the new hospital, which oppened in 1972, to the point that they where rendered unusable and thus destroyed. I don't know, however, what happened to the administrative records, but I will ask who knows and tell you. The building itself is more than a century old, and started as a German Sanatorium project which was left incomplete due to political reasons (English pressure). Elucidario Madeirense has an article about it, from the time which your uncle was a director, according to what you say, but they don't mention any names there, unfortunately. However, if you provide me his complete name, I can check for an entry with that name on "Registo Bio-Bibliografico de Madeirenses" Friday. About the other families you mention, I can probably help you with the Soares from Câmara de Lobos (or rather Estreito, which I believe that's where they came from). Paulo On Tue, 17 Jan 2006 02:11:39 -0000, tiamaria <tiamaria@frostdesign.com> wrote: > Hello everyone: > > My brother holds a picture taken by our now deceased father about 1932 in > Madeira. The label says "grand uncle Jose and grand aunt Florinda". An > accompanying photo is labeled "Os Marmelos- hospital and sanitarium where > Jose was director." > > I believe that the hospital was Os Marmelieros. A while back I wrote a > letter to the hospital requesting any information that they might be > able to > give me regarding Tio Jose. I wrote in Portuguese with apologies for my > lack > of skill with the language. I have never received an answer. > > Does anyone have any ideas of how to get any information about these > people? > I did not even see these pictures until after my father's death. He and > his > siblings left Madeira in 1921 when they were boys. All of my uncles are > also > deceased, as is the only cousin I met while in Lisboa a few years back. > As > there was still family there in 1930s, I am hoping to find some family > connection still on the island. > > Does anyone have any ideas? Family names from Madeira are da Silva from > Funchal, da Costa Vieira from Santa Luzia, Soares from Camara de Lobos, > de > Freitas from Machico. I have been very lucky with my research backwards > from > late 1800s but not so going forward into the 1900s. > > Thank you very much, > Mary da Silva Frost > > > > ============================== > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for > ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx > -- " Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas regumque turres." -- Horacio