ADEUS
Have you every tried to pull yarn out of a skein only to discover as your pull there are hidden tangles...knots difficult to unravel...sometimes one after another. Researching family history feels like that. At least mine does. Here in the Azores a person can choose to use their mothers last name or their fathers. Sometimes multiple generations will use the exact same name, or a child will be named for a previous child that died. Sometimes other person’s names are used, like a famous person or good friend. Or you might wind up with a Grandmother like one of mine who simply invented her name. The possibilities can be endless. Dates and locations became very important as I have tried to untangle knots. It feels like once I get one sorted out then suddenly a couple more pop up! Plus the obvious fact that most of the people I am trying to learn more about have been dead a very long time.
So for every step forward this week I have more unanswered questions....but I also now have other contacts to help sort out the details. As much as I hope to tie up some loose ends in my family history....in terms of eternity it really doesn’t matter. Just think about it. If we go far enough back we all wind up with Adam and Eve in our family history. How awesome is that!
It was truly amazing to see the village and church on Sao Jorge that was a part of the generations that came before me. To stand on the island where my mysterious paternal Grandmother was born. I know many of you also have done family research and celebrate every time you find a connection that helps you understand the lives of those who are a part of your DNA. So I am just telling you all this so you know I am thankful for these days and what I did learn. I’m just not done yet.
This last afternoon I spent on the other end of this island,....a community called Praia Da Victoria. The Marina there was filled with elegant boats - many sail boats- mostly from Europe. In a small sidewalk restaurant I was served the “special of the day”. It was potatoes, salad, and fresh fish. Not a piece of fish but the whole thing deep fried. Along with water and an espresso to finish up. Cost ten euros.
I am coming home with more bits and pieces of what living in the Azores was like for family. The most unexpected discovery was our roots go back farther than I knew,,...to the earliest settlement on the island of Pico, and then to Northern Portugal. While I thought family roots were only on three of the nine islands I now know there are connections to six. The pile of research material keeps growing. It’s time to come home and get back to work on writing the stories my Great Grandchildren will read one day to find how deep their roots go into history.
AND Lord willing perhaps I can return one more time.......Adeus
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