Tracing back Portuguese ancestors who emigrated to Antigua can be challenging. This project is meant to try to capture the families of some of those early immigrants. Thankfully, Curtis Antonio Gomes conducted and documented his research into his family tree including the challenges he faced.

After the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies, in 1836, a crisis arose. Many of the newly emancipated blacks had found new trades and there was a severe shortage of labor on the sugar cane estates. As a result, the sugar industry was facing ruin.

Simultaneously, the Madeiran economy was experiencing its own problems. For one, the sugar and wine industries had gone through such catastrophic times there was little need for agricultural and vinicultural laborers. This hardship had a profound impact on the economy and, as a result, the capital city, Funchal, was swelling with paupers and people were starving all over the island. In addition, Rev Kelley, a Presbyterian minister, had been a catalyst for mass conversions to Protestantism of some of the island's Catholics. These new converts experienced great persecution from family and Church. The cry for laborers to come to the West Indies was heard in Madeira as an answer for those who were in search of the immediate solutions to their hopeless situations.

After the collapse of the Portuguese Empire, Portugal has always had a history of economic insecurity and this condition has caused mass migration at various times. As a result, the feelings of longing and nostalgia are no stranger to its people. This has caused the poet, Fernando Pessoa, to write: "0 mar salgado, quanto do teu sal sao lagrimas do Portugal." Oh salty sea, how much of your salt are tears from Portugal.

Once again the stage was set for another Diaspora as word spread of the great financial opportunities that awaited them in the New World. Many began to make plans to immigrate. Some left on ships that were no more than cattle boats and others left on the same vessels that had once been used to transport slaves. The first group of immigrants arrived in Antigua on April 16, 1847. Among those pioneers was John J. Comacho's father, 16 years old Antonio Joseph.

Upon the Madeirans arrival, they were parceled out to various estate owners who had paid their passages. They quickly discovered that this was far from the picture that had been painted to them. Some occupied dilapidated quarters that once housed former slaves. The work was arduous, and they were unaccustomed to working in such oppressive heat. In addition, there were frequent outbreaks of yellow fever and cholera that spread and took many lives.

There was also the issue of prejudice they encountered from some of the English. Many colonialist based their negative feelings toward the new settlers on the fact that they were (a) mostly illiterate, hence, a different class, (2) not Anglo Saxon, an ethnically different and (3) non-Protestant, a religiously different. Despite the obstacles that confronted them, their tenacity of purpose, unity as a people and faith in God, saw them through those difficult years.

After some time, they saved their money and began to leave the plantations. Some opened shops on the various estates and in rural areas; and others started businesses in the city. By 1878, they were even those who owned the estates where they had once labored. Among those were Antonio Joseph Comacho and Domingo Texeira.

It is important to mention here that there was a minority of Madeirans who did not arrive as migrant workers but, instead, were sent for by relatives who had established themselves. These new arrivals worked as porters in the shops until they could save enough money to open their own businesses. Even a smaller minority arrived with enough capital to begin their own shops. Such seems to have been the case with the Mendes family.

The more successful some immigrants became, the more they wanted to forget their impoverished conditions in Madeira and their early days of suffering in Antigua. When questioned about their past, some would embellish it with everything but the truth. Others never spoke of their past; for often their silence was rooted in painful memories and or shame. Unfortunately, those who falsified or omitted the difficult years of their lives, deprived themselves and others of the real story which demonstrated their ability to turn their stumbling blocks into stepping stones; not to mention, the tremendous problem it would create for their descendents who might be in search of a truthful account of their past. It is important to establish here that the vast majority did come as indentured laborers; and through their sweat and sacrifice made an indelible mark in the New World.

Doing research in Creole Portugues genealogy can be very difficult when trying to determine exactly where one's family originated. One of the biggest problems encountered is the repetition of Christian names and surnames. Among those most commonly used names were Antonio, John, Joseph, Francis and Manuel for the males and Maria, Antonia, Rosalina, Caroline, Augusta, Lucy, Anna and Julia for females. Combine this with the most common surnames such as Gomes, da Sousa, da Silva, Ferrera, Perrera, Viera, Fernandes, and de Freitas and one's search can become quite frustrating.

If this were not enough, there was a 18th and 19th century custom pertaining to the surnames of females. The majority of women did not have them. They had what were called "nomes da fe", (names of faith) which were used like surnames. Examples of this are found in such names as Francis de Jesus, Maria Rosa, Lucy Nascimento, Ann dos Ramos, or Antonia dos Santos etc. De Jesus, Rosa, Nascimento, dos Ramos and dos Santos are not surnames but rather names of faith. At this point, I am not clear as to whether they were chosen at birth or another time. Many females carried the same names of faith their mother had. However, it was not uncommon for some to have a different name than that of their mother.

Names of faith or surnames were always from the mother. It was not until the first generation had been assimilated into the New World that they began to discard this custom. Daughters were now given the father's surname. When mothers from Madeira were questioned about their maiden names on legal documents, they now used their own father's surnames. This was completely different from the custom they had followed in Madeira.

An example of this is found in the birth records of the children of Antonio Viera and his wife Francis de Jesus. In the early births, she uses de Jesus (a name of faith) as her maiden name and recorded on the last certificate was the name Fernandes. Given the historical background that I have presented, one can conclude that in the early years she had used her name of faith as her maiden name and in later years she used her father's surname.

Finally, women who married in Madeira never took their husband's surnames in marriage. They maintained their complete given name throughout their lifetime. The custom of combining the surname of father and husband did not begin until the late 1800's and continues today.

In contrast, the majority of males did have surnames and most took their father's. However, there were men who did have names of faith or a double Christian name. Examples of this are found in names such as Manuel Joaquim, Francis Antonio and Joseph Francis. The names Joaquim, Antonio and Francis are Christian names not surnames.

The best examples of this can be seen in the case of John J. Comacho's father, Antonio Joseph Comacho. When he arrived in the West Indies, he was not known as Comacho but rather Antonio Joseph. His father's name was Policarpo Joseph but it was his paternal grandfather that was Comacho. His father did not use a surname. After assimilating into the customs of Antigua, he used his paternal grandfather's surname.

It is not uncommon in some Portugues families to use the same Christian name for more than one child. As an illustration, in one family there might be 3 Marias. In order to distinguish them, one might be given the name Maria Rosa, another Maria Luz, and the other Maria da Concecao. In other cases, it was not uncommon when a child died that the next born of the same gender would be named after the deceased.

Here is a perfect theoretical illustration of the problems one can encounter. A family arrives in Antigua and their names are as follows; Father, Joseph Gomes, mother, Lucia Rosa. Their children are Emanuel Gomes, Antonio Francis, Maria Rosa and Francesca de Jesus. Unless one knew of their relationship to each other, no one would know their connection.

English speaking government officials did not speak Portugues nor were they educated in their customs. They interpreted names of faith and double Christian names to be surnames. Without this understanding, searching through birth, marriage, death and baptismal records can lead to false leads and erroneous conclusions. In order to do accurate genealogical research, one has to have a good socio historical background of this time period.

Finally, it may be difficult for the researcher to make family connections because of the obstacles that prevent the continuation of family ties. In Antigua, sometimes the discontinuing was caused because one branch migrated from country to city or from one rural part to another. In other cases, the problems of everyday living made family relationships a lesser priority. Other times the tie was broken when there was:


1. Class differences. These often developed when one branch became more financially and educationally successful than another.
2. Racial intermingling. It was not uncommon for some men to have native mistresses who gave birth to children. There were even a few cases where Portugues women bore children for native men. These "outside" offspring were not always readily accepted by some families.
3. Inappropriate social behavior. Many times after a scandal, the individual was treated as a social lepers by some or all of the family and the bond was permanently severed
4. Familiar discord. There were instances of disputes over land, inheritance, and business and other times there was just individual differences which can occur between human beings.

As stated, there were varying reasons for families to separate and some were estranged for life. In some cases after one or two generations, the successive branches were completely ignorant of the existence of lost family members; and in others, the knowledge of some family relationships were some of Antigua's best kept secrets. I still find it amazing at what can be hidden on such a small island. My research has led me to many surprises in regard to this. I have found that kinship in Antigua is like a tightly woven fabric which has more intertwining threads than one can imagine. However, through the combination of persistence and discernment, one can began to unravel some of these threads.