Antonio Justiniano Lopes & his wives, Maria Claudia da Gloria & Zulmira dos Santos & his mother, Candida Lopes & his sons James Justiniano Lopes & Francisco "Frank" Adelberto Justiniano Lopes
This is an embroidery which shows:
Antonio Justiniano Lopes & his first wife Maria Claudia da Gloria Lopes & the little boy on the left is their first son James Justiniano Lopes.
Their second son was Francisco "Frank" Adelberto Justiniano Lopes & he is not shown in this embroidery.
How
many of us had grandmothers or mothers who embroidered? My gram had an
embroidery right near the back door. I think my mother did it. It may
still be in that house.
Antonio Justiniano Lopes was born in Sao Nicolau in 1881, son of
Candida Lopes. (with the CV naming patterns his father must have been
Justiniano but I have not found corroboration for that yet). He was
md first to Maria Claudia da Gloria & then to Zulmira dos
Santos His first wife died (1921) having their third son in childbirth
(excessive ether). His two sons were James Justiniano Lopes & Francisco Adelberto Justiniano Lopes.
Maria Claudia da Gloria is
related to me in that we are descended from the same couple, Nicolau Araujo
Neves & Maria dos Santos. She is descended from the daughter Francesca & I am descended from Antonio Serafim dos Santos & (the daughter) Rosa Maria da
Natividade.
Antonio Justiniano Lopes can be found on the 1920 Census in New
Bedford at 22 Madison Street at age 39 with his wife Mary 28, & his
sons James 7 & Frank 2. He worked in the cardroom at a cotton
mill. Also in the household is a boarder named Joseph Almeida who is
42. In the 1930 Census the family is at 445 Purchase Street.
Antonio
is 49y, he is now with his second wife, Zulmira who is 52y & also
with James 17y & Frank 12y, as well as his mother, Candida who is
64y (these ages must be of, otherwise she would have had her child when
she was 12y). Also see the Standard Times piece REMEMBERING THE PAST by
Susan
Pawlaki Seaman. (though he looks very different in that photo).
Maria Claudia da Gloria was born in Sao Nicolau (SN) on 4/17/1881. She was the daughter of Josepha Francisca do Rosario & Miguel Jose Lopes. Miguel was the son of Francisca who was the daughter of Nicolau Araujo Neves & Maria dos
Santos Neves. (She & this compiler are descended from this couple.
This compiler is descended from Francisca's sister Rosa). Maria Claudia
immigrated to the US in 1910 (however I have yet to find the ship
manifest). The Massachusetts Death Index indicates that she died
in 1921 & that she is buried at St. John's Cemetery. An informant
indicated that her sister was named "Maninha" but of course that means
"little sister". Her sister's name was actually Francesca.
(With the Sao Nicolau naming patterns it is odd that Maria's middle name
was Claudia instead of her mother's middle name Josepha). Maria Claudia died
from the over administration of ether during childbirth (third child).
The child did not survive.
One side of this family has roots in Goa, India. Not sure which side at this moment.
This writer is very close to this family as my mother married the
"Frank" mentioned above & he was my mom's second husband. They
never knew that they were fourth cousins. My mother is one generation
further away from Nicolau & Maria.
Known as Frank "Chico" Lopes he is shown above holding my parrot named
"Walker". His first wife was Leocadia & he had five sons who all
lived in New Bedford. Chico told many stories to this compiler. He
remembers going to the ship to meet someone who came in to the US after his mother
died at age 31 during childbirth (too much ether). He thought it was
his grandmother & he says that he hid when he saw her because she
was very tiny & all dressed in black & he thought that she
looked like a witch. He also said that my gram, Maria
d' Mane, would
call him "Quoitod" which means "poor little thing". My grandmother had
also been a "quoitod" as she had lost her mother at the very same age
that Chico lost his mother (age 5). This shared sense of loss created a
bond between them. Chico md my mother, Nita, when they were well
into their senior years.
In
late life Frank "Chico" married his second wife, Nita & they lived
in L.A. (where they
were a part of that City's thriving CV community), Las Vegas (where
Chico worked at New York New York Casino as well as the Bellagio) New
Orleans, & lastly, New Bedford. I am told that he always went by
the name Frank but
started using "Chico" in later life. I always called him that - maybe
before that, Mr. Lopes.
While
in New Orleans, Chico had a lucrative, interesting, & fun acting
career. While he was mostly a Background Actor he was "featured" in a few
films (one based on an Anne Rice novel about a vampire - with Brad Pitt
-- & Chico played a creole free man of color in the Anne Rice movie
(& certainly looked the part, the Pelican Brief, another movie with
Cicely Tyson .... etc. ), he had a successful and long running
commercial for the local telephone company where he was also "featured", & he did many many
background appearances. He & Nita did this together but in this area Chico was the
"star". They loved being on the set where they could talk to other
people, eat the catered food, think up the most appropriate costume for
the role, & get placed in scenes. Even though he was CV he could pass
as a New Orleans creole. He was with an agency named Del Corral.
Since
Chico was nearly ten years older than my mother he had a perspective on
CV life that my mom did not have. He remembered my grandmother at an
earlier age. He said that she, Maria Antonia Encarnacao Santos Cruz/
Maria d' Mane was
a "lady about town" & that she was "a lot of woman". I think that
meant that she was top heavy. Pilda's was a jewish grocery store &
Chico would see my mother there. Chico went everywhere with his
grandmother, Candida. He went to wakes, dances, weddings, etc where he
would dance for people. He told me that he often imitated the minstrel
dancers by rolling his eyes back in his head. He remembered that my
grandmother would squeeze him to her chest.
He said that she was 'bruta" whch means that she was sassy and that if
she had something to tell you she would say it.
Like
many CVs, Chico and my mom both defied old age. They simply refused to
think of themselves as elderly. My mom, who had once been a beauty,
managed this by turning down the lights or trading 60 watts for 40.
Chico continued to want to work & travel even during his very senior
years. He drove well into his late 80's and at least 3 people in my
family observed him riding the wrong way down the streets of New
Orleans. I mean, how many times did he do this if all three of us saw
him do it? But he was not about to be held down by simple things like
one way streets.
I wasn't crazy about this late marriage. My sisters though
appreciated
the "bonus dad".
When Chico died I compiled a booklet & this is (in part) what I wrote:
"Chico"
as I would call him was always very interested in the fact that I was a
writer & a genealogist. We had in common the wish to share with our
families the interesting & sometimes fascinating facts that we knew
about the lives of our ancestors. And so I encouraged him to take an
hour out of each day to write something down about his past. I knew
what he did not know at this point & that was that it is in this way
that writers are born.
I
never checked with Chico to see if he had actually ever committed
anything to paper . I didn't press the issue because writing is such a
personal thing. Imagine my surprise then when while dusting a table in
his bedroom after he died I found a yellow lined pad that began with the words "I owe a
great deal of gratitude to all of the people I met in the different
chapters of my life to the present. It was a life of happiness, sorrow,
and excitement".
**** and then he continued by saying*****
I
was born on October the 4th, 1917 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. My
parents were Cape Verdeans of Portuguese descent. I would like to go
back to my heritage which is very important to all. During my lifetime
whenever I travel to different states or different countries, they never
heard of Cape Verdeans & I am always proud to tell them a little of
my heritage. Cape Verdeans were people of love & compassion - always
singing & dancing. My great grandparents - grandparents & my
parents were all born in the Ilha de Sao Nicolau. My father was
born in
1878 & my mother was born in 1880. America was one of the countries
that the Cape Verdean men considered a land of opportunity. The
beginning of the 19th century at the age of 22 is when my father arrived
in America to start a new life. He came on a schooner & it took at
least 45 days to reach the port in New Bedford. This port was a big
port. In those days New Bedford was a large seaport for all types of
imports & exports. Also, one of the biggest industries was the
cotton
mill industry. After a few years working in the cotton mills, my
father sent for his bride to be & they got married in 1910. Two
years
later they had their first son & 5 years after that they had me on
St. Francis Day. I was the second son. Being a child it is hard to
remember the first four years. When I was four years old my mother
passed away during childbirth & I was cheated in part of my life of
her love & could not remember her. During my life from the time I
was
a child to the time I became a teenager, was a life of excitement and
love. My grandmother arrived in America after my mother passed away
&
my father had remarried. I remember when my grandmother arrived on the
dock on a schooner. This became a happy moment for my father & it
goes without saying it became the happiest childhood for me because she
took good care of me until the day she passed away at the time I was 12
years old. It was a great loss for me. I remember how she gave me so
much love which I have kept within myself. Being a child there were
many beautiful memories. One of the things I did was I went to most
weddings, christenings, and wakes in our community because my
grandmother was a cook & wherever she went she took me with her.
The
Cape Verdean people are loving people. They like to be surrounded by
music. They love to dance. Since I was a child in the 20s I would do
the Charleston. All of the older folks would throw nickels & dimes
when I started to roll my eyes & rub my stomach. That was
exciting!
Little did I realize this could be a career for me as a dancer. I loved
the stage. After my grandmother died my whole life started to change.
When I look back I feel that if my mother and my grandmother had lived I
would have been a better student in school. My father was a scholar
& his goal for both of his sons was that they would go to college
&
be professionals. To this day I say to myself that if only my mother
had lived I would have been someone of importance. At 19 my father gave
me permission to go to Boston to look for work. I was fortunate to get
a job in Brookline as an elevator operator. A year later I forged my
birth certificate (to reflect that I was 21 years old) & eloped and
married Lucadia. When my father heard about what I had done he disowned
me as his son. Six years before he died he accepted me back as his
son. Not only was he a good father, but my best friend. Sure miss
him.
In
another piece of writing he says "at the age of twelve .. we lived at
445 Purchase Street (1931" ..."that was a very bad year for the family
... my grandmother passed away .. she came to this country when I was
five years old and (my brother) was twelve ...she was very close to (my
brother and I) ... our mother died seven years before that of
childbirth, she was only thirty one .. (after our mother died) my
grandmother came to this country on a Cape Verdean schooner which docked
at New Bedford, it took forty eight days to arrive in America .. Our
dad remarried two years after our mother passed away ... In those days
they needed someone to care for the family. my brother was a carbon
copy of my father ... he was a man of principle and dignity. At 17 he
went to work on the Island Boat - Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket.
(my
brother) took me to the dances at Roseland (Ballroom) & I saw &
heard all of the big bands. (my brother) started going to Providence
where he met ... a lovely girl .... Mary ... (my brother) did all types
of work to support his family ... he became one of the top men at the
docks in Providence as a Longshoreman ... & Boss Man ... he had so
much compassion & love for his fellow man ... he was a Pied Piper
...
This
is Francisco "Frank/Chico" Adelberto Justiniano Lopes &
Frank Grace (husband of
Mary & father of Parky, Ross & Arnold Grace - sorry I don't
know all of the siblings names).
This
photo was taken in New Orleans when they visited me for Thanksgiving.
We had a great time doing all manner of things including going to the
races:
Frank "Chico" Lopes, Carol Haynes, & Frank Grace
at the New Orleans Fairgrounds
(which is the site of the yearly New Orleans Jazz Festival)
This section is dedicated to any person who was named "Justiniano Antonio Lopes" or
"Antonio Justiniano Lopes".
Antonio Justiniano Lopes
See the section preceeding this section which is about Antonio
Justiniano Lopes & his wives (1) Maria Claudia & (2) Zulmira dos Santos.
He was born in Sao Nicolau in 1881. His mother was Candida Lopes.
Because of the naming patterns in Sao Nicolau I believe that his father
must have been Justiniano (due to his middle name).
Justiniano Antonio Lopes
b. around 1858?????
Husband of (1) Maria Ignacia Soares/Almeida (b. 1863 d. 4/17/1897)
(2) Antonia Maria Oliveira (b. 1872)
da Lapa Obits 1890 - 1901 - 65/49 - On 4/17/1897, Maria Ignacia Soares died at 34y, w/o Justiniano Antonio Lopes.
do Rosario Matrimonios 1891 - 1900 (BV tab) - 77/38 - On 7/10/1898, Justiniano Antonio Lopes, widower of Maria Ignacia
Almeida, md Antonia Maria Oliveira, 26, (d/o Pedro Joaquim
Oliveira (d) & Maria Antonia Ramos), witnesses - Francisco
Xavier ?Crato & Joao Jose Lopes da Silva.
No comments:
Post a Comment