If you’ve spent any time on your family tree, you know how hard it is to learn about your female relatives. The woman known as Auntie Cosma and seen as an bonus Grandma to many, left behind very little in the way of formal documentation. It’s only through reaching out to the family members who…
Tag: Azorean Women
Portuguese Hawaiian Profiles: Maria Loriana da Cunha, The First Portuguese Woman in Hawaii
Much is known about the many Portuguese men who made their way to Hawaii. Whalers, business owners, plantation laborers, and so forth, who later made their way into society. But, little is known of the early Portuguese women. Finding their stories is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but their stories deserve…
The Azorean Brides: The First Portuguese Women to Migrate to Hawaii
In 1864, eleven young women from the Azores Islands migrated to the Kingdom of Hawaii. They were pledged as brides to successful Portuguese men already living in Hawaii. These were arranged marriages, paid in full before the young women boarded the ship. Accompanying them were two married women–the chaperone and a newly wedded bride. They…