I am told that cibola means onion and that Portuguese families used
to be nicknamed for stories of things that happened to them in the forgotten
past. My mother’s father was red beard and her grandfather was clown, and
my father’s family was onion. I hated to be called Cibola when I was a
little girl and would come out fighting. Why did they call me that when
I wasn’t an onion, and didn’t even like to eat them then.(I do now) Who
knows? But when my daughters were born, I could see strong family traits
that it came so naturally to me to call them Cibolinha’s, which means little
onions, and they never seemed to mind, because it was a term of endearment
when I said it to them.
Around the same time the Medeiros Galofha and the Gomes Barba loira families were settling in the island of Maui, my paternal grandfather Francisco Gomes (Cibola), was making his way to the "Big Island of Hawaii" at the age of 24, to find work on the sugarcane plantation. There had been flyers circulating that promised plentiful jobs, free passage, and lots of money. Francisco had been born August 6, 1861, in the small village of Calheta on the Portuguese island of Madeira. On August 12, 1861, he was baptized in the little village church. (I wish I knew the name of that church because there are so many in Calheta) Four years later, Francisco’s twin sisters Maria and Antonia were baptized in the same church. On September 13, 1882, Francisco married Maria Pereira de Sousa . Their first child, Mary was born in Calheta. Francisco left Madeira on the ship, S.S. Bordeaux" as one of 708 immigrants bound for the Hawaiian plantations and what he hoped would be a new and richer life for his family. He arrived in Hawaii, October 3, 1884. Maria, my grandmother, and Mary remained on Madeira, until Francisco could send passage money for them. He worked in the fields until he had paid for his passage and had saved enough to send for his family. In those days travel by ship was very hazardous and trying, especially for small children.So many children died on the ships. So Maria decided to protect Mary from the danger and left her in Madeira with her mother. Mary left Madeira and traveled alone to join Francisco in Hawaii. To the day she died, Maria never forgot the horrors of that crossing. I heard tell, that she carried a money belt around her waist and slept with it under her pillow on the voyage. Although life was hard, life was also good to Maria and Francisco. They were happy together and had many more children. Yet Maria never forgot her daughter Mary in Madeira. So she named another daughter, born in Hawaii, Mary too. The followiang list is of their children :
Paternal Grandparents Francisco Gomes Maria Pereira Gomes Mary(in Portugal) Refina Ruth B. 1888 Francis B. 1891 Mary(Little Mary) B.1894 Manuel B. 1895 Adalina(Ida) B. 1896 Lucille(Lucy) B. 1900 Thomas B. 1901(My father) John B. 1907 Margaret B. 1909 Anthony B. 1912
During the many years Francisco and Maria spent in Hawaii, they tried to bring Mary over from Madeira but were constantly stopped by many problems including immigration quotas. They grew discouraged and felt that they would never see their first-born again. So when their fourth child was born, she was named Mary in honor of their lost child and forever after was called Little Mary. On August 12, 1898, Hawaii became a possession of the United States of America. On that date, all residents of the islands were automatically declared American citizens. Among those new Americans were Francisco, Maria and their children, Jose and Julia Medeiros and their family, and Francisco and Julia Gomes and their children. I owe so much to these courageous and wonderful ancestors. Without them, I would not be the person I am today and in fact would not even exist. How wonderful is God’s love! Dona Gomes Austin
For more information on the Gomes Family,visitSweet Leilani's Gomes Family Page
Get Your Own Free Home Page