The Decision To Migrate

For Some Migration Is The Only Answer

If only my parents were still alive; if only I had listened more carefully; if only I had asked these questions years ago. I can not begin to tell you how many times, I have said "if only" during my Journey of Discovery quest in learning about my Portuguese ancestry.
To this day, I still do not know the real reason for the migration of my Maternal Grandparents. I can only guess their desire for what they perceived to be a "better life" was the motivating factor. I often think about what I would have done, had I been living during that time frame. Would my decision be to stay or migrate?
Considering the factors involved in making such a critical decision may help to answer the question that I posed above...let's attempt to walk in the shoes of our ancestors...if it were up to you, would your descendants be the first generation to be born on foreign soil?

Consider the following

• leaving ones parents and siblings, possibly never to see them again
  
• the possibility of leaving a spouse, and children behind
  
• the endless paper work involved with preparing for the journey
  
• church, government and military clearances
  
• money needed to pay for the passage and to live on until work is found
  
• personal possessions, what to bring, what to leave behind
  
• the long ocean voyage in third class accommodations
  
• the possibility of sickness, even death while en route
  
• and what if, once the ship docks, a member of the family is not cleared to leave
  
• where to settle and with whom
  
• how and where to earn a living
  
• the climate is so different
  
• a new home, in a land where one does not speak, read nor write the language
  

and the list goes on...

I can only assume that these were some of the concerns faced by my Maternal Grandparents when they decided to migrate to America in 1906

LIFE'S EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER

23 July 1900

Antonio da Silva Se, 19 Weds Julia Augusta de Freitas, 17 Igreja do Espirito Santo Calheta, Madeira, Portugal

15 July 1901 Daughter Maria is born [My Mother]

10 September 1903 Son Antonio is born

01 December 1905 Son Manuel is born

22 July 1906 The S.S.CANOPIC sails from Genoa,Italy bound for Boston with stops in Naples, Italy; Funchal, Madeira and the Azorean Island of Sao Miguel.

Antonio, Julia, daughter Maria and son Antonio are listed on the passenger manifest. No mention is made of son Manuel one can only guess, that due to his age, he was not listed, or that he did not travel to America at this time

06 August 1906 The S.S.CANOPIC arrives in Boston harbor Antonio and his family settle in Lowell, Massachusetts

09 November 1907 Son Alfredo is born in Lowell

07 February 1908 Alfredo, 3 months old, dies of congestive lung failure

22 January 1909 Son Francisco/Frank is born in Lowell

**UPDATE**

28 June 1913 Passport application for Manuel da Silva Se, age 8, dated June 28, 1913 obtained from the Archivo Regional da Madeira. Manuel's maternal uncle Antonio Joao Camara, is requesting a passport for Manuel in order to travel to the United States. This application now answers the question as to what happened to Manuel when his parents, Antonio and Julia traveled to the USA in 1906. I now need to establish the name of the ship he traveled on, plus the name of the Port of Entry and the ship's passenger manifest. It's very possible that Manuel traveled to the United State in the company of his cousin, Joao Evangelista da Silva Se, my father in September 1913. This mystery continues...

3 July 1913 Manuel da Silva Se, age 8, sails from Madeira on the S.S. Madonna, destination Lowell,MA. At last this mystery has been solved

13 September 1913 Joao Evangelista da Silva Se [My Father] arrives in America from Madeira, abroad the S.S. CRETIC

Joao and Antonio are 1st cousins Joao to marry Antonio's daughter Maria...June 5, 1915

28 February 1914 Julia dies of complications arising from a miscarriage

05 June 1915 Joao Evangelista da Silva Se Weds Maria Madelina da Silva Se they are 1st cousins, one generation removed

03 October 1923 Manuel, son of Antonio and Julia is killed in a tragic work related accident in Biddeford, Maine He was 18 years old at the time of his death

12 January 1955 Antonio, age 74, dies of pneumonia in Lowell

04 November 1977 Antonio, son of Antonio and Julia dies of heart failure in Livermore, California

30 March 1991 Maria Madelina, daughter of Antonio and Julia wife of Joao Evangelista da Silva Se and my Mother, dies 4 months short of her 90th birthday of heart failure and pneumonia in Fremont, California

22 January 1997 Francisco/Frank, the only surviving child of Antonio and Julia celebrates his 88th birthday

19 December 2001 Francisco/Frank Silva, resident of Lowell, dies at the age of 92

16 April 2001 Joseph Frank Silva, son of Joao Evangelista and Maria Madelina born 8 July 1921, Lowell, MA. dies at the age of 79 in Methuen, MA.

24 July 2003 John George Silva, son of Joao Evangelista and Maria Madelina born 23 April 1917, Lowell, MA. dies at the age of 85 in San Diego, CA.

22 March 2004 Manuel Frank Silva, son of Joao Evangelista and Maria Madelina born 11 April 1924, Lowell, MA. dies at the age of 79 in Antioch, CA

The lives of Antonio and Julia upon arriving in America were filled with the emotional roller coaster of bitter-sweet moments. May we take a moment to reflect and give thanks in their honor, for it was their courageous deed that has given us, their descendants, the opportunity to prosper in this wonderful country.

UNITED STATES of AMERICA

I can still see, in my mind's eye, the smile, beaming with pride on my Mother's face as she spoke of her five generations..."I am a Mother; Grandmother; Great-Grandmother and a Great-Great Grandmother, who would have ever guessed." In 1991, when she died, three of her seven surviving children were already Great-Grandparents.

As the years quickly pass, the descendants of Antonio and Julia continue to grow in number...

All Rights Reserved - 2002-2009

HomePage

Patricia Julia Silva Corbera

patriciacorbera@comcast.net