Fernandes Family Story

Jacintho Fernandes the First was born on Madeira Island in the Atlantic in 1899.  He was born in the small village of Freguezia dos Cunhas of Seitos Anjos Province.  In 1917 he would immigrate on his own to New Bedford to open a grocery.  There he would meet Odilia Rezendes and in 1927 they would marry.  Odilia was one of 8 children of Francisco Medeiros Rezendes and Maria Angelina Mello.  Francisco and Angelina had meet and wed in Santa Maria Island of the Azores in 1894.  They had moved from there to Brazil where they had their first four children.  After 12 years in Brazil, they moved back to Sao Miguel Island of the Azores where they had four more children.  In 1914, Francisco died and Angelina decided to move her family to New Bedford.  They had to travel in steerage during the entirety of the voyage.  Once in New Bedford, they banded together as a family.  Only 4 of the 8 children had children of their own.

Odilia Rezendes and Jacintho Fernandes had 3 children of their own.  The first of whom is Jacintho Fernandes the Second known as Uncle Jesse to most of us.  Like most immigrant families, these families continued to climb the educational and economic ladder.  Neither Jacintho nor Odilia had much education but they made sure that their children did. Jacintho Fernandes would meet a sister of the Spoor family of New Bedford and in 1953 would wed.  The Spoor story was told before.  Their child and they would moved to Dartmouth and participate in the community as teachers.