VILLAGE VINTAGE WEDDING BELLS: PART I

"Something old, something new, 
something borrowed and something blue."

                    That tradition goes way back and links the bride to family and faithfulness.

Well, here is something definitely borrowed.  This post, Part I of three,  traces the history of weddings in the Village.  The photographs come to us courtesy of Arlene Gouveia whose mother kept many, many precious photographs that are enriching our memories in this blog.  

Lesson to be learned for all of us.

 Through the help of Arlene's son, John, these have become part of a lovely history of weddings in the School Street Village.  When I first received them via e-mail, I sorted them along with others from my own Souza-Bento Correia  genealogical  files. Along with many of the photographs are stories that often charm, sometimes sadden, and always bring the pictures to life. To add even more, one can extrapolate these stories and their photos to a history of weddings in America through the years.  For the most part this is a chronology with some departures here and there.

                                                     

 Researching the history of weddings in general I was amazed to find how the photos correlated.  Come along for this ride and do not be surprised if you hear wedding bells from the past.

The first weddings took place in 2,800 BCE with the first recorded use of the wedding finger band.  In 1659, the most expensive wedding gift ever was bestowed by King Charles II to Queen Luisa of Portugal.  It consisted of the two cities of Tangiers and Bombay!

The word matrimony comes from the Latin: matrimonial is derived from mater or mother.
Weddings changed over the years from "catch and capture"
to more romantic and religious events.

Our first couple dates all the way back to 1891. Predating the establishment of St. Anthony's Church in the Village in 1906, Jose Rosa and Flizbeta (Flora) Rose were married at St. Mary's Church in Taunton in 1891.  It was only in the 1870's that the use of diamond rings was started, and also the use of photo albums as in those years Kodak came on the scene. Everything about the photograph bespeaks simplicity and few "bells and whistles" Both man and wife are austere and unsmiling. The times were difficult for many newlyweds and strength would be needed.

                    The honeymoon destination Niagara Falls become popular around 1860.

Below my maternal great Aunt Anna Bento Correia and her husband, Jose were married in 1901, probably in Bristol, RI at the Portuguese Church of St. Elizabeth. Note her Victorian hairstyle and the full sleeves which characterized the wedding gowns of the time. 

Times have begun to change, in at least style.

This gentle woman, Tia Annie to us, was my grandmother Isobel's sister.  Her husband Jose and her two oldest children would die prematurely in the Azores leaving her a young widow in her twenties.  Returning to the U.S. with her two remaining daughters, she would marry Mr. Fostin in the Village.  They would settle in a little white house right next to Jigger's Variety just off Braga Square. She lived there until her death in 1958.  Her home which was very familiar to us,  provided us with easy access to Jigger's and a view to the happenings of the Village at that end of School Street including Fourth of July celebrations.

This next photograph is of Mr and Mrs Jose Luiz Perreira (Maria de Camo Moniz Morgada) married in New Bedford in 1908.  For awhile floral headdresses were the rage.  One still sees that Victorian hairstyle, the nipped waistline and the puffed sleeves.  Our groom here is sporting white gloves. The wedding gown color is still high encircling the neck. But, at least the bride is smiling.
Here is something interesting.  Notice that the gown of the bride
and the maid of honor are very similar.
Way back in time, this was done on purpose so that evil spirits would be confused as to who as who, or marauding men would not steal away the bride.

I am putting this next photo in out of chronological order.  The wedding  of Joao Bento Correia and Maria Irena Encarnacao Xavier took place in 1923
in the Village of Villa do Campo 

St. Miguel, Azores.

 Look at the veil.  The history of the wedding veil goes way back in history. It also harkens back to Sephardic Jewish history in the Iberian peninsula.  Keep in mind that there was a strong Jewish presence all the way back to the Romans in Portugal. I do not know if there was such a bloodline in our family, but all is possible.  At the least there was a cultural heritage. To me this veil has Sephardic overtones as it nearly overwhelms the dress and even, the bride herself.  Also, even prior to that tradition, it was thought that the veil protected the bride from evil spirits.  In the case of arranged marriages it hid the bride so the groom would not change his mind.

 This couple are my maternal great cousins and their progeny would settle with many other Portuguese in Bermuda, and with a strong family presence in the Village, starting with my 

Tia Annie seen in an earlier photograph.

When Queen Victoria married in the 1800's, the wedding scene really changed.  Prior to that many brides wore colored dresses.  Many were poor and the dress would need to do for other occasions, even perhaps her funeral.  Musical wedding tradition was set when the Wedding March by Wagner 

was heard at this royal wedding as well as the wedding 

recessional: the Bridal Chorus from Wagner's Lohengrin.

It is 1921 for the photograph below.  Our bride has no gloves at all. The history of courtship and romance with gloves had a long history back to the Middle Ages, 

 Most brides wore them until around 1910 when  a spirit of new freedom seemed to begin.

The style is still demure but the skirt is a lot shorter.

Mr, and Mrs. Joseph Silvia (Mary Rose) were married at St. Anthony's Church.

She was Arlene's  aunt.  Note the floral bouquet.  Centuries before, the bride came down the aisle

carrying a bouquet of dill and garlic to ward off the Plague. Over time the tradition changed to flowers with their own meanings such as roses and baby's breath and forget-me-nots.

Not long after this, in 1924, the bridal registry was born at Marshall Field's in Chicago.

Above, my maternal great Aunt Mary Conceicao and her husband Joseph Belerique Cardoza 

after their wedding at St. Anthony's in 1927..

Uncle Joe was a long time custodian at Fuller School.  Their late son, Joseph, was a great help to me in my genealogical research and we often talked and shared discoveries.  

He provided one of the all time exciting moments for me when one day I was visiting him in Taunton.  He said to me, "I have been waiting for years for someone to ask me for this….."  He then put into my hands my great grandmothers original passport dated 1922.  

Note how the wedding gown has shortened even more.  It is the roaring 20's and ladies are baring their legs. The wedding dress still includes lots of lace and ruffles. Now we see opaque white stockings and the long gloves are back at least for this wedding. Gone are the puffed, long sleeves.  The Victorian hairdo is out, too, and now the headdress gets a whole lot of attention puffing up accordingly.   The style includes a smaller bouquet of flowers.  The tradition of tossing the bouquet began

 because once it was "get a piece of the bride of the bride's gown." 

 This became so rowdy that the more

 sedate practice of throwing the bouquet came into vogue.

In the 1920's, the Jazz Age, the wedding business was started in earnest,

Ah, the whole bridal party here.  Our bridal cap is quite ornate and the neckline a bit more daring.

Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Gonsalves (Mary Gallego) were married at St. Anthony's Church also in 1927. They are Arlene Gouveia's husband's paternal grandparents.  The flower girl is Mary Tremblay and the ring  bearer, Sam Sousa.  Now we see a lovely smile on our bride's face which was "frowned" upon in former years. Our small flower girl's headpiece is definitely the 20's look. 

Also, see her sleeker wedding dress.

The history of flower girls goes back to Roman times, then they carried sheaves of wheat and herbs to ensure blessings of prosperity and fertility for the couple.  Ring bearers go back to ancient Egypt when it was the custom to carry treasured jewels on ornamental pillows during wedding ceremonies.

Our Next Post:       

 More Village weddings 

as we stroll through the years.

       Meanwhile: wouldn't you like to share some of your wedding photo heirlooms with us?

A VOZ DE PORTUGAL….The Voice of Portugal

Recently, while planning another series of posts, an audio memory reached down through time to me.  It was the voice of the one and only Ferreira Mendes (pronounced in Portuguese with softened consonants).  Do you remember?  This is a photo of Senhor Ferreira Mendes.

Sunday mornings the sounds of the Taunton Band Club rehearsing sweetened the air.  

Later that morning, came the well- known voice of Ferreira Mendes,

 his strong Portuguese addingto the sounds of drifting through open windows up and down the streets of the Village.  With his distinctive voice, he pronounced the language beautifully. 

 You knew it was Sunday when your ear caught his voice.

As with much of the research for this blog, the story began to tell itself.  It did that with the help of Otilia Mendes Ferreira, Sr. Ferreira Mendes' daughter who has gracefully given us all of the information.  In case you are wondering, somehow in the early days of his career,

 Mendes Ferreira was transposed to Ferreira Mendes. 

 It stayed Ferreira Mendes and it is how everyone knew him.

Affonso Gil Mendes Ferreira was a pioneer of Portuguese language radio in the United States.  He was born January 23, 1899 in the village of Barroca do Zezere on mainland Portugal.  The last of nine siblings, his mother died in childbirth.  Poignantly, and as a measure of his generous spirit, he supported his wet nurse, Ana Marcelina throughout her life.

Immigrating on August 6, 1920 to the U.S., he would be the only one of his family to do so,  Sr. Ferreira Mendes worked briefly at the Whittenton Mills in Taunton.  He and his family would always live in Taunton and be members of St. Anthony's Church in the School Street Village.

After working in the mill he one day (an early sign of his ambition),  bought himself a raccoon coat, bought a car and hired a driver until he was able to get his license. 

 Marriage came in 1929 after he met M. Rosa Santos.  He was embarked on a new life. 

 Establishing a Portuguese club located above where Hanson's Drug Store would be on Broadway, he went on to launch a Portuguese language newspaper in 

1923 or 1924, O Heraldo Portugues which was published until 1976. 

 Above is a copy of the 1929 Easter cover and below a photo of himself 

and two of his newsboys, the Fonseca boys from the Village.

Sr. Ferreira Mendes was a colorful, gregarious and generous person becoming known to one and all as simply Ferreira Mendes.  His impact began in earnest in 1933, when he became a fixture on local airways broadcasting his Portuguese language radio program, A Voz De Portugal.  He would broadcast that program for nearly sixty years!  This is a great photo as it really shows the emotion and integrity with which he approached his life's work.

There were no Portuguese radio stations in 1933.  The growing population of Portuguese people living especially on the East coast of the U.S. at that time were thirsty for news in their own language.  He began on WNBH in New Bedford, then on to WPRO in Providence, then WSAR in Fall River for 9 years until during WW II when they felt they did not wish to broadcast foreign language programs.  At that point WOCB on Cape Cod welcomed him.  Then on to WRIB, Providence, where his daily Portuguese program would be the only daily Portuguese program in the country for 15 years.  At that same time he was on WPEP, Taunton for his Sunday program.  

This is the program listened to in the Village.

Because of failing health, in 1975, his daughter Otilia did the program while he opened and closed it.  He continued to direct it, however.  He died in 1992 at 93 years of age.

As was noted earlier, Ferreira Mendes was a celebrity all on his own.  But, he was more that that, he was a tirelessly generous man.  He was an ardent fundraiser raising funds for Portuguese orphanages, supporting handicapped children or refugees and wounded veterans from the Angolan war as well as many other causes dear to his heart. There were times when requests would show up at the Taunton Post Office with no address other than his name and U.S.A.

 It is said that often when Ferreira Mendes would travel to Fox Point in Providence, to New Bedford or to the Weir or School Street villages in Taunton, people would shout out to him 

in welcome their chant: " a comissao  agradece" or "the committee thanks you." 

 He would often say this after his speeches or presentations.  

The humor was that he was the sole committee member.

Sr. Ferreira Mendes was awarded the Portuguese highest medal of honor : The Commander of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator for his work.  That work was highlighted by what he accomplished for victims of the earthquakes in the Azorean Island of Faial in the early 1960's.  His influence helped to open the quotas for Portuguese immigrants coming to the United States.

A poignant story tells of how he helped a disabled young girl such that she went on to become a teacher.  She would write to him throughout her life.

An advocate for the Portuguese community when they were an unsung group he presented his radio programs sharing local events as well as events in mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores keeping people connected to their homeland as well as to each other.  He arranged for showings of Portuguese films renting the Park or Strand theaters in Taunton as well as others in Rhode Island.  If even a few people showed up, he would show the film.  In those days there were shifts of workers at the mills, he made early morning showings available for them.

He put on Portuguese musicals at Taunton High School.  Fascinating is the fact that he introduced the great Portuguese Fado singer Amalia Rodrigues to America in her premiere performance at Hope High School in Providence, R.I.   Fado is the traditional and haunting folk music of Portugal and the soul of that music was Amalia Rodrigues.

It was important for me to try and find an audio of Ferreira Mendes, but that seemed impossible.  However, when I spoke with his daughter Otilia I discovered something marvelous.  During WWII the U.S. government was suspicious of foreign language radio programming.  They either prohibited them or watched them closely.  It was feared that such programs would send secrets to the enemy.  In 1943, Ferreira Mendes, as we mentioned, could not present his program at WSAR as the station was leary of presenting any foreign language programs.  However, WOCB on Cape Cod welcomed him enthusiastically not being intimidated by the government.

Unknown to Ferreira Mendes, during the war years the U.S. government recorded many of his radio programs.  Thus, they were preserved for posterity.  In those days  since there were no digital or tape recordings, they were recorded on large vinyl records with a circumference of around 17 inches which can only be listened to on special equipment.  Some of them have been put on CD's and are at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, MA.  More on that later.

Which brings us to the final part of this story.  In loving memory of their father, Otilia and and her sister Justina Ferreira are the lead benefactors of the Portuguese- American Archives located at the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.  A third sister, Esther, had passed away in 1953.  That was the only time that her father ever missed presenting his program.

The Archives were dedicated to their father in 2009.  The Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese -American Archives is the largest repository of materials documenting the Portuguese people and their experience in the United States in the country.  Ferreira Mendes recordings are only one part of their extensive and ever-growing collection, including early Portuguese newspapers available online.  When I browsed through the online newspaper collection I found a photograph of one of my uncles in an early 40's ad.

Affonso Gil Ferreira Mendes is a treasure still for the people he so loved. I am one of those people and have researched at this marvelous library.  Full of genealogical information and other records of the Portuguese experience it is not that far for many of us 

who grew up in the Village: grandchildren and children of Portuguese forebears.
As we said, also, much of it is now available online.

I hope that I have been able to do justice to the memory of this extraordinary man.  You can find more information about the Archives and what can be found there at this link.

http://www.lib.umassd.edu/PAA/ferreira-mendes-portuguese-american-archives-collections

"A comissao agradece"

The Committee thanks you.

……..

I am grateful to Otilia and Justina Ferreira for their willingness to share
and for their patience.   They have made this post
 a very special post indeed.

…….



Photo of vintage radio from Pinterest.