Skip to main content

Joseph Sequeira Vera family papers

 Collection
Identifier: MC-088

Scope and Contents

The collection consists primarily of genealogical records compiled by Joseph Sequeira Vera, including family trees and historical backgrounds of members of the family. There are also a few newspaper clippings and photographs

Dates

  • Majority of material found within 1990-1998

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Conditions Governing Access

No known restrictions

Biographical / Historical

Joseph Sequeira Vera has traced his family lines through several branches of his family tree, including the Vera, Caton, Avila, Chambers, Vieira, Sequeira, and Vasconcellos. For many of the individuals in each family there is a short summary of their lives, and for almost all members is included basic information such as date of birth and death. Some prominent family members include Mary Louise Caton Vera (1855-1918), who was the first woman of Portuguese descent to pass an entrance exam for New Bedford High School when she was thirteen. At fifteen, she married Francisco Vieira Dias (Vera) and helped manage their clothing store and rooming house on Water Street. She provided many immigrants with identification and traveling instructions in English, as she was fluent in both languages. Another member was Joseph Vera who, with his brother Frank (1836-1921), won the Whale Boat Race in New Bedford in 1859 on their boat, the Flying Cloud. Their prize and several portraits of the family were included in an exhibition, A Shared Heritage: Azoreans and the American Whaling Industry.

Extent

.5 Linear Feet (1 manuscript box)

Immediate Source of Acquisition

donated by Joseph Sequeira Vera. Accession # 08-20.

Title
MC 88, Joseph Sequeira Vera family papers
Status
Completed
Author
Kristen Emmett ’09, October 2008; Updated February 2009.
Date
February 2009
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the UMass Dartmouth Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives Repository

Contact:
Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
285 Old Westport Rd.
N. Dartmouth MA 02747 USA