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Going Home to Cabo Verde

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The first time I visited Cabo Verde, others asked how it felt to "go home" - There is no doubt that that is what it felt like being there. Having never set foot on Cabo Verde's soil, I felt like I was home! Especially visiting the island of Sao Nicolau, where my family is from. To be surrounded by your people, culture, language, food, and music is amazing after growing up in a country, state, and town where no one has ever heard of the place that your family is from. If I had a dollar for every time I had to explain where Cabo Verde is, or what  being Cape Verdean is, I would be rich! I must say there have been a few times that someone knew about Cabo Verde, but much more often than not, I taught someone something new that day. I'm sure many of you can relate. This was only my second trip to Cabo Verde, and I do wish I had visited more frequently throughout my life, but I do plan to make up for lost time! Let's normalize visiting and investing in Cabo Verde if y
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My Biggest Genealogy Challenge

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Joao Domingos Leao Paul(o) This is my paternal grandfather whom I knew for a very short while before he passed in 1966. I was born in the previous year. He was born in Sao Nicolau, Cabo Verde on May 27, 1901 according to his  naturalization records, and he arrived in New Bedford, Massachusetts on September 18, 1921 aboard the Schooner Cameo under the name of Joao Domingos Paulo. At the top of his naturalization form, it says, "My full, true, and correct name is JOHN DOMINGO LEAO a/k/a/ John Domingo Paul," and he signed his name as John Domingo Leao at the bottom of the form requesting that his name be changed to JOHN DOMINGO PAUL. Therefore, moving forward, he became known as John Domingo Paul after signing the affidavit/Oath of Allegiance on January 15, 1942.  My challenge, now that I am acquainted with all of the name changes, is that I haven't yet found his birth/baptism record. It is not located in the records that are available on the Family Search site, where there
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 Cabo Verde Fun Fact: The beauty of the beaches in Cabo Verde can be compared to the beauty of the beaches in the Caribbean! Tourism has grown over the years, but there are still so many people who do not know about Cabo Verde as an ideal vacation spot. I have been doing genealogy research and working on my family tree since 2009. I started with family information gathered from my mother and information passed on to her from both of my parents' sides. Following is a breakdown of surnames that I have found so far based on each side of my family. Paternal surnames: Paul, Paulo, Leao, Ramos, da Silva, Gomes, Soares, Fortes, Almeida, Lopes, Solidade, Araujo, Neves, do Rozario, dos Anjos. Maternal Surnames: Ramalho, Braz, da Graca, da Silva, Colitro, do Rozario, Lima, da Conceicao, Lopes, de Brito, Soares, Santiago  Based on these two lists, these are the names I will be concentrating on in my research, but I will also be documenting the Catholic Church records as documented on the isla
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Welcome to my blog - Our Cabo Verdean Family/ Nosa Familia Kabuverdiana where I discuss my Cabo Verdean family history and all things DNA and genealogy-related! What is Cabo Verdean you ask? Cabo Verdeans are an ethnic group of people from The Republic of Cabo Verde, a group of ten islands off the west coast of Africa.  Cabo Verde consists of nine inhabited islands, one uninhabited island, and various islets, located between 14°30′ and 17°30′ N and between 22°30′ and 25°30′ W. The  archipelago  is divided into the  Barlavento  (Windward) group to the north and the  Sotavento  (Leeward) group to the south. The  Barlavento Islands  include  Santo Antão ,  São Vicente ,  Santa Luzia  (which is uninhabited),  São Nicolau ,  Sal , and  Boa Vista , together with the islets of  Raso and  Branco. The  Sotavento Islands  include  Maio ,  Santiago ,  Fogo , and  Brava  and the three islets called the  Rombos—Grande,  Luís Carneiro, and  Cima. ( https://www.britannica.com/place/Cabo-Verde) Here
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