My Biggest Genealogy Challenge

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 are many images of the parish records for each island in Cabo Verde. They are either lost or have been ruined by bugs or something else. I do have plans to check with the Arquivo in Praia, Santiago. Once in hand, I will be applying for dual citizenship

The other challenge that I have is that my grandfather's mother died during or right after childbirth, so I do not know her name or anything about her. However, once I locate my grandfather's birth/baptism record, I should have her name. One of my theories for why my grandfather chose Paulo as his last name before leaving Cabo Verde is that it was his mother's surname. 

The good news is that I did have my grandfather's father's name (Domingos Jose Leao), so I have been able to locate many records for the Leao family members in order to grow my family tree. I have even been able to read some letters that his father wrote to him after he emigrated to the United States!

*I will be dedicating a blog page to the research results for the surnames Leao and Ramos. To date, I have seen records for six siblings of my great grandfather, Domingos Jose Leao - four brothers (Jose, Custodio, Manuel, and Joaquim) and two sisters (Antonia and Maria). At least one brother, Manuel,  opted to go by the surname of Ramos, the maiden name of their mother, Maria Petranilha da Conceicao Ramos. Their father's name was Jose Manuel Leao.