I have searched the town records of Harwich,MA, a town on Cape Cod, and have aquired a list of almost 3,000 Cape Verdeans. If you believe any of your relatives have moved down this way I might be able to help. I can release information only on those that are no longer living, but can lead in the right direction to find out more. By giving out information, I am hoping someone might know some of my relatives as well. I am currently searching for the name Raneo. We have reason to believe that it was spelled much differently on the Island (Fogo) but we are not sure. The three Raneo brothers Antonio, Frank, and Manuel came to the US possibly in the late 1800s early 1900s and have created a huge family since then. I am a descendant of Frank(1892-15 Oct 1932) and have almost finished tracing this branch of the family and hope to now move in the other direction and learn more about my past in Fogo

I do not have family from there however I am interested in knowing more about the Cape Verdean's. What brought so many of them to the New England area in the 1800's? I have also been trying to research a family from there that settled in New London. Their surname is DeSant. Do you have any information on that surname? I would appreciate you sharing what you know. Thank you

I believe many Cape Verdeans started to emmigrate around then in search for work. Mostly the men traveled, leaving their wives and children behind, but soon even their familes began to migrate. For example, my grandfather and his brothers arrived at the turn of the century, and sent for their wives after they were established. As for the name DeSant I suggest you search for the variations DeSanta, Santos, etc.. because when people migrated, immigration often changed the last names around to reflect similaries in surnames, or in many causes botched them all together.

Thank you. I was curious if the name Duzant could be one of those names derived from DeSant. My family is from the french carribean and bare that surname. However I have been having a time locating the origin. My family settled in New England

Just starting my search for DaCosta or Costa. Would your list include any of following names, Ayres, John, Joseph,Alfred,Peter,Tony & Henry? I am a grandson of Ayres and know he came to Calif. while the other brothers remained on east coast. Approx. immigration time for Ayres was 1912 and the other boys + or - 5 years. It is believed that most of these men had middle name of Louiz or Louis.
Thank you for your time. Michael Costa

I thought we were related for a minute because around 1910-15, my great-grandfather, Manuel, came from Fogo to Fall River/Taunton with his brother Franco!

His name was Manuel Teixeira, he had a brother Franco, I know they had sisters and family in Fogo, because he would visit and send money back.

From what I heard, their father was also Frano, and their mother was Leopoldina from Spain.

I would love to access some of the info you have!

Hi there. Sorry that it took me so long to reply. I did not get the message until now. Could you send me an email at amandachilaka@hotmail.com with the names you are interested in?

Hi there. There is a possiblity we might be related. The brothers I know of are Manuel, Frank, John, and one sister named Mary. They went by the last name Raneo, but we believe that it used to be something else before they came to the US.
-Amanda
can we correspond by email? >>amandachilaka@hotmail.com

You wrote: "What brought so many of them to the New England area in the 1800's? I have also been trying to research a family from there that settled in New London."
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A bit of anecdotal information. My dad ran a cranberry bog near New London in the 1940's. He reported that a large number of the cranberry pickers were Cape Verdeans. Whole families worked together during the fall harvest season.

Thanks that is interesting to know.