John Pio Came to Maine by Al Newman, His Great-Great-Great
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John Pio Came to Maine by Al Newman, his great-great-great grandson UPDATED AND EXPANDED OCTOBER 2016 Copyright 2007, 2011, Al Newman INTRODUCTION This narrative, which has not been published in print, is a history of the Pio family in America. There is no index. There are no footnotes. Source information is included in the text. For decades, the Pio family was presumed to be Portuguese-descended, but, as will be explained later, that belief was apparently disproved in 2016. This is a genealogy, a biography of John Pio and his purported descendants, a portal to the pedigrees of individuals who married into the Pio line, a portrait of a segment of Maine history, and a starting point for future family researchers. This work has been entitled, “John Pio Came to Maine,” because the title character has given many people in the United States his name – if not his DNA. If, indeed, John Pio’s DNA exists in this country today, it will be through some as yet unknown liaison. As will be outlined below, John Pio’s bloodline has almost certainly not survived through his marriage to Margaret Ordway, his only wife of record. Out of respect for privacy, I have occasionally used the term, “Living,” in place of the given names of persons whom I know or suspect to be alive as of the date of this publication. I have used the full names of my close relatives or of other living persons whose photos or documents are accessible on the Internet. First Generation: JOHN PIO & MARGARET ORDWAY John Pio left more than his family and friends behind when he sailed out of Funchal, Madeira, for what may have been the last time in the late 1820’s – he also apparently discarded his last name. No record of his true surname has surfaced yet in any records thus far found in Maine and Massachusetts, the only two states in which he is known to have lived. An excellent source of Madeiran history is “History of Madeira” by W illiam Combe, published by R. Ackerman, 101, Strand, London, 1821. A copy of this illustrated, rare book is in the California State Library in Sacramento. 1 John Pio’s great-grandson, Walter Pio (who was my great -uncle), wrote me in the 1950’s, saying that he had heard that John Pio’s name before settling in Maine had been Juan Pio Piarra. He also said that John Pio was Po rtuguese. (I have transferred Walter’s letters, as well as the original photos and documents in the appendices hereto, to a younger Pio descendant for preservation, since I am 84 years old.) I took all of Uncle Walter’s family legends seriously, believing that they generally contained at least a germ of truth. If Juan had been John Pio’s true first name and Piarra his true surname, that would likely have made him Spanish rather than Portuguese. But the Madeira Islands, some 350 miles off the coast of Morocco (in northwestern Africa), are a Portuguese territory – not Spanish. Still, John Pio might have been of Madeiran birth but not o f Portuguese ancestry. What to believe? Fortunately, a family legend out of Penobscot County, ME, concerning a sheep drover named Loren Davis, supports the belief that John Pio was ethnically Portuguese. The details of this relationship will be discus sed later under the biography of John Pio’s third son, George Pio (later spelled “Peio” by him). The name, John, in Portuguese, would have been João (pronounced “Zhwow”), not Juan. Uncle Walter was likely misinformed about the name, Juan Piarra. I google d Piarra in Portuguese and came up with almost nothing. There is additional evidence of John Pio’s Madeiran birth. According to John Pio’s 1869 death record in Boston, Suffolk County, MA, he was born in Funchal, Madeira, in 1808. Walter Pio suggested that “Pio” was originally John Pio’s middle name, and that upon settling in Maine, he simply dropped his actual surname because he had gotten in some kind of trouble and found it unwise to keep his true surname. So, for whatever reason, he became John Pio, using his middle name as his surname from that time forward. I agree with Uncle Walter about this likelihood, even though Pio, uncommon as a surname, does exist in Portuguese. Once in Maine, John Pio adopted the pronunciation, “Pie-o” in lieu of the proper Portuguese “Pee-o” pronunciation. The first public record of this immigrant ancestor’s presence in Maine, the 1830 Penobscot, Hancock County, Census, listed him as John Pio. So, by age 22, he had already forsaken his Madeiran surname. The middle name, Pio, likely came from Pius VII, who was Pope in 1808 when John Pio was born. “Pio,” in Portuguese, means “Pius,” and research revealed dozens of Roman Catholic churches in and arou nd Funchal in the early 1800’s. Coincidentally, I ran across a memorial plaque to Pius VII in an old church in Ravenna, Italy, in 1983. The closest-sounding, common Portuguese surname to “Piarra” would be “Pereira.” Hoping that this might yield somethin g of genealogical value, I began studying microfilms of the handwritten birth records of Catholic churches in Funchal for the years 1807-1809. There were 48 likely churches. Before I was a quarter way through the churches, I had found a number of male births under the name, João Pereira, but none as João Pio Pereira. From the information provided, there was simply no way to tie any of them to the John Pio who showed up in the town of Penobscot, Hancock County, ME, in 1830. I reluctantly gave up on that project. If ever John Pio’s true 2 surname were going to be uncovered, it would have to be in the United States or in some as-yet undiscovered ship’s log or other maritime document. FUNCHAL CHURCHES IN 1808: This is a list of the Catholic churches in or near Funchal, Madeira in 1808, the year of John Pio’s birth. Asterisks indicate the microfilms I have checked. I typically checked all baptisms for the years 1807 through 1809. All entries are handwritten, often in flamboyan t script, are in Portuguese, and occasionally badly faded. The number preceding each church is the microfilm ordering number from the genealogical department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City, UT. *1102532 NOSSA SENHORA DE PIEDADE, Canhas, Funchal, Batimos, 1802-1821 *1103249 ARCHADAS DA CRUZ, Funchal, Batimos, 1790 - 1859 (falta anos), Items 1-5 1103250 SANTA BEATRIZ (Água de Pena, Funchal), Batimos, 1737-1840 (falta anos) 1103284 SÃO LOURENÇO (Camacha, Funchal), Batimos, 1775-1825 (inclui crismas) 1103292 SÃO SEBASTIÃO (Câmara de Lobos, Funchal), Batimos, 1803-1821 1103306 SÃO BRAS (Campanário, Funchal), Batimos, 1803 - 1824 (inclui crismas) 1103359 SÃO SEBASTIÃO (Caniçal, Funchal), Batimos, 1728-1819, Item 4 1103365 SANTO ANTÃO (Caniço, Funchal), Batimos, 1805 - 1847 1103381 NOSSA SENHORA DA GRAÇA (Estreito da Calheta, Funchal), Batimos, 1778-1813 1103741 SÃO BRAS (Arco da Calheta, Funchal), Indice dos Batimos, Item 1. (See film 1103258 for: Batimos 1805-36) 1103743 SÃO JOSÉ (Arco de São Jorge, Funchal), Batimos, 3 1802-44 (desordenado), Items 2-3 1103745 SANTA QUITÉRIA (Boavent ura, Funchal), Batimos, 1790- 1817 1103849 ESPÍRITO SANTO (Calheta, Funchal), Batimos, 1798-1816 1104012 NOSSA SENHORA DA GRAÇA (Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, Funchal), Batimos, 1789- 1811 1104541 NOSSA SENHORA DA CONCEIÇÃO (Porto Moniz, Funchal), Batimos, 1802-1821 1104548 NOSSA SENHORA DA NATIVIDADE (Faial, Funchal), Batimos, 1791-1808 (inclui crismas) 1104549 NOSSA SENHORA DA NATIVIDADE (Faial, Funchal), Batimos, 1808-1832 1104557 SÃO JOÃO BATISTA (Faja da Ovelha, Funchal), Índices (Batimos), 1791-1818 1104560 SÃO JOÃO BATISTA (Faja da Ovelha, Funchal), Batimos, 1791-1818 1105828 SANTO AMARO (Paúl do Mar, Funchal), Batimos, 1800-1821, Item 2 1105832 SANTA LUZIA, Funchal, Batimos, 1790 -1808 1105833 SANTA LUZIA, Funchal, Batimos, 1808-1827 *1107437 SANTA MARIA MAIOR, Funchal, Batimos, 1806 - 1824 *1107446 SAO PEDRO, Funchal, Batimos, 1804-1817 *1107467 NOSSA SENHORA DA ASSUNÇÃO, Batimos 1109176 NOSSA SENHORA DA LUZ (Gaula, Funchal), Batimos, 1789-1860 (Alguns registros incluem crismas) 4 1109179 NOSSA SENHORA DA PIEDADE (Jardim do Mar, Funchal), Batimos, 1809 - 1859. Item 1 1109186 NOSSA SENHORA DA CONCEIÇÃO (Machico, Funchal), Batimos, 1802-1829 1109195 SANTA MARIA MADALENA (Madalena do Mar, Funchal), Batimos, 1772-1842 1109200 NOSSA SENHORA DO MONTE (Monte, Funchal), 1765-1819 1109883 SENHOR BOM JESUS (Ponta Delgada, Funchal), Batimos, 1793-1860 *1109889 SÃO PEDRO (Ponta do Pargo), Batimos, 1777 - 1824 1109896 NOSSA SENHORA DA LUZ (Ponta do Sul, Funchal), Batimos, 1789-1814 1111002 NOSSA SENHORA DA GUADALUPE (Porto da Cruz, Funchal), Batimos, 1804-1838. Alguns tomos de batimos incluem confirmações 1111011 NOSSA SENHORA DA PIEDADE (Porto Santo, Funchal), Nascimentos, 1837-1851, (para adultos nascidos entre 1806-1813), Item 1 1111021 SÃO BENTO (Ribeira Brava, Funchal), Batimos, 1792-1827 1150377 SANTA ANA (Santana, Funchal), Batimos, 1794 - 1828 1150384 NOSSA SENHORA DA ENCARNAÇÃO (Ribeira da Janela, Funchal), Batimos, 1726-1859 1150392 SÃO SALVADOR (Santa Cruz, Funchal), Batimos, 1803-1826 *1151140 SANTO ANTONIO, Funchal, Batimos *1153480 SÃO GONÇALO, Batimos, 1586 -1810 *1153485 SAO JORGE, Funchal, Batimos, 1779 -1859 1153490 SÃO MARTINHO, Funchal, Batimos, 1781-1851 (falta anos) 5 *1153492 SÃO ROQUE, Funchal, Batimos, 1637-1840 *1153497 SÃO VICENTE, Funchal, Batimos, 1802 -1823 1153979 SANTO ANTÃO (Seixal, Funchal), Batimos, 1696 - 1860 (desordenados) 1153987 NOSSA SENHORA DA AJUDA (Serra de Água, Funchal), Batimos, 1750-1875, (falta anos) items 2-20. Alguns registros forão filmados duas vezes *1156469 SANTÍSSIMA TRINIDADE (Tábua, Funchal), Batimos, 1783-1837 Walter Pio (my mother’s father’s oldest brother), who was born in 1884, had, in his youth, talked with people who had personally known his great -grandfather, John Pio.