b. 29 June 1863 - d. 9 Jan 1961
Born in Sao Jorge, Azores
Anna Lopes is my Great Great Grandmother's (Maria da Gloria Figunes Alvernaz) older half sister. She was born in the Azores and came to the United States in 1909 at the age of 46. She was travelling with her 12 year old daughter, Lizzie.
What I know about her from family stories is that she came to the United States to join her husband, Manuel Nunes Lopes, in the gold fields of Nevada City, California. Apparently they made a little bit of money. One of the stories my Mom told me is that when she was little, she was playing in her family's front yard digging holes with a spoon made of gold from Anna and Manuel's claim. The spoon was lost that day and my Mom got into a LOT of trouble.
Somewhere along the line, Aunt Anna ended up in San Francisco, CA without Manuel. It's not known if they divorced or if he passed away. Lizzie was with her in 1910, but I don't know what happened to her after that or if she had any siblings. Anyhow, San Francisco is another interesting piece of Aunt Anna's story.
Aunt Anna lived with a man named Bernard Dickman. They never married! Oh, the scandal! How was it that she arrived in the States in 1909 and by 1910 she was living with a man who wasn't her husband? She ended up with profits from the gold claim. What happened to Manuel? Who was Bernard? How did they meet? They lived together until Bernard's death.
The 1930 census shows Bernard and Anna living in an apartment in San Francisco where they worked as a waiter and waitress.
My Mom remembers going to visit Anna in San Francisco. She remembers that she had no refrigerator and that she kept her groceries out on the terrace of her apartment. My Mom and her sister were offered Saltines as snacks when they came to visit and if anyone knows San Francisco, it's usually foggy. Saltines on terrace = stale...ick.
The times that my Aunt Anna lived, she did some unconventional things. I would love to know how she met her husband, why she left the Azores, how did she come to live with a man she wasn't married to.
