Re: Antonio DeZocieur info from Sizer book
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In reply to:
Antonio DeZocieur info from Sizer book
Bobbie Meyer 7/21/01
Thanks for providing the results of the research in Portugal.No surprise there.
People should be aware that it was very common for New England Mulattos who could pass as white to appear in a seaport, claim they had jumped ship from a Mediterranean island, and begin again as a white person.
The story as both Anthony and William told it contain many details that make little sense and don't add up.
I also took a stab at trying to verify the Azores story.People on the Azores lists pointed out that while the name could have been De Sousa, which would sound something like De Soceur, it rather sounds like he said his name was "Dos Azores", pronounced the way they pronounce those words in Azores.They were howling.
If as William says Anthony's father had really been a rich and well known man in whose home lots of people remembered having eaten, he would also not be at all hard to find in the records.
I strongly suspect that William knew or suspected that his father was Mulatto, and deliberately built up the family mythology.It is conceivable that Mediterranean sailors behaving like themselves said oh, yes, I know of this man though they had in fact never heard of him.
What is more, it is NOT true that many French Huguenots ever went to the Azores.
I am trying to learn if any male line descendant of Anthony Sizer has ever had his DNA tested.The results could be consistent or inconsistent with the Azores story.If Anthony was a New England mulatto with light skin and blue eyes, his direct male line ancestor was probaby a White man of English extraction.If Anthony carried a Nordic, Scandinavian or distinctly British haplotype, that would be strongly inconsistent with the Azores story.Such a test should be done on several individuals who are not closely related to each other to rule out the possibility of adoption or father someone other than husband somewhere in the line.
Yours,
Dora Smith