Born of Portuguese parents in 1862, Mary was christened Maria Izabel Medeiros Cabrinha in Ponta Garça, São Miguel, Azores, Portugal. She married Manuel Fontes, Jr. at the age of 18 and, within 7 years, she had given him 3 children and buried 3 others. The middle names of the Fontes boys were all the same--Cabrinha--after the surname of their mother and their grandfather, João de Medeiros Cabrinha. (The Portuguese equivalent for "John," "João" is pronounced "joe wow," with the accent on the second syllable.)

When Maria's little João was only 3 years old, she and many of her family members became a part of history when they joined the 16,000 Azoreans who emigrated from the Azores Islands to the Hawaiian Islands in the late 19th Century. The Manuel Fontes family undertook the 7,279-mile voyage in 1891. From the island of São (San) Miguel, the trip lasted anywhere from 57 to 130 days, depending if the ship was a bark--sailing ship--or a steamer. Upon arrival in the Territory of Hawaii, Maria and her 4 men settled in the township of South Hilo, where she raised her family and adopted the English "Mary." She lived long enough to dote upon all of her grandchildren and, in the summer of 1931--just 4 days after her 69th birthday--she breathed her last. Missed greatly by her devoted sons, she was laid to rest at Homelani Memorial Park in Hilo, her gravestone etched with the tender and wistful inscription "Mother." [Biography by genealogygirl]

Father: João de Medeiros Cabrinha
{12/30/1825 - 12/1883}
Mother: Maria da Gloria Feiteira Cabrinha
{2/20/1841 - 8/28/1912}

Brothers & Sisters:
Manoel Medeiros Cabrinha {11/17/1863 - 8/19/1934}
Antónia Maria Cabrinha Vieira {1/22/1869 - 11/2/1944}
Floricinda Cabrinha Chaves {12/4/1873 - 5/3/1917}
Anna "Annie" Medeiros Cabrinha Baptiste {3/3/1878 - 10/11/1931}
António Medeiros Cabrinha {3/10/1880 - 9/16/1956}
Francisco Antone Cabrinha {12/1882 - 1902}

Spouse: Manuel Fontes, Jr. {1849 - unknown}, m. 10/4/1880

Sons: José "Joseph" or "Joe" Cabrinha Fontes {6/2/1882 - 4/4/1920}
Manuel Cabrinha Fontes {1/21/1886 - 12/8/1939}
João "John" Cabrinha Fontes {9/2/1887 - 1/9/1948}

Grandchildren (through son, Joe Fontes):
David Fontes {8/20/1913 - 12/5/1966}
Catherine "Katie" Fontes Nakayama Hatanaka {9/25/1915 - 5/23/1960}
Gertrude Fontes De Lima {11/16/1916 - 5/14/1996}
Alexandrina Lorraine "Alice" Fontes Correa {7/23/1918 - 1/19/1992}
Delia Fontes Bains Jones {9/26/1919 - 1/10/2000}

GREAT-Grandchildren (through granddaughter, Delia Fontes Bains Jones):
Sheila & John, Jr.
Infant Daughter Bains {1/12/1939 - 2/6/1939}
Delia Sharon "Dee" Bains Canepa Martinez Hubbard {5/30/1945 - 3/27/2017}

GREAT-GREAT-Grandchildren (through granddaughter, Delia Fontes Bains Jones):
Kathy, Christopher, Martin, Leanne & Phillip
Patricia Ann "Patty" Jones Busic Parker {3/11/1962 - 3/19/2012}
Marc Andrew Canepa {3/9/1964 - 4/29/1977}
Jon Michael Lorentz {6/21/1965 - 12/21/2012}

GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-Grandchildren (through granddaughter, Delia Fontes Bains Jones): Nate, Andrew, Sabrina, Nicholas, Collette, Brittany, Madison, Julie, Lily, Scarlett, Archer & Arlo
Amber Marie Busic {2/25/1986 - 2/25/1986}

GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-Grandchildren (through granddaughter, Delia Fontes Bains Jones): Bella & Dominic