Marriages and several close family ties

 

How exciting it must have been for seventeen year old Amy to be a bridesmaid  at the wedding of her brother Charlie to Elsie Gomez!  She is pictured holding a large bouquet next to her mother Virginia on the groom's side in that iconic family wedding photo of 1909.  The bridesmaids looked so elegant in their dresses of cream voiles with hats to match!  We know from my grandmother's entries in her Bible that the venue for their wedding reception was the home of Albert and Mary Mendes in Victoria Square, Port of Spain.  She also wrote that Albert was her godfather.  Records show that his wife was Mary Antoinette Pereira, her mother's sister.  Her aunt Mary and husband Albert are also in that wedding picture.    

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But the family relationship with Albert Mendes appears to have had an even deeper conection, even before his marriage to Mary Pereira.  A document has been found showing that Albert had been previously married to Charlotte de Freitas, the younger daughter of Sebastien - Charlie Sheppard's aunt.  Records are still being sought to determine what became of Charlotte, but we do know that they had two children, one of whom was given the middle name Charlotte.  The quest to confirm the dates of Charlotte (de Freitas) Mendes' assumed death, and the date Albert married my grandmother Elsie's  aunt Mary is ongoing. Significant to me is the fact that in 1915 Albert appointed Charlotte's nephew, my grandfather Charles Sheppard, to be one of the Executors of his Will and left an inheritance of 500 pounds sterling to my grandmother, Elsie.  Of course, by then Albert's wife was her sister!  It's a tangled tale that can only be unraveled with certainty by documented proof.

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In any case, the Portuguese community in Trinidad seemed to have been a close-knit one, and for sure the Sheppard, Gomez and Mendes families knew each other well and were all celebrating at my grandparents' wedding at Albert and Mary's home in 1909.  My grandmother Elsie wrote in her Bible:  "A very happy wedding held at the home of my Godfather, Mr. Albert Mendes, Victoria Square.  Many young people and children attended."   

Cousins by the dozens!

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On 18 Jan 1913, another family wedding took place, and no doubt many of the same guests were there.  Alfred Sheppard entered his daughter's marriage in the family Bible:

"Amalia Elizabeth Sheppard and Edward Oswald Mendes were united in Marriage in the United P. Church on the 18th January 1913."

 

Amy Sheppard was twenty-six years old, living at her parents' home in 117 Edward Street, Port of Spain, when she married Edward Oswald Mendes, known as Oswald. In the marriage register his address is shown as 49 Jerningham Avenue, Port of Spain -  the home of his father Antonio Mendes, described in "The Autobiography of Alfred H. Mendes" as a "large colonial house".  The witnesses are Oswald's brother Hugh Martin Mendes and Edith Edmee Gomez.  Edith had also been a bridesmaid with Amy at my grandparents' wedding, as she was my grandmother Elsie's sister.  Moreover, Amy's sweetheart and now groom, Oswald Mendes, was first cousin to Albert Mendes, who hosted my grandparents' wedding reception.  Their fathers were two brothers from Madeira.

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Oswald Mendes, of Portuguese descent

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Amy's husband Oswald was born in Trinidad on 27th August 1887 to Antonio Mendes  and his second wife, Matilda Gregorio.  His siblings were Alexander Louis (Alec), Hugh Martin, Maria Amelia and Agnes May.   Antonio's father Joaquim Mendes, along with Joaquim's brothers Manoel and Francisco Mendes, were among the earliest Portuguese Presbyterian refugees who arrived in Trinidad in 1846.  Oswald's cousin Albert Mendes was the son of Francisco and his wife Rose d'Andrade, who was also from Madeira.  The famous writer Alfred H. Mendes was the grandfather of Academy Award winner Sir Sam Mendes.  His 2020 movie "1917" was inspired by his grandfather's autobiography.  Alfred Hubert was Albert's nephew, son of his brother Alfred Snr.  I would imagine that they would all have been guests at these family weddings.  Many of these inter-connected people have been reported in the newspapers of the day attending family funerals.

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Amelia (Amy) Sheppard's grandfather Sebastien (Sebastiano) de Freitas and his father Antonio de Freitas, were also among that early group of Portuguese Presbyterians who fled to Trinidad from Madeira to escape violent religious persecution in 1846.  They were among those first refugees, members of the St. Ann's Church of Scotland, whose own hard labour helped build the first Presbyterian Church of St. Anns in Trinidad's capital, Port of Spain. Their names are listed in church records as contributors to a Patriotic Fund.  It is no wonder, then, that both the Sheppard and Mendes families of those generations were  staunch members of what was then called the United Presbyterian Church of St. Anns and otherwise referred to as the First Portuguese Church.  Oswald Mendes and as well as his cousins Alfred and Francis became Elders of the Church. 
 

On 20 February 1914, Amy gave birth to their first child.  They named him Oswald  Antonio after his father and grandfather.  A year later, on 30 March 1915, their second child Malcolm Arthur was born, followed three years later by a sister for the boys, Olga, born on 9 October 1918.  Imagine their delight when Amy's next pregnancy resulted in the birth of twin boys - Freddie and Bertie,  on 20 September 1920!

But tragedy befell their young family.  A sad accident took place at home  resulting in the death of 18 month old Bertie.  The grief and sadness at losing their little son must have been unbearable for Amy and Oswald.  A newspaper report about a court enquiry surrounding the accident appeared in the Port of Spain Gaette of May 9, 1922.  The verdict was that "the infant died from shock due to burns, owing to hot water falling on it, and that no one was guilty of felony". 

 

The year after the accident Amy gave birth to another son, Charles Gilbert on 14 June 1923, followed by yet another son Leonard Alfred born on 14 April 1926.  Their family became complete when little Jessie Amalia arrived on 14 October 1927.   

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Amy and Oswald lived to see all of their children married and to enjoy their grandchildren. Together with their large family, they celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary on 18 January 1973.

 

Amy passed away on 4 April 1975 and Oswald on 17 November 1975.  Amy was laid to rest in a plot alongside the burial place first purchased by her father Alfred Sheppard in 1910 for Amy and Charlie's brother Alfred who died at age 25.   It is also the resting place of my grandparents Charles and Elsie Sheppard and their infant son Arthur .

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These are the ties that bind.