Article Nº 2345 Family, surname or lineage Vol. II · p. 680
Mendes
Entry on the Mendes surname in Madeira, tracing it to early settlers Martim Mendes de Vasconcelos and Joane Mendes de Brito.
Martim Mendes de Vasconcelos, sent by John I to Madeira to marry Helena Gonçalves da Câmara, daughter of Zargo, was one of the first settlers of the island. He held large sesmarias (royal land grants to settlers on condition of cultivation) in São Martinho, beside the Ribeira dos Socorridos, and in Estreito de Câmara de Lobos (‘the narrows of Câmara de Lobos’). Joane Mendes de Brito was another early settler, who held a sesmaria in the parish (freguesia) of Campanário.
People mentioned