Malheiro

In the early 16th century, there was a Bartolomeu Malheiro living in Madeira, who donated land for the construction of a new hospital (see 'Saudades', page 645), but the present Malheiro family, represented in Funchal by Dr. José Maria Malheiro (1921), an enlightened administrative auditor of the district, descends from Paulo Malheiro de Melo, a native of Viana do Castelo, who settled on this island in the 18th century. In the first quarter of the 19th century, there was the commercial house of Paulo Malheiro de Melo & Filhos in Funchal, and the Malheiro family was considered of noble origin.