Portuguese - Lighting the Way, Historic Women of the SouthCoast

Josephine Teixeira

Silhouette artist Josephine Teixeira (1911-2008) was born on November 24, 1911 in the village of Camacha on the island of Madeira to parents Antonio and Genevieve (Neves) Baptiste.

Dineia Sylvia

Dedicated library assistant Dineia Maria (Amaral) Sylvia (1948-2003) was the welcoming face of New Bedford’s Casa da Saudade branch library from its 1971 opening.

Mary Stanley

Known as “Fish Mary,” Mary Fernandes Santos Stanley (1894-1977) was the New Bedford waterfront’s only woman lumper in the 1950s and 1960s.

When 20,000 textile workers went on strike in the 1928 New Bedford Textile Workers Strike, 18-year-old factory worker Eulalia Mendes (1910-2004) became a leader in her mill and community by promoting Portuguese industrial migrant worker participation in the strike.

Theresa Dougall

In a career that spanned 44 years at Bishop Stang High School, Theresa E. Perry Dougall (1946-2016) was known as a distinguished teacher, department head, coach, and administrator.

Photograph Of Clementina Ponte - Face Of An Older Woman Smiling At The Camera. Woman Has Short Grey And White Hair And Is Wearing Stud Earrings.

Clementina “Tina” Ponte

Union leader. Political activist. University trustee. In these roles, Clementina “Tina” Rodrigues Ponte (1922-2013) worked to make the South Coast a better place.

Maria Alves

Feelings of “saudade,” love, loss and longing, were created when Maria Fernandes Alves (1924-2008) sang fado, traditional Portuguese folk music, throughout the South Coast and beyond.

Photograph Of Laurina Andrade - An Older Woman With Her Dark Hair Pulled Back. She Is Wearing A White Shirt And A Jacket, And Holding A Pair Of Glasses.

Laurinda C. Andrade

From immigrant textile mill worker to Ivy League student to pioneering New Bedford educator, Laurinda C. Andrade (1899-1980) overcame barriers of tradition, poverty, language, and discrimination to establish the first high school Portuguese language department in the United States at New Bedford High School.

Sister Aurora Helena Avelar

New Bedford’s Mother Teresa, Sister Aurora Helena Avelar (1903-1999) was a Roman Catholic nun who devoted her life to the underserved.

Mary T. Vermette

Deeply rooted in her Azorean heritage, Dr. Mary T. Vermette (1934-2003) worked with the Azorean Maritime Heritage Society and the New Bedford Whaling Museum to promote Azorean culture and the shared whaling heritage between New Bedford and the Azores.