This is the story of the Pinheiro family of Nevis and Barbados as told by the biographies of its individual members. These bios may be read in order, by generation, or you can skip to individuals using the family tree or the "find" command of your browser. If you have any additional information on the Pinheiro family, I would love to hear from you.
ISAAC PINHEIRO was born in Madrid, Spain in 1636 (Doop Trouwen Begraafboeken (DTB) 682:374). He was married to ESTHER PINHEIRO (a cousin?) on January 27, 1656 in Amsterdam (DTB 682:374). The presence of his father and sister in Amsterdam according to his will written in 1708 indicates that the PINHEIROs likely took part in the marrano exodus to the Netherlands that occurred during the first half of the seventeenth century (Sachar 1994:285). ISAAC became a freeman in New York on February 2, 1695, but by 1708 had made his way to Nevis (Marcus 1970:99, Stern 1958:158). The first record of his family's presence on Nevis was the census taken in March of that year (Oliver, Volume 3:173-179). According to the census the PINHEIRO household consisted of two white males, four white females, and nine blacks. From his will written the following year we can surmise that the members of the family listed were likely ISAAC, his youngest son MOSES, his wife ESTHER, and their three daughters, SARAH, REBEKAH, and JUDITH. His eldest son JACOB (or perhaps even ISAAC himself) was not present at the time of the census. ISAAC was a merchant and together with LEWIS MOSES GOMES served as the New York agent of ABRAHAM BUENO DE MESQUITA (also of Nevis) (Stern 1958:158). In fact, he was in New York when he died on February 17, 1710. He was buried in the Chatham Square cemetery of New York's Congregation Shearith Israel (Stern 1958:158; Pool 1952:453). On November 21, 1855 his grave was transferred to the Twenty-first Street burial Ground. All that was legible of his stone was ISAAC PINH- and the date 1710 (he was initially incorrectly identified as Isaac Pinhas) (Pool 1952:453). ISAAC left a will dated November 12, 1708 that was proved in Nevis and probated in New York on April 12, 1711.
According to his will, ISAAC's father was ABRAHAM PINHEIRO of Amsterdam. His sister RACHEL PINHEIRO was also a resident of Amsterdam. His other sister SARAH lived on Curacao with her husband ISAAC DAGAMA.
ESTHER was born in 1638 (DTB 682:374). She married ISAAC PINHEIRO (a cousin?) on January 27, 1656 in Amsterdam (DTB 682:374). By February of 1706/7 she was in New York. The first reference to her presence there is the record of her purchase of the slave woman Bastiana from Lord Cornbury for forty pounds on February 13, 1707 in New York (Pool 1952:454). The second is a receipt of goods shipped by ESTHER PINHEIRO to LEWIS MOSES GOMES of New York on the account of MRS. ANNE LEVERMORE (Common Records of Nevis 1707-1728). This receipt is was signed a mere seven days later in New York on February 20, 1706/7. It is unclear from the deteriorated record where the goods were shipped from and when the receipt was entered into the Nevis register. Likely EstHer was still in New York at the time of the delivery and had the receipt entered into the records upon her arrival on Nevis. She emigrated to Nevis some time during the following year as she was recorded in the island's census taken in March of 1707/8 (Oliver, Volume 3:173-179). At the time of her husband's death on February 17, 1710, she appears to have been on Nevis for as the executor of his will she sent a letter to New York from Nevis dated April 19, 1710. In this letter she appointed RIP VAN DAME and LUIS GOMEZ of the city of New York, merchants, as her attorneys in order to settle ISAAC's accounts "in the Said Citty [sic] of New York or any other part thereunto adjacent" (Hershkowitz 1966:338, 341). After ISAAC's death, ESTHER was a successful merchant, landowner, and an active member of the Nevis Jewish community. She frequently appeared in the court records between 1708 and 1723 collecting debts owed her for goods delivered (Kings Bench and Common Pleas 1705-1716, 1715-1723). In 1716, 1717, and 1718 she was not an infrequent visitor to the ports of Boston and New York (Marcus 1970:99). Between 1720 and 1728 she owned the ships the "Samuel", the "Abigail", and the "William" in partnership with a non-Jewish Boston merchant (Faber 1998:102). She also owned the "Esther" in partnership with non-Jewish merchants in Boston and Nevis (Faber 1998:102). The ports to which these ships sailed included Nevis, Barbados, Boston, Rhode Island, Madeira, and London (Faber 1998:102). The last known record that mentions ESTHER is a receipt dated February 1st, 1730/31 (Common Records of Nevis 1728-1746). The date of Esther's death is not known, but her will was filed on St. Kitts in 1733/34.
ESTHER'S mother was RACHEL PINHEIRO of Amsterdam according to the record of her marriage in 1656 and ISAAC's will of 1708 (DTB 682:374; . Her father is presently unknown.
According to ISAAC's will, ISAAC and ESTER had five children: ABRAHAM, JACOB, MOSES, JUDITH, REBEKAH, and SARAH. The eldest son ABRAHAM was deceased when ISAAC wrote his will in 1708. No additional information is available on their daughters. Their sons JACOB and MOSES, though, appear occasionally in the records of Nevis (see below).
SECOND GENERATION IN THE WEST INDIES
JACOB may, or may not be, one of the male members of the PINHEIRO household indicated in the 1708 census. According to his father's will of 1708, JACOB had not yet reached the age of twenty-one in that year indicating that he was born after 1687. He and his brother MOSES appear to have come along rather late in ISAAC and ESHER's lives. Were they possibly adopted? In 1712 he appeared in a court record with his mother ESTER (Stern 1958:158). In 1719 JACOB, whose occupation was given as "merchant" took his brother MOSES to court in order to have partitioned the estate in St. John's parish that they were given jointly in ISAAC's will (King's Bench and Common Pleas 1715-1723). The court ruled that the plantation was to be divided. In other court records between 1715 and 1723, JACOB was described as a "planter" (Kings Bench and Common Pleas 1715-1723). JACOB is last recorded in the Common Records of Nevis of 1734-1737. In one of the entries from these years his place of residence is given as St. Kitts. The remainder of JACOB's life is undocumented. Unlike his brother MOSES, JACOB does not appear to have gone to Barbados, but rather he may have settled in Jamaica as a JACOB PINHEIRO appears in a 1745 list of Jewish households in Kingston, Jamaica (Faber 1998:192).
MOSES was most likely one of the male members of the Pinheiro household indicated in the 1708 census. According to his father's 1708 will MOSES had not yet reached the age of eighteen in that year indicating that he was born after 1690 (1695 according to his gravestone). He and his brother JACOB appear to have come along rather late in ISAAC and ESHER's lives. Were they possibly adopted? In 1719 his older brother JACOB took him to court in order to have partitioned the estate in St. John's parish that they were given jointly in ISAAC's will (King's Bench and Common Pleas 1715-1723). According to this document, MOSES was a "planter" by trade. The court ruled that the plantation was to be divided. MOSES appeared in additional court cases between 1715 and 1723 (King's Bench and Common Pleas 1715-1723). By 1726, though, MOSES had moved to St. Michael's parish, Barbados, and had married his wife LUNAH. On November 22, 1726 MOSES and LUNAH appointed his mother ESTER as their lawful attorney to carry out their interests on Nevis (Common Records of Nevis 1707-1728:646). The only additional references to MOSES on Nevis are land records dated 1737, 1738, and 1754. MOSES PINHEIRO died on Barbados on July 14, 1755. His gravestone recorded in English, Hebrew, and Portuguese with a carving of a tree chopped down, is in the cemetery of the synagogue at Bridgetown (Shilstone 1956:151). MOSES' wife LUNAH, who died on March 17, 1770, is also buried at Bridgetown (Shilstone 1956:155).
THIRD GENERATION IN THE WEST INDIES
The links between the second and third generations of PINHEIROs on Barbados are not documented. But as MOSES and LUNAH were the first, and only PINHEIROs, of their generation to emigrate to Barbados, we can assume that the PINHEIROs of this generation are in fact their children. The birth dates, naming pattern, and the transference of land on Nevis, all substantiate this conclusion.
After the death of ESTER PINHEIRO, Barbados replaced Nevis as the geographical center of the PINHEIRO family. In fact, after the reference in 1754 to land owned by MOSES PINHEIRO, no mention of the PINHEIROs is found in the public records of Nevis until that same piece of property is attributed to an ISAAC PINHEIRO, of Barbados, in 1776 (Common Records of Nevis 1776-1777:455-458). It would appear that ISAAC inherited this piece of land after MOSES' death in 1755.
Two ISAAC PINHEIROs are recorded in the burial register of the Barbados Jewish community. As one of these ISAACs was not born until 1775, we can rule him out as the owner of the Nevis property in 1776. The second ISAAC is a much better fit. Born in 1721, he was 74 years of age when he died on November 9, 1795 (Shilstone 1956:173). The relationship of this ISAAC to MOSES PINHEIRO is not clear, but his age and the fact that he appears to have inherited MOSES' Nevis property would indicate that he is likely the eldest son of MOSES and LUNAH PINHEIRO named after his paternal grandfather. The entry of his death in the burial register of the Barbados community and the record of his land ownership on Nevis are presently the only references known to ISAAC PINHEIRO.
Their adjacent burial stones in the Jewish cemetery in Bridgetown and the entries of their deaths in the burial register of the Barbados community are all that are known of ABRAHAM and REBECCA PINHEIRO. His date of death is given as March 5, 1755, and hers as October 31, 1768 (Shilstone 1956:152-153). ABRAHAM is likely a son of MOSES and LUNAH PINHEIRO named after his paternal great grandfather.
The deaths of JACOB and HANAH PINHEIRO are recorded in the burial register of the Barbados Jewish community. His date of death is given as March 31, 1803, and hers as June 6, 1818 (Shilstone 1956:173, 175). HANAH was recorded as a Barbados slaveholder in 1817 (Faber 1998:227).
RACHEL PINHEIRO owned a piece of land near the Bridgetown Jewish cemetery according to an 1814 land transaction (Shilstone 1956:xxxii). She was listed amongst the Jewish inhabitants of Bridgetown in 1798, 1810, 1815, and 1818 (Faber 1998:223) and was recorded as a slaveholder in 1817 (Faber 1998:227). Her relationship to the other PINHEIROs is not clear, but her date of birth and name indicate that she may have been a daughter of MOSES and LUNAH PINHEIRO. RACHEL died a spinster on June 4, 1822 (Shilstone 1956:175).
Their adjacent burial stones in the Jewish cemetery in Bridgetown and the entries of their deaths in the burial register of the Barbados community are all that is recorded of DAVID and JAEL PINHEIRO. His date of death is given as November 23, 1781, and hers as June 2, 1782 (Shilstone 1956:125-126). Although his relationship to the other PINHEIROs is not clear, DAVID's date of birth and the naming of his son MOSES indicate that he was likely a son of MOSES and LUNAH PINHEIRO.
FOURTH GENERATION IN THE WEST INDIES
MOSES PINHEIRO's entry in the burial register of the Barbados Jewish community identifies him as a son of DAVID PINHEIRO (Shilstone 1956:62). As the PINHEIRO family demonstrates a naming pattern in which children are named after grandparents, he was likely the grandson of MOSES PINHEIRO, the youngest son of ISAAC and ESTER PINHEIRO of Nevis. MOSES was listed amongst the Jewish inhabitants of Bridgetown, Barbados in 1798, 1810, 1815, and 1818 (Faber 1998:223) and he was recorded as a Barbados slaveholder in 1817 (Faber 1998:227). On September 26, 1831, MOSES wrote up his final will and testament. In it he divides his estate amongst his wife LEAH, his son DAVID, his daughter JAEL (wife of DANIEL PASS), his granddaughter LEAH, and others. MOSES died on November 22, 1831 and was buried in the Jewish cemetery at Bridgetown (Shilstone 1956:62). LEAH died twenty-one years later on July 6, 1852 and is identified in the burial register as the widow of MOSES PINHEIRO (Shilstone 1956:178). A copy of MOSES' will was sent to Nevis in 1845 by the executor of his estate (Common Records of Nevis 1840-1846:721). This action indicates that MOSES still held interests or accounts on Nevis. Most likely MOSES had inherited the piece of land that had been passed from his grandfather MOSES PINHEIRO to his uncle ISAAC PINHEIRO. From 1776 to until 1862 this parcel of land is referred to as belonging to the "Heirs of Pinheiro." When it finally passes out of the PINHEIRO family in 1862 it is again attributed to MOSES PINHEIRO (Common Records of Nevis 1859-1869). In all likelihood the estate of the MOSES PINHEIRO who died in 1831 had been settled by 1862, in which case the MOSES who finally oversees the land sale is likely the grandson of this MOSES by his son DAVID.
In 1831 DAVID PINHEIRO is mentioned in the will of his father MOSES PINHEIRO (Common Records of Nevis 1859-1869). No additional information is available for DAVID. We might assume that the MOSES PINHEIRO who the lands on Nevis were attributed to in 1862 was his son.
JAEL, the daughter of MOSES and LEAH PINHEIRO, married DANIEL PASS prior to 1831. They had a daughter LEAH, named for her grandmother. DANIEL (a son of NAPHTALI PASS), had been previously married on October 20, 1819 to SARAH MOSES DE CASTRO, who died on September 3, 1820 (Shilstone 1956:175). It appears that SARAH died after having given birth to MIRIAM HANAH (MARY ANN) PASS who died December 3, 1821 and is identified in the burial register as the "child of DANIEL PASS aged 3 months and 8 days" (Shilstone 1956:175). It is not clear whether the child NAPTHTELI PASS who died on October 5, 1829 and who was also identified as a "child of DANIEL PASS" was a son by SARAH or JAEL (Shilstone 1956:176). Likewise we can not be sure who the mother was of MOSES PASS who died at an undisclosed age February 1, 1832 and was identified as a "son of DANIEL PASS" in the burial register (Shilstone 1956:177). If his name is any indication, he is likely a son of JAEL named for her father MOSES PINHEIRO. DANIEL PASS died in December of 1833 (Shilstone 1956:177). JAEL died fifteen years later on November 19, 1848 and is identified in the burial register as the widow of DANIEL PASS and daughter of MOSES PINHEIRO (Shilstone 1956:178).
Common Records of Nevis
Doop Trouwen Begraafboeken (DTB). In the Gemeentearchief of Amsterdam.
Faber, Eli
1998 Jews, Slaves, and the Slave Trade: Setting the Record Straight. New York: New York University Press.
Hershkowitz, Leo
1966 Wills of Early New York Jew, 1704-1740. American Jewish Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. 55 (3), pp. 319-363.
King's Bench and Common Pleas of Nevis
Marcus, Jacob
1970 The Colonial American Jew 1492-1776, Volume I. Detroit: Wayne State University.
Oliver, Vere Langford, editor
1919 Caribbeana: Being Miscellaneous Papers Relating to the History, Genealogy, Topography, and Antiquities of the British West Indies, 6 Volumes. London: Mitchell Hughes and Clarke.
Pool, David de Sola
1952 Portraits Etched in Stone: Early Jewish Settlers, 1682-1831. New York: Columbia University Press.
Sachar, Howard
1994 Farewell Espana: The World of the Sephardim Remembered. New York: Vintage Books.
Shilstone, E. M.
1956 Monumental Inscriptions in the Burial Ground of the Jewish Synagogue at Bridgetown, Barbados.
Stern, Malcolm
1958 Some Notes on the Jews of Nevis. American Jewish Archives, 10(2):151-159.
Swetschinski, Daniel
1982 Conflict and Opportunity in "Europe's Other Sea": The Adventure of Caribbean Jewish Settlement. American Jewish History, Volume LXXII (2):212:240.
The Jewish Community of Nevis Archaeology Project | Michelle Terrell's Homepage
terre011@tc.umn.edu | Revised November 2001