José Maria Anthonio D'SOUZA

  General Notes:

Joseph was born in Belgundi, a village in the Belgaum district in the southern state of Karnataka, India. He was baptised in The Immaculate Conception Church, one of the oldest parishes in the Diocese of Belgaum. It was founded in 1826 for the sake of migrant Goans. In 1851 a bigger structure was constructed as the population was mostly 250 catholics. For nearly 90 years The Immaculate Conception Church was in the see of Vicar General of Ghats under the Patriarch of Goa until the formation of Belgaum Diocese in September 1953. For these reasons the Parish is still sometimes referred to as "GOYCHI IGROZ" or "GOA CHURCH". (The 1851 old Church building had to be demolished due to its dangerously weak structure and a new Church building was constructed in 1985).

In order to be eligible for a specific membership/position Joseph had to prove he was Anglo-Indian. On 21 July 1941 a Bombay court confirmed that Joseph was of Portuguese European descent in the male line and confirmed that he was therefore a member of the Anglo-Indian Community. The Honourable Administrator of the sub-district of Nagar-Aveli, Portuguese Territory of Dammaun, having searched the local archives and taken witness statements, provided the Bombay court with a certificate dated 12 October 1938 confirming that Joseph was the son of Casimiro de Souza, legitimate descendant of the European settler Miguel Feleciano de Souza, who settled 'years ago' in the village of Silvassa, Nagar-Aveli.

  Burial Notes:

Buried on October 9, 1989 in Roman Catholic ground;
Grave Number 1149, Section B of Abbey Lane Cemetery, Sheffield.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Occupation: Turner Foreman the BB&CI Railway Loco-Workshop, 1941, Ajmer, India.

José married Ellen CORREYA, daughter of Jeremea CORREYA and Magdalene, in 1919. (Ellen CORREYA was born in 1903 and died in 1969.)