Crecenciana's Immigration Card

Crecenciana Aurora Matus Villatoro

While I was using the FamilySearch app on my tablet, I clicked on the name of my maternal 2nd great-grandfather, Nicanor Matus. That family line is woefully lacking in information. I don't know who Nicanor's parents were or if he had any siblings. Anyway, I clicked on a hint and it was linked to this amazing document.

It's an Immigration Card for Crecenciana Aurora Matus Villatoro.¹ She was married to Theodore Reinacher. Why did FamilySearch give me this document as a hint for Nicanor Matus? Because his name is on the document. Crecenciana is the youngest sister of my great-grandmother, Esther Matus Villatoro. Esther married my great-grandfather, Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster, a.k.a. "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog.

Information provided in this document:

Name: Crecenciana Aurora Reinacher
Admitted into the national territory in character (Immigration Status): Permanent
Nationality: Mexican, Married
Father: Nicanor Matus
Mother: Raymunda Vilatoros Matus
Profession: Domestic
ID Card: No. 873.149
Record No. 203.454 (Exp. 2/12/43
Residence: Rua Santo Antonio, 117
Employment:
Local:

Crecenciana's Immigration Card is image 181 in this record set. I clicked on the right arrow that advanced to the next image when I was looking at this document. I'm glad I did because there is a back to this card, and it's been digitized as well. Here it is.

Unfortunately, I don't read or speak Portuguese, so I typed the sentence on this card into Google Translate and this was the result: landed at Santos in 1916, by steam, "Vestris"

I then did a Google search for Vestris and found an article on Wikipedia about the SS Vestris, which included this postcard image of the ship.

SS "Vestris"

Public Domain {PD-US}

That simple sentence on the back of Crecenciana's Immigration Card tells me that she arrived in Santos, Brazil in 1916, which means she would have been around 16 years old at the time she emigrated from Mexico to Brazil on the SS Vestris. Her older sister, Esther (my great-grandmother), was already living in Brazil and was the mother of four of her five children in 1916. Esther's fifth child was born in 1918. It must have been wonderful for Esther to have her sister living there too.

Tip: Make sure to look at the images before and after the document about your ancestor. You never know if there are additional pages.

I also found an Immigration Card for Crecenciana's husband, Theodor, in this same database on FamilySearch. I'll share that document in a future post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2016 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

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1 "Brasil, São Paulo, Cartões de Imigração, 1902-1980," database with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 October 2015), entry for Crecenciana Aurora Reinacher, card no. 873.149; citing Arquivo Público do Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo State Public Archives, São Paulo).^↩