Connecting Families Across Time and Space
How one Oral Historian Solves Ancestral Mysteries.
Dear Readers,
If you have been reading Our Portugal Journey for a while, you already know that part of my reason for living in Portugal is to find my Portuguese ancestral roots. So, I was intrigued when earlier this year, I received an invitation on LinkedIn to connect with Ângela Campos, a bilingual (Portuguese-English) oral historian and genealogist.
As a way of introduction, Ângela wrote that she had recently read my post, Finding Family and was moved by it, especially because her own maternal family lives in the area that my maternal family is from, and that her grandmother shares the same surname as my great-grandfather. Ângela mentioned that many people with the same surname as her grandmother and my great-grandfather, originating from that same area (albeit from different villages), possibly share a common origin. So, there’s a possibility that Ângela and I may be related somewhere along the ancestral line!
She went on to write that she connects Portuguese-descent families across time and space, via traditional research, and genetic genealogy. She added that she especially enjoys solving ancestral mysteries that most people deem impossible.
That last part got my attention.
After additional communication exchanges, Ângela agreed to meet me at Café Guarany, one of Porto, Portugal’s oldest cafés, for an interview, and to talk about how she helps to solve ancestral mysteries. Truthfully, I could not wait to meet her!
Lawyer-turned-Historian.
Ângela Campos, Ph.D. is a historian, oral historian, forensic genealogist, and a probate researcher. She operates as Living History Solutions, whose focus is to help people find their ancestry even if they think their situation is impossible. She is from Porto, Portugal, but has spent the last two decades between there and the United Kingdom, where she has another base.
Her education and professional credentials are impressive. Although she was initially accepted for a degree in law, before the beginning of that first academic year, she came to terms with the fact that her passion was history, and following completion of a history degree at the University of Porto, she then pivoted to focus on full historical comprehensive studies, studying at the University of Sussex under the tutelage of Professor Alistair Thompson, one of the world’s most prestigious oral historians. In 2014, Ângela earned the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in History.
What does an oral historian do?
According to the Oral History Association, oral history is both a discipline and a technique for collecting, preserving, and interpreting the voices and recollections of individuals, communities, and witnesses to past events. As the earliest form of historical inquiry, it predates written records, yet it remains highly contemporary, evolving from tape recorders in the 1940s to modern digital technologies. It captures personal narratives and reflections of historical importance through recorded interviews.
Honoring the stories that matter.
I asked Ângela to describe one professional accomplishment that stands out for her. Without hesitation, she described interviewing veterans of the Portuguese Colonial War, bringing people into the history and honoring the stories that matter.
Briefly, the Portuguese Colonial War, spanning from 1961 to 1974, was a prolonged conflict between the Portuguese government, striving to maintain its overseas empire, and emerging independence movements in Angola, Mozambique, and Portuguese Guinea. It concluded in 1974 with the Carnation Revolution, which led to the downfall of Portugal's far-right Estado Novo dictatorship. Around 10,500 Portuguese soldiers lost their lives across the three African territories. The war led to nearly 45,000 deaths and 53,000 injuries, with many civilians included in this number.
This was an unpopular war. Over time, Ângela conducted thirty-six oral history interviews with Portuguese veterans of this war using her skills as an oral historian to ask the pertinent questions, to gain an insight as to why this group often felt neglected and unrecognized from an historical standpoint.
No one had ever asked how they felt.
Until Ângela, no one had ever asked this group how they felt. It was in the past and no one believed their stories would matter, leaving many with the feeling of being unrecognized and overlooked for participating in such an unpopular and deadly war. Ângela said the narratives – often painful, shameful, and emotional - were interspersed with silences and the hesitation to bring to the forefront, long-dormant memories the veterans had tried hard to bury deep within the recesses of their minds.
As Ângela gently coaxed the conversations, asking questions but giving each participant the space to speak freely without judgement, these veterans began to realize they had a gift for future generations. For many, this was an important opportunity to give oral testimony to the events that happened in their own words, to address the historiographical gap concerning the war, and to claim their place in history.
As a result of her work, Angela authored An Oral History of the Portuguese Colonial War: Conscripted Generation, a book deemed by colleagues as a significant intellectual contribution to the oral history profession.
Connecting Portuguese-descent families across time and space.
It never occurred to me until I met Ângela that so much more is involved in ancestry research than just submitting a DNA sample to an ancestry database and hoping for the best. For example, Ângela works with clients in genealogy research incorporating DNA analysis when applicable, conducts forensic genealogy services including probate research, heir searches, nationality acquisition, asset reunification (the process of tracing, verifying, and recovering unclaimed financial and physical assets on behalf of rightful owners), international record retrieval and expert oral history interviewing.
Unknown parenting cases – whereby a person seeks to find their true parentage – is one of Ângela’s specialties. She mentioned a case where she assisted a 30-year-old man to find his biological father (all the man had was a first name and a city) that he never knew existed. Although not always the case, this particular outcome was a happy one.
Ancestry advice from Ângela.
I asked Ângela for some practical advice I could share with my readers about finding ancestors. Here are some of her suggestions:
Look in your own country first – so many people travel to the country where they believe their ancestors lived to see if they can find clues or answers. Ângela suggests that you look in your own country first as that is most likely where you’ll find what you need to then start looking in the ancestral country.
Ask relatives what they know, have heard, or remember. Write down the stories or record them. Because it’s the stories that matter.
Gather any and all documents, photos, letters– don’t dismiss anything as irrelevant. Ask relatives to provide you with copies of anything they have.
How does this all tie in with me?
Last year Paul and I visited São Miguel Island in the Azores to find the streets that my paternal grandparents were born on. I have a lot of information on that side of my ancestry.
But finding information on my maternal side has been a bit more of an ancestral mystery, and Ângela loves to solve a mystery, especially a longstanding one.
I didn’t realize I had that much information.
I didn’t think I had that much ancestry information to go on to find more about my maternal heritage, but I guess I did! Of course, finding family unexpectedly in a little center of Portugal village in 2023 was a complete fluke for me – I wasn’t even trying and I didn’t bring any documents or proof with me when Paul and I visited that village. But that visit left me with a lot of unanswered questions.
Since my in-person conversation with Ângela in Porto, I have provided her with practically everything I have – from the stories from my grandmother, mother and aunts to snippets of remembered information from my father, siblings, and my cousins, to photos, letters, and a smattering of miscellaneous documents. All of which to me are just pieces and parts that I don’t know how to put together.
Ângela believes that I have provided a lot of information that she can use to find out more about my maternal roots in central Portugal and beyond. As of this writing, she has already found my maternal grandmother and grandfather’s birth certificates, and she has uncovered some additional (and fascinating) information about my great-grandparents and great-great grandparents. I’m excited (and anxious) to learn more. Stay tuned…
Ready to solve your own ancestral mystery?
Ângela Campos, PhD., Living History Solutions
Rates are hourly or project based. Ângela can customize a package based on your needs.
Thanks for being on this journey with me!
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Muito obrigada!
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Until next time…
Obrigada!
Carol.
Finding Family
One of the reasons Paul and I moved to Portugal was so I could be boots-on-the-ground to research my Portuguese ancestry. But admittedly, I haven't done as much of that research as I had planned. Now that I am not working full time, I thought I would have more time to spend poring over documents that could offer me clues to the past, but alas, life often gets in the way. Or maybe it's plain old procrastination (who am I kidding – that’s
Carol, I love your column and postings. I recently read about Angela and Living History Solutions. I do not use Linked-In. Is there another way I can reach her? My grand parents were born in the Azores before moving to America in the early 1900s.
Obrigada, D. Silva
Quite an entertaining telling. I’m eager to hear some more of the things you’ve discovered.
One way DNA can lead you astray is, for example, the big ancestry DNA services/sites usually don’t distinguish between Spanish and Portuguese ancestry. I always thought we were part Spanish due to recent ancestry and DNA, but actually discovered we were more Portuguese. A professional researcher could have probably uncovered that a lot more quickly—took me years! It was fun though.