Notes on the
Enos/Enas Families
of Martha's Vineyard



There were quite a few individuals and married couples names Enos that lived at various times on the island, but here are three early Enos families with children that stayed for at least two generations. The first two are quite early - among the earliest Portuguese families in Edgartown. The third family is included in OPH, on page E249.
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#1. John Enos
He was born in St. George on 19 July 1831, the son of Antonio Enas and Therisa _____.
One census noted he and his family as "mulatto."
He immigrated to the US in 1855, was living as a laborer in Edgartown by 1865, and appears in the 1870, 1880, and 1900 censuses of Edgartown as a laborer.
He died 10 Feb 1912 in Edgartown. [Check Edg. VR!]

He m. (1st) Maria (Mary) Sylvia of Edgartown on 27 July 1863 in Edgartown.
She was born c. 1847-8 in Fayal (or Mass.??), the daughter of Manuel Sylvia and Louisa _____.
She probably died between 1873-1879.

He m. (2nd) Maria (Mary) _____ c. 1879, probably in Edgartown. (Check VR!)
She was born in Sept. 1853 in Fayal. She immigrated in 1876.
She was working as a washerwoman in Edgartown in 1900.
She was undoubtedly the elderly Mrs. Mary Enos who tried to commit suicide in 1931 by walking into a cold pond in November and was rescued by Craig Kingsbury. The newspaper article noted that she lived in the Joseph Pine apartments on Main St. Edgartown.
She died at the State Hospital in Taunton in Dec. 1932. Her obituary states that she had "no near relatives" on the island.

Children (all mulatto, according to the 1880 census.) All children by first wife. His second wife was childless.

1. John Enos Jr., b. 29 May 1865 in Edgartown.
He was employed as a sailor in Edgartown in 1880. I have no further records of him.

2. Maria Enos, b. 1866-7 in Mass. I have no records of her after 1880. (Was she the daughter born to "Joseph Enus (at sea)" and Mary Simmons of Edgartown on 5 Jun 1866?)

3. William Enos, b. 29 Jan 1873 in Mass.
He was a single clerk living at home in the 1900 Edgartown census.
He died 26 Oct 1908 in Edgartown.


#2. Joseph Enos/Enas
He was born either about 1838-9 or May 1845 in the Azores [census records vary.]
He immigrated in 1858
He was employed as a farm worker in Edgartown in 1880, and an Edgartown teamster in 1900.

He m. Rose (Rosa) L. _____ c. 1875-6
She was born in the Azores either about 1856-7 or in Feb. 1853.
She immigrated in 1875.

Children: (Three total, two living by 1900.)

1. Mary F. Enos, b. 1865-6 in Mass. I have no records of her after the 1880 census.

2. Laura A. Enos, b. Dec 1876 in Mass. I have no records of her after the 1900 Edgartown census.

Joaquinia (Joaquina, Josephine) [Rodriques] Enos of Oak Bluffs. [See OPH p. E249.]
She was born in Pico. (Records vary about her birthdate: either about 1849-50 [obit] or March 1859 [1900 census] or c. 1856-7 [1910 census.] [Note: MHT has 1849.])
According to her obituary, she came to Massachusetts about 1870 and lived for a time in Provincetown and Lowell. However the 1900 census states she immigrated in 1885, and the 1910 census states she immigrated in 1888. According to her obituary, she came to Oak Bluffs about 1897-8.
She was a servant for a private family in 1910 (after she was widowed the second time.)
She died 12 Sep 1930 in the Taunton Hospital.

She m. (1) [John Cardoza] Enos
He must have immigrated before 1886 and must have died between 1886-1900, probably in Mass., perhaps OB.

She m. (2) Manuel Pordenca of OB in 1900.
He was b. Jan. 1866 and d. in 1902. He was a Cottage City day laborer.

Children by first husband: (this was her only child):

Manuel L. Enos [OPH p. E249, #120]
He was born in Oct. 1886 [1900 census] or about 1888-9 [1910 census.]
He was employed in Oak Bluffs in 1910 as a street laborer, and was noted as an Oak Bluffs resident in 1928 and 1930.
He m. Rosa Nunes c. 1910. She was b. 1889-90.


Early ENOS Loose Ends:

Who was Joseph Enos of Edgartown, b. c. 1865-6 in Fayal, the son of Joseph and Mary Enos, who married Mary A. Hassey in Cottage City in 1886?

Who was Joseph Enos of Edgartown, b. c. 1867-8 in W.I., the son of John and Marion Enos, who married Mary Francis Duart of Cottage City in 1890?

Who was Mary Enos of Edgartown, b. c. 1833-4 in Fayal, the daughter of "Antonio + Hannah M. Antonio", who married Emanuel Franklin of Edgartown in 1860?

Who was May(?) Melia Enas of Edgartown, born c. 1846-7 in St. George, the dau. of Joseph and May M. Enas, who married William Sylvia of Edgartown in 1865?

Who was Roland Enas, Edgartown laborer, born 1821-2 in Fayal, the son of Joseph Roleand Enas, who married Amelia Margareta Antone of Edgartown in 1866?

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