Alvarina Braga Family Collection [1906-1997]

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This collection centers on the life of the Braga family, an Azorean American couple who raised their children in Lowell, MA. Biographical Note: Alvarina (Bettencourt) Braga was born on the island of Graciosa in the Azores and immigrated to Lowell in 1956. She married Daniel Braga in 1958 and they had three children together. They were both very involved with the Portuguese American community in Lowell, including memberships in the Holy Ghost Society and Portuguese American Center. Daniel Braga, Alvarina's husband, was born May 31, 1932. Daniel moved to the U.S. in 1950. He originally settled in Lawrence, then moved to San Diego, before finally arriving in Lowell. His parents were Francisco Braga and Herminia Santos Braga. Daniel served as the President of the Holy Ghost Society and was a lifetime member of the Blues Club (Portuguese American Center). Alvarina's mother, Carlota (Charlotte) Espinola Bettencourt, was born in Lowell in 1906. Carlota's father, Manuel Jose Espinola, was born in Graciosa, but his family immigrated to Lowell in 1885. Manuel worked as a loomfixer (or, as Alvarina described it, the "master of the looms"), while Carlota went to the Lincoln School. In 1921, Carlota's parents moved her back to Graciosa with them. While in Graciosa, she met Jose S. Bettencourt. The two moved back to the United States with their children (including Alvarina) in 1956.