Querida D. M'Isabel,
Thank you for the kind words.
From the little I know, Gracias is NOT a Portuguese family name but could be a Spanish one --
remember there were quite a number of Spanish missionaries in Goa (or even perhaps a Portuguese missionary, descendant of the long Spanish occupation of Portugal). Baptizers,
as you know, generally gave their own surnames to the local converts.
Gracias perhaps means "charming," as I'm sure you must be!
The Gracias I know in Margao are all without exception original inhabitants of Loutulim in Salcete, where your ancestry is also perhaps rooted?
Regards, v
" Hello Valmiki Faleiro!
I am Mª Isabel Gracias and I am portuguese living near Lisbon. My Gracias family (ancestors) came from Goa (Índia) and it is dificult for me, here in Lisbon to make this genealogy study. I want to study my ancestors GRACIAS and one of the things I would like to know, is the Gracias roots, that is, the reason or explanation of the Gracias surname. You seem to know very much about this matter, so I would like to know from you, what do you think about this matter. Is it possible? I couldn't go backwards than 1700, where a friend gave me information about a certain Francisco Gracias, married to Mónica Dias; they had a child Lourenço Gracias. But I would like very much to know where the surname came from. If you can help me, I will be very gratefull.
Regards,
Maria Isabel Gracias."
