Joseph Rodrigues-first Portuguese settler in America
Searching for the origin of Joseph Rodrigues who became Joseph Driggs when he settled in Connecticut by 1709.He may be the first permanent Portuguese settler in what is now the United States.
He was supposedly born in 1686 and he died in 1748 at East Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut.He was shipwrecked near Saybrook and decided to stay (or could not get back home).I am guessing that he was from the Azores and jumped on a British ship as a deck hand.
Does anyone know if there are estate records or family records from that time period in the Azores which could possibly help me?I have been through most of the Azore church records and found a Joseph Rodrigues born in 1686 on the Island of Sao Miguel and another on the Island of Faial.
Any help would be appreciated.
Richard Davis
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