Carvalho Farm

Notes on Mr. John J. Carvalho, Westport Farmer

In 2004, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth through their Department of Portuguese

began research on a 100-page manuscript for a Portuguese in Americas Series. Dr.Frank Sousa,

UMD Chancellor Jean McCormick, State Senator Michael Rodrigues, and Dr. Maria da Gloria de

Sa all helped coordinate and organize the project.

The entire project focused on transcript interviews, audio and video tapes, and hours of

research and fact checking to confirm research findings. Dr. de Sa reach out to Dr. Antone C.

Vieira, UMD Executive Director for Corporate Programs and Partnerships at UMD. Vieira a

Westport resident and third generation farmer, helped Dr. de Sa and a Alex Silva graduate

student identify Portuguese American families for a series being developed on the Early

Portuguese Pioneers of Westport, Massachusetts.

Dr. Vieira’s grandfather had already been identified through the Portuguese Archives as an early

Westport settler who had developed the first commercial dairy in the town. The researchers

identified data of Westport Portuguese Americans through census and town property tax

assessment data. The first Portuguese settler of record was in 1865. His name was John A.

Vieira. He was 18 years old at the time and not related to the Antone Vieira family. By 1881,

John A. Vieira was listed in the town tax records as owning, one cow, 2 oxen, 40 acres, and living

in the southern part of town.

In 1884 John Costa settled in town. The 1900 town records show he was 38 and married to Mary age 42. John and Mary owned 55 acres. Their descendants include a son John, born in John’s son was Charles Costa of Adamsville Road. Charles mother was Melinda (Vieira) Costa. Melinda was born in 1899 to Antone C. Vieira and Wife Marianna. Antone came to

America in 1892 at age 17, Marianna came in 1890 at age 10.

The Vieira and Costa histories are documented in the Portuguese Archives at the University, as

well their children. Dr. Vieira early on in the University’s research, suggested a number of other

Portuguese Pioneers from Westport that the University might want to further research. Many

of those earlier Westport families are also now documented and are being reviewed to include

in a publication of a book by Dr. de Sa on the Portuguese Pioneers of Westport, Massachusetts.

As the transcript and research continued, Westport Local Cable Television and the Westport

Historical Society also began participating and documenting interviews with local Westport

families. In addition to the first wave of Portuguese immigration to Westport between around

1890 to 1910, Dr. Vieira suggested to Dr. da Sa to meet some families that may have first settle

in Fall River and New Bedford during that same time frame. He noted that many of those

families moved to Westport between 1910 and 1930. It was his opinion that many of those

families also contributed to the Westport culture and they and their children are also true

Portuguese Pioneers of the Westport community.

One of those individuals was Mr. John J. Carvalho. Mr. Carvalho was interviewed in both

January and February of 2005. Mr. Carvalho owned and operated Carvalho Dairy Farm at 29 Old

County Road in Westport until his retirement.

In 1917, John’s father Antone J. Carvalho purchased their first home and farm on Sanford Road

in Westport. Mr. Antone Carvalho came from Saint Michael in the Azores where he was a

mason. John’s mother Maria (Almedia) Carvalho together with Antone developed the family

farm specializing in produce and market gardening. There were also some family milking cows

that John liked to devote his work and time with. As time went on, John parents continue the

market gardening business and dreamed of the Westport dairy business.

John married Georgiana (Silva) and the two purchased a home on route 177, American Legion

Highway, in 1941. He began working for Nelson’s Dairy in 1943 and continued there until the

late 1950s. Also by 1952, John began producing milk with 6 cows initially, then up the herd to

19 and later to 32. The family purchased the family farm land in 1968. Their farm was first

deeded and built as the Benjamin Devol farm in 1810.

The John Carvalho Dairy farm continued as a functional dairy farm for the next fifty years. John

was a quiet man and sometimes in firm negotiations was teased by being called “cheap John.”

Nothing could be further from the truth according to those who knew him well. Quietly John

reached out to help many in the Westport community.

Robert Sousa worked for him for two years as a young man and learned carpentry and many

other life values according to Mr. Robert Sousa. Farmer Michael Osga, in his later years after all

his own family had passed, credited John Carvalho for his support, understanding and

generosity. He also participated in the Portuguese American Civic League and the Westport

Holy Ghost Club. A Carvalho calf became a yearly donation to the Westport Portuguese’s Holy

Ghost annual events. The events were ways to raise money to help families in need.

John was also noted for his Westport Macomber turnips. In the family tradition, that green

thumb remained even though dairy farming remained his passion. He was known to share some

of his turnip seed to the local farmers in need.

John and Georgianna’s daughters, Margaret and her husband Francisco, and Nancy and her

husband Homer, continued to support the Westport community. Both daughters’ families, as

well as the daughters themselves, are all well respected community members.

John passed in 2009, but the John Carvalho Dairy Farm memories are still part of the local

community. His 5 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren together with his daughters and

their husbands all provide witness to this Westport Portuguese Pioneer.

Grandson, John who remembers like yesterday working with his grandfather of the family farm, was quoted one time in responding to the question, ” is it all worth the effort?”

The young John stated, “We can walk the land and kick the soil. We tend our fields and we milk our cows twice each day, every day. But helping a cow birthing and sitting on a bale of hay at 2 am, is just about the coolest thing in the world.”

“At the end of each day when the chores are all done,” the grandson would continue, “we can

look back at a just planted field of corn, and newborn calf.” John Carvalho’s and his grandson’s

thoughts reflect the pride of those Westport Portuguese Pioneers. it is clear both grandfather

and grandson thought that it was well worth the efforts.