Following Instincts

Research Journal #4, Entry #4

Helen's birth parents were now clear. She really was the last child of Joao and Joana. But, who adopted her? I hadn't found any clues as to who her adoptive parents were.

At this point, I had two choices.

Choice 1: I could go through the 1910 and 1920 census looking for Jesuina's with daughters named Helen. I didn't really like that plan! Jesuina could be listed under Jessie, Jess, Jesweena, or errantly as Jacinta. I had no clue where Helen and her adoptive parents lived. I would have to start with Kilauea then work across Kauai. If that didn't work, I'd have to move to Oakland. No, I did not like this plan at all.

Choice 2: Follow my instincts! One of things I learned was that many of these unofficial adoptions had two things in common:
1. The child usually went to a relative.
2. That relative was often childless.

Since I'd been keeping information on associated families for several years, I made a list of all the women named Jesuina and Jessie. Then I narrowed that down to those who had no children or a child named Helen. One stuck out like a sore thumb, Jesuina (de Caires) Fitkal. I still knew very little about Jesuina. She married Peter Fitkal and she was the sister of Alexandria (de Caires) Pacheco, Helen's Aunt. The relationship was close enough that Jesuina just might be the right one.