A decade later - Fundação Luso-Americana

‘ in the attic in massachusetts
there were “mysterious crates
containing the consul’s ceremonial cap
and sword, a model of a portuguese
whaling ship, and lots of packets of
letters that had been sent by boat”.
’
sally dabney parker
mysTery Boxes
And memorABiLiA
Ceaseless curiosity is something Sally
Dabney Parker has had all her life. She
has researched the family history for
years, and was glad to receive this writer’s
question-filled e-mail. “It’s good
news to know someone is interested in
the Dabneys and their descendants,” she
says. She has spent “years” examining the
items she inherited and entrusting the
documents and objects she owns to the
in 1862, the Horta Town council donated a burial plot
to the family. Two of the fourteen graves belong to the first two
us consuls, John Bass and charles William dabney. This year
the local authorities rehabilitated the spot and published
a small brochure on the dabneys, focusing on the plot
in the carmo cemetery.
72
cuLTure
“right museums.” At 72,
Sally is currently finishing
up a biography of her
great grandfather, Frank
Dabney (1873-1934).
Sally’s childhood was
like something out of C.
S. Lewis, replete with
attics full of strange, dusty
boxes that, when opened
by the children, revealed
wondrously mysterious
objects from far away
times and places. Like
Sally, many of the other Dabneys of her
generation grew up hearing about the
enchanting lives of their ancestors on
Faial. “Many of our homes had a photograph
of the Bagatelle, or a portrait. In
our case, it was a picture of Francis Oliver
Dabney, Roxanna’s brother. There were
other unusual objects like a replica of the
Bagatelle in porcelain, half of an ivory
chessboard, a complete sewing box that
came from the Fredonia, and linen cloths
in “sieve” embroidery (a complex embroidery
technique developed in
northern Portugal). In the attic
in Massachusetts there were
“mysterious crates containing
the consul’s ceremonial cap
and sword, a model of a
Portuguese whaling ship, and
lots of packets of letters that
had been sent by boat.” When
Sally was a little girl, her great
aunt Edith Dabney Ford gave
her scores of objects that had
come to the US from the family’s
estates in Faial. Many of
them had once belonged to
Sariha Dabney, a sister of
Edith’s who had died at 16,
and whose initials – S. D. –
Sally shared.
From a childhood spent
among mysterious objects,
crates in the attic, and a collection
of memorabilia from
a long-dead relative who
shared her initials, grew a passionate
curiosity about the
past that Sally has nurtured
throughout her life. After her
children had grown, she started
working in an architect’s
studio where she began to
uncover the family’s history.
Apparently, when they
returned to the US in 1892,
the Dabneys settled in
California where, as Sally
recounts, “The climate
sally dabney, 72, has spent years researching
the family’s history and heritage. every year she
and her cousins meet to reminisce and exchange
old family photos. sally is currently finishing a
biography of her great-grandfather Frank dabney.
reminded them of the Azores.” There, one
of the recent arrivals built the Fayal Ranch.
The following generations (Frank, Bert,
and John) also fared well: one built a winery
and later a railway line in California;
while another one devoted himself to the
import-export business and the third to
architecture. “All of the boys got a college
education, most from Harvard and two
from MIT.”
Sally Dabney has donated most of the
objects and letters to the Peabody Essex
Museum in Salem. She refuses to let such
a fascinating past fall into oblivion. Every
year, she and two cousins get together
to bridge the time warp by remembering
stories, and exchanging photos and family
treasures. And like Fred, Sally also
made the pilgrimage to Faial, but in
1974. “I went with my mother, brother,
and cousin – all Dabneys. We had a beautiful
tour inside the Bagatelle and the
Cedars. But then there was a kind of
Communist take-over that week, and we
were advised to leave immediately. What
an adventure!” she writes from her summer
home in Maine, many miles away,
and many years removed from the treasures
in the attic.
DR
one of sally’s treasures: an 1862 medal won
by c.W. dabney & sons of Faial at a wine
competition in London.
Parallel no. 6 | FALL | WINTER 2011
DR