29 November 2010

What is the origin of the Levy Maduro name?

Antonio Roiz o Maduro, son of Diogo Roiz o Maduro and Clara Lopes, was born in 1570 in Trancoso, Portugal. The Inquisition records describe his arrest in 1612 with his father, brother and brother-in-law. Those three were released but the tribunal sentenced Antonio to death. Following the "auto da fe" he was burned at the stake in Coimbra, Portugal on 28 August 1616. His wife Isabel fled with their children to St. Jean de Luz, France and eventually two of the children - Clara and Diogo - made their way to Amsterdam. 

Clara Roiz o Maduro, born 1596, readopted Judaism and her Jewish name Rachel in Amsterdam. In 1619 she married Moseh Levy, also a Portuguese Converso, and the new combined surname of Levy Maduro was created. The double name was used by nine more generations but by the late 20th century most Levy Maduro descendants had shortened the name to Maduro.

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