John A. Lima was a Portuguese-American who was a member of the short-lived organization, Os Filhos de Portugal (The Children of Portugal), and served as its secretary. The organization, which was primarily run out of Newport, RI, worked with other societies, including the Holy Ghost Society. While secretary of Os Filhos de Portugal, Lima kept a ledger that details the club's objectives and meeting minutes. The club was a way for the Portuguese community, including migrants from Portugal, in areas like Newport and Bristol, Rhode Island, to join together and plan events. Lima also documented the jobs he completed for those in his community in southeastern Rhode Island within the ledger.
The collection consists of a ledger and two panoramic photos. The ledger, written in Portuguese, includes details about Os Filhos de Portugal (The Children of Portugal) meetings held in Newport, Rhode Island between 1925 and 1927, when the organization ceased due to a lack of membership. The ledger was kept by Os Filhos de Portugal secretary, John A. Lima. The ledger includes detailed meeting minutes, membership lists, and business ventures. The ledger transitions to Lima keeping track of his masonry and construction work. A Portuguese transcription and a Portuguese to English translation are available in the Special Collections Reading Room or by request.
The photographs in the collection are both panoramic, and include large groups of people. One of the photographs is captioned “NPS of HG, New Portuguese Society of the Holy Ghost. May 30, 1926.” The second photograph does not have a caption, however it is assumed to also be of people of the New Portuguese Society of the Holy Ghost.
Researchers are advised to contact Rhode Island College Special Collections for questions regarding permissions to reproduce, distribute, or otherwise publish material from this collection. Although Rhode Island College has physical ownership of the collection, it does not necessarily hold literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
The collection is open for research.
John A. Lima papers, MSS-0135, Special Collections, James P. Adams Library, Rhode Island College.
Arranged in no discernible order.
The collection was given to the Special Collections in 2013 by Marie Fraley, Director of the Institute for Portuguese and Lusophone World Studies at Rhode Island College.
The collection was described by Chinasa Corbie, Special Collections intern, and Veronica L. Denison, Digital Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, in 2024. Corbie also transcribed the ledger and translated the transcription from Portuguese to English. The Institute for Portuguese and Lusophone World Studies at Rhode Island College funded Corbie’s work on the collection.
The collection was given to Marie Fraley by John A. Lima, Jr., while Fraley was Director of the Institute for Portuguese and Lusophone World Studies at Rhode Island College, with the intention of adding the collection to the Special Collections.
Books were removed from the collection and added to the Special Collections Rare Books Collection under John A. Lima’s name.
A Portuguese transcription and a Portuguese to English translation are available in the Special Collections Reading Room or by request. The ledger has been digitized, however it is not available online