Ester Celeste BRITTO (née CARVALHO) [1898-1943]

Submitted by EsterBritto on Wed, 03/01/2023 - 02:58
Names
Given
Ester Celeste
Family
Britto
Maiden
Carvalho
Sex
Female
Status
Deceased
Born
Date
Birthplace (town, state)
Amoy
Birthplace (country)
China
Died
Date

Photos that show this Person

Comments

I see a couple of men with this surname in the list of POWs, and wonder if they were related to Ester?

Britto C M HKVDC Private 3200 10
Britto H M HKVDC CSM. 1290 10

According to angie r’s posts, Vera de Carvalho was the widow of Francis, one of the Reed brothers and may have been briefly engaged to Reggie Reed after the war. Could Vera be related to Ester Britto nee Carvalho? There is a photo of Vera’s wedding on this site in the Reed gallery and threads, I think.

Carl Smith card no. 00201277.GIF records some burials in the Roman Catholic Cemetery, which I think must all be of members of the Carvalho family. Among these is Esther Carvalho Britto aged 45 years, whose death date is given as 13 August 1948. The number 1248A is possibly her grave number. The grave of a child aged three and a half, Maria Theresa Britto, is also recorded.

Carl Smith cards 00201371GIF & 00201372GIF give more useful information about Esther Britto (spelt with an "h"). Her children are given as Alfredo Britto, born 12.3.1924 in Manila and who retired to Hong Kong in October 1945; Helena Britto, born 2.7.1927 in Shanghai; and Arthur Britto, born 19.7. 1931 in Hong Kong. Esther arrived in Macau in 20.2.1942. as a refugee. Her death date looks more accurate than in the previous CS card. Here it is given as 1.7.1943, which tallies with her age at death as 45, if she was born in 1898. I wonder if 1948 refers to the date of her grave. There is more information in Portuguese about Helena Britto and various other details. I haven't yet found a record of who Esther married. There are a great many records in the name of "Britto".

Jill, thanks for your post regarding Esther (de Carvalho) Britto and if she was related to Vera de Carvalho who was married to my uncle, Francis Reed.  I am not sure if there is a family connection and would have to access Vera's family tree for further research.  I did find out from a reliable source that Vera was born in Hong Kong on January 1, 1921.  Her parents were Duarte Eleutro de Carvalho and Maria Jose Heitor Botelho, both born in Hong Kong, and not from Shanghai as I had previously thought.