Here is the recorded testimony of 58 persons, men and women of mature age, with their names and ages annexed, given in the presence of Christian men in New York in August 1848.-- Contributed by Bob Coraor (Correia)
"We, the undersigned, are all natives of Madeira: We were all born and educated in the Roman Catholic Church: We have always been in the habit of attending mass, confession, and the various ceremonies, feasts, and fasts of that church. We knew of no other way of Worship, because we had never seen nor read the word of GOD. We did not know there was such a book as the Bible, in which was found the history of Jesus Christ and of the Apostles, until Dr. KALLEY began to circulate it in Madeira. In reading the Bibles we received from him, we learned, for the first time, that we must be saved by the Blood of Jesus, and not by penance, and mass, and purgatory. We found that the virgin and saints are not mediators, for there is only one Mediator between God and man, that is, Christ Jesus. When we began to rejoice in Jesus as our only mediator, and to read the bible with joy, then we were forbidden by the Priests and the Government to read it. The Priests began to take our Bibles and to burn them. Many of the Bible-readers were thrown into prison. Some of us have been in prison 2 years, and others 3 years. We have been driven from our houses and our country---have wandered in the mountains, and slept in caves--because we read the word of GOD, and desired to live according to its precepts, and for no other reason. We were compelled by the Priests and the Government in Madeira to flee away and leave all our goods, and houses and lands; and, on this account, we are now destitue, in a strange country. To the truth of all these things we are prepared to testify before all the world."
Signed by |
Age [nos. hard to read on film] |
FRANCISCO SILVESTRE |
58 years |
LUZIA SILVESTRE |
54 |
JACINTHA SILVESTRE |
30 |
ALBINA SILVESTRE |
26 |
NICOLAS TOLENTINO VIEIRA |
31 |
DEMITILDE VIEIRA |
30 |
CANDIDA XAVIER |
40 |
SEVERIANNA XAVIER |
35 |
LUIZA XAVIER |
30 |
MARIA DA SILVA |
40 |
RITA DA SILVA |
28 |
MANOEL AFONSA |
27 |
SUFIA AFONSA |
29 |
LUIS FIGUEIRA |
49 |
GENEVEVEVA FIGUEIRA |
47 |
ANTONIO FERNANDES |
30 |
LUIZA FERNANDES |
26 |
JOAO GOMES CAMAXO |
50 |
JOSE DE VASCONCELLOS |
37 |
CARELOTA VASCONCELLOS |
24 |
JOAQUIM FERREIRA LOMELINO |
36 |
ANTONIA FERREIRA LOMELINO |
31 |
JOAQUIM DIAS |
37 |
JOAQUINA DIAS |
22 |
JOAO RODRIGUES FIGUEIRA |
39 |
... and 33 others. |
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