First Generation  

1. Antonio SALDANHA was born circa 1660.

General Notes: The SHET SALDANHA family originally hailed from PHULAJE in Bantwal Taluk of South Kanara. It is not known exactly when the family was converted to Christianity. From historical records as well as reliable sources available at the time this information was collected, it is gathered that INTROO SHET (whose full name was Bonaventure) had a brother by the name LAWRENCE. Hence holding onto this solid historical fact, I have assumed that Christianity existed in the family at least from the time of INTROO SHET SALDANHA. There is a strong presumption however that the origin of Christianity into the family was earlier.

Since a document which has to be historical has to be drawn up with the aid of evidence that is certain, let me assume that the family had been brought over to the faith from about the time of Bonaventure Shet Saldanha from whom the genealogy of the Shet Saldanha's have been traced.

Mr. Jerome Saldanha in his history of South Kanara Catholics writes that the family names of South Kanara Catholics like Saldanha, Coelho, Vas, Noronha, etc. are all of Portuguese origin. How did our Catholics get these names prevalent in Portugal?

The common explanation is that the Konkan coast was evangelized by Portuguese missionaries whose headquarters were in Goa. Thousands were converted from Hinduism and received into the Catholic church. The European Missionaries proceeded on the assumption that the original family names, Shet, Prabhu, Shenoy, etc., were too closely associated with the Hindu religion. Hence, on the day of Christianity these former family names were replaced with names prevalent in the Portuguese motherland. This is how we got Portuguese names.

The general features of the Shet Saldanhas are referred to as that of Persian ancestry, though this has not been proved. Some say they were Jains. The most plausible explanation is that the were the original "Gold Saraswati 'Sonar' Shets. It is also believed that the Saldanhas (Shets) and the POROBS were converted together, or the period between the conversions was very short. The reason attributed for this belief was that the sponsor of that name - Saldanha, was probably one and the same.

When there was a mass exodus from Goa, the then rulers of Canara - The Nayaks of Ikkeri, welcomed the Catholics gladly and the latter rehabilitated themselves quietly and easily. It was then, it was believed that the Porobs settled at OMZOOR and the Shets a few miles further East at PHUJALE near Buntwal. Nothing is really known about our foremost ancestor Antonio other than the fact he had four sons - BONAVENTURE, SALVADORE, MANUEL and LAWRENCE who became a priest and one daughter FELICITA who married one LOBO from Falnir.

Antonio married _________.

His children were:

+ 2    i. Bonaventure SALDANHA was born circa 1688.

   3    ii. Salvadore SALDANHA .

+ 4    iii. Manuel SALDANHA was born circa 1692.

   5    iv. Fr. Lawrence SALDANHA .

   6    v. Felicita SALDANHA .

Felicita married Falnir LOBO.

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