The Valley of Heart's Delight
MANUEL S. BRAZIL
BIO-Sawyers. History of Santa Clara
Surnames: COSTA, MARTIN
An energetic, enthusiastic and successful dairy farmer who has been
able to retire on a competency through the assistance of his capable and
devoted wife and as a result of their years of intelligent toil, is
Manuel S. Brazil, who lives one mile north of Lawrence in Santa Clara
County. Mr. Brazil was born on the Island of St. George, in Azores,
fifty-three years ago and when eighteen he came to America, landing at
Boston. He stayed in the Hub City only a few days and then migrated
westward to Alameda County, Cal. For two years he worked for wages on
dairy farms, mainly around Livermore, and then he started a dairy for
himself in Marin County, where he met with exceptional success. In 1914
Mr. Brazil located in Santa Clara County and began farming. His ranch of
160 acres is situated on Lawrence Avenue, about one mile north of
Lawrence on the Southern Pacific Railroad, a place he purchased that
year, he has since devoted it to dairying, though at present leasing the
dairy to others. This celebrated place was developed by an Eastern
millionaire, a race horse fancier named McInerney, who maintained there
a race track and built the finest horse barns in the county and he also
had erected there a palatial country residence. The barns have been
remodeled by Mr. Brazil for dairy purposes and one alone of the several
structures can accommodate 100 milk cows.
On May 11, 1900, Mr. Brazil was married to Miss Marie Costa, a
native of his own birthplace and a daughter of John M. and Marie Costa.
Her father was a prominent teacher and educator, who passed away in that
country and the mother then brought her children to San Rafael, Cal.,
where one of her older sons lived, arriving in August, 1897, and it was
there that Marie Costa met Mr. Brazil, the acquaintance resulting in
their marriage, a union that has proven very happy to them both and has
been blessed with five children; Helen was educated at Notre Dame
College; John is a student at Santa Clara University; Marguerite is
attending Notre Dame, and Manuel S., Jr., and Isabelle. All these sons
and daughters are bright and interesting and such as would do credit to
any family and are popular in their social circle. The family attend
Saint Clare's Catholic Church in Santa Clara.
Mr. Brazil attributes no small degree of credit for his success in
life to his faithful wife, who has been his ready and able helpmate, for
being a woman of much business acumen, she has aided him materially in
achieving their ambition. Mrs. Brazil is very prominent in the S. P. R.
S. I., a benevolent Portuguese order in the United States, she being one
of the founders, with her sister, Mrs. Anna C. Martin, while they were
still the Misses Costa. It was in March, 1898, that this national
Portuguese order was founded and it has grown to a very large
membership. Mrs. Brazil was an officer from its organization, serving
five years as secretary of the financial committee, and is one of the
past presidents of the Grand Council of the S. P. R. S. I. of
California, serving in that capacity in 1915, and that year she
travelled over California visiting the 122 councils from Siskiyou to San
Diego. The order is in very sound financial condition and has paid over
a million dollars in benefits. Mrs. Brazil is also a member of the Y. L.
I. and the Catholic Ladies' Aid Society, being an ex-treasurer of the
latter. She is a cultured and refined woman and her influence has done
much to improve the condition and establish high ideals among
Portuguese-American citizens of California.
Having started dairying at San Rafael, Mr. Brazil also conducted
dairies at Vallejo and Oakland, and in the latter city he was in the
dairy business for seven years. He is a stockholder in the
Portuguese-American Bank of San Francisco and also is a member of the
San Francisco Milk Producers' Association, of which for a time he served
as a director. Fraternally he is a member of the U. P. E. C. He is a
liberal and enterprising man with a kindliness of heart and mind which
enables him to assist worthy enterprises that are meant to advance the
comfort and happiness of the people.
Transcribed by Joseph Kral, from Eugene T. Sawyers' History of Santa Clara County,California,
published by Historic Record Co. , 1922.page 1408
SANTA CLARA COUNTY HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHIES
Santa Clara County- The Valley of Heart's Delight