Anna Maria Ries - Shipwrecked off the coast of Brazil

My grandmother, whose mother's mother's mother was Anna Maria's sister, told me the story of Martin, Maria, and Anna Maria's immigration to the USA.

I am writing this from memory now, but will come back and correct any mistakes once I find a way to restore the story in my Ancestry.com tree.

Martin and Maria were a couple, and they traveled with Maria's sister Anna to the new world. They were shipwrecked off the coast of Brazil, and Anna decided not to continue on - she was too afraid to board another boat. In the end, Martin and Maria ended up in New York, and Maria took Anna's name to honor the sister she left behind.

So that is why there are two Anna Maria Ries. One is Maria, and one is Anna, but both ended up with the same name.

- Brian Allocco
Brian David Allocco