Adelaide de Morais Barros (18481911) was the wife of

Prudente de Morais Prudente José de Morais e Barros (; 4 October 1841 – 3 December 1902) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who was the third president of Brazil. He is notable as the first civilian president of the country, the first to be elected by direc ...

, the 3rd President of Brazil and the country's first civilian president. She was the "first lady" of the country between 1894 and 1898.

Early life

Adelaide Benvinda da Silva Gordo de Morais Barros was born in Santos, in the state of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

on 17 September 1848. She was the daughter of a lieutenant colonel of the Brazilian National Guard, Antônio José da Silva Gordo and his second wife, Ana Brandina de Barros. Through her mother, Adelaide was a distant descendant of several European aristocrats and monarchs. Her father owned a large farm near Santos, and was a major coffee producer and a leading political figure. Among her half-brothers was the politician .

Marriage and family

Barros met Prudente de Morais in her home city of

Piracicaba Piracicaba ( or ) is a city located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The population is 407,252 (2020) in an area of 1378.07 km². It is at an elevation of 547 m above sea level. Name The place name comes from a word in the Tupi langua ...

in São Paulo state, where he had become a lawyer. They married in her parents' home on 28 May 1866, with the nuptials being a major social event of the time, partly because it was a double ceremony, with her twin sister, Maria Inês, marrying , the brother of Prudente de Morais, who was later elected as a senator. For Morais, who was already an ambitious politician, the marriage to Adelaide provided an entrance into the political elite of São Paulo state. The couple had nine children. One of the daughters died at the age of 11 and another when she was just one year old. Barros also raised the illegitimate son of Prudente de Morais, born before they were married. Barros was described by newspapers as a "virtuous" mother and wife who was "sweet and serene". Her husband became president on 15 November 1894. Prudente de Morais ended the so-called "republic of the sword" and moved fellow coffee producers into a central position of power in the country. As did others in her family, Barros became friendly with the American

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

missionary Martha Watts, who founded, among other institutions, the , where the children of Barros studied.

Death

Her husband died in December 1902. Her own poor health led her to seek medical treatment in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany, where she died on 8 November 1911. Her body was returned to Brazil and buried in the Saudade Cemetery of Piracicaba.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morais Barros, Adelaide de 1848 births 1911 deaths First Ladies of Brazil