ANCIENT ROOTS

Dom Ximeno Sanchez and his wife Dona Argonta were highly regarded nobles of Asturias. A family pedigree descendant from Gaius Octavius Augustus (1st Emperor) of Rome

 

Favila was the second King of Asturias from 737 until his untimely death during a bear hunt. He was the only son and successor of Pelagius, the first Asturian monarch of the Astur-Leonese pedigree. He was succeeded by Alfonso I of Asturias of this same family pedigree. 

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Note that the pedigree of the family name is much older than the history thus far. The name Avila has roots in Avis or Avi, which comes from Awi, an old Germanic word meaning "Bird." Much of the historical heraldry and carvings in family castles and churches throughout Iberia include eagles, eggs, flowers, and symbols that represent Innana Ishtar, evidence of much older connections to Mesopotamia and the earliest cradle of humanity. The 13 circles or eggs in blue on the coat of arms symbolize the blue blood origin of ancient times, also referencing the fruit of life, and the algorithms within the Metatron cube. A Family pedigree that is well documented with a pre-Roman presence in the Iberian peninsula, and traced to the oldest kingdoms and civilizations in history. 

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Around 1088, King Afonso VI of Leon sent Raymundo of Burgundy, his son-in-law, to populate the city of Avila or Abula, as mentioned by Ptolemy in his Geographia (II 6, 60) as being located in the Iberian region of Bastetania. Dom Vasco Ximeno was one of the knights who contributed the most to his town. Vasco Ximeno and his wife, Dona Olaia Garcez, had two sons who contributed significantly to the city's settlement. They also had a daughter, Dona Ximena Vasques, wife of Dom Fernão Lopes Trillo, who served as Mayor and Alcalde  de Avila. Ximeno Vaques was governor of the city ​​of Ávila. He served King Afonso VI on the site of Cuenca. It was from Ximeno Vaques's wife, Dona Menga Munhoz, that Vasco Ximenes was born.

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Esteban Domingo Dávila, (1365) descendant of Nuño Rasura, who took from Castile equal measures of wheat to offer as a gift to construct and maintain the Church of Saint James. Esteban had children with Ximena Blázquez, niece of the lord of Villatoro. Gonzalo González Dávila (Señor de Villafranca y de Las Navas) and Gil González Dávila (first lord of Cespedosa and Congosto Bridge) succeeded him in his lineage. The Villafranca and Las Navas branch inherited the life position of Mayor and councilor of Ávila, from which the Esteban Domingo Dávila Cuadrilla was formed in the Avila Council. He was buried in the chapel he founded in the San Francisco de Ávila monastery.

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Marie de Bracquemont the granddaughter of Ana de Colombiers, married Jean de Bethencourt III (1332-1364). Jean was the son of Jean II and Isabeau de St Martin (aka Clermont). Isabeau was the daughter of Jean de Saint Martin - Le Gaillard, son of Guillaume V Plantagenet de Warenne, and Isabeau de Harcourt, the daughter of the Baron of Harcourt. This marriage gave birth to Regnault de Bethencourt IV (1364-1443), whose son Georges de Bethencourt (1389-1450) later married Elvira Gonsalves de Avila, daughter of Esteban de Avila and Ximena Blasquez who had been married in Toledo (Lineage de Villafranca), giving birth to Juan/João Sanchez de Avila Bethencourt  (1410-1482) who married Maria Vaz de Badillo

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In the 15th century, Antão Gonçalves de Ávila traveled to the island of Terceira ('Island of Jesus Christ'), a Templar haven in the Azores. Antão (born 1440) was the son of João Sanches de Bettencourt de Ávila (1410-1482) and Maria Vaz de Badílho. Antão married Dona Inês Gonçalves de Antona, daughter of Afonso Gonçalves de Antona Baldaia, who was a servant of Infanta D. Beatríz of Portugal, Duchess of Savoy by marriage. Antão stayed and, from this marriage, descended one branch the Ávilas from the Azores. His brother, João Gonçalves de Ávila, after serving the Portuguese crown in Africa, also married and had a daughter, Leonor Álvares de Ávila.

 

Afonso Lopes de Ávila, Castilian nobleman also came to Portugal in the service of the King of Portugal and as protector of Joanna of Trastamara. Afonso later married lady Vasconcelos, sister to the Bishop of Ceuta.

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Ioam De Avila (João de Ávila) was born in Angra, Terceira-Acores, grandson of Castilian Nobles who had settled City of Angra in support of the holy roman emperor Charles V and stayed after the conquest of the islands by force during the reign of Philip II of Spain in 1583, who ordered the construction of the largest Castle fortification outside of Europe to aid and protect North Atlantic commerce and the new world trade routes. Spanish culture flourished during Philip's reign, beginning the "Spanish Golden Age".

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A long century after the arrival of his grandparents, from (April 26, 1596 — June 18, 1684), João became the Captain of Ordinances of Angra, do Heroismo in charge of customs and administration of the Portuguese Company Geral of Comércio from Brazil on the island of Terceira and annexes.  He stood out during the Restoration on the island of Terceira. He was considered the exemplary hero that successive chroniclers presented as an example of patriotism and dedication to the common cause during Portugal's War of Restoration in 1640. As the grandson of 'The Castilians' as they are known on the island, he studied at the Colégio dos Jesuítas de Angra do Heroismo. At a very young age, he chose business as a way of life. 

 

In 1618, at just 21 years of age, he was appointed Ensign to the orderly company of Diogo do Canto e Castro, a cousin via Galicia. While serving these militias, he took advantage of every opportunity to make himself known in military service, both at sea and on land. He participated in several operations to defend the island and support ships in the Indies.  He was appointed to the Municipal Council of Angra, a position he had in 1641 when the December 1640 Revolution that began the Portuguese Restoration arrived on Terceira Island.

 

As the most senior councilor of the City Council, he placed himself decisively at the service of the cause of the Portuguese Restoration, starting to lead the faction that defended the revolt against the Spanish garrison that was stationed in the Castle of Castelo de São Filipe do Monte Brasil. In these roles, he was one of the most active commanders in the siege of the castle. The post located next to the Boa Nova Hermitage was considered the most dangerous as it was the closest to the castle entrance. He went to the neighboring islands to raise a third of the infantry and cavalry. After the castle's surrender, he was appointed Captain of Ordinances of Angra and received the favor of Knight of the Order of São Bento de Avis, he later became a Templar Knight.

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This Related De Avila Family emigrated to the United States due to communist persecution after the Carnation revolution of 1974, a group of islanders burned down the headquarters of the communist party in Angra (Rua do Rego) and blamed João Corvelo DeAvila who had actually been in bed sick for weeks during that trajic day. A cowardly move by the islanders in hope of reviving the former glory of the restoration of 1640. When the reckoning came, blame fell on the familiar Castilians. The family who lead the restoration of 1640 became victim to a political motivated land grab. 

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Ioam/João de Ávila's grandfather Cristóvão da Cruz De Avila was born in Valladolid the center of the Spanish and Holy Roman Empire Monarchy, appointed Captain-General of the armed forces, came to the island to manage the new world conquests and trade routes of the Holy Roman Empire. Esteban da Cruz De Ávila also initiated and achieved significant changes in the arts, civic's, serving the monarchy  in establishing institutions that supported learning, and cultural development in Spain also during the renaissance era and his revered to this day in the history of Valladolid.