Dighton Rock Museum pays tribute to Manuel da Silva

He came from Portugal and fell in love with a rock in America.

Manuel Luciano da Silva was a medical doctor who was known for fiercely defending the belief that a 40-ton boulder lodged in the Taunton River in historic Dighton carried the proof that Portuguese explorers were the first Europeans to find New England. Da Silva helped build the Dighton Rock Museum in the 1970s, and, with his wife, Silvia, continued to publish works showing that Portuguese explorer Miguel Corte-Real was the one who left the mysterious markings covering the face of the stone in the early 16th century.

“He was quite devoted to it,” said Frank Baptista, a Fall River radio show host who interviewed the da Silva several times before da Silva died last October at the age of 86. “I think it was due to a challenge for him and love for the country and all things Portuguese. ... He died loving his wife, his fellow man and a rock.”

The life of Manuel Luciano da Silva and his contributions to the Dighton Rock Museum were remembered Sunday at the site beside the Taunton River in present-day Berkley. During a ceremony outside of the museum, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s director of state parks, Priscilla Geigis, accepted a plaque honoring da Silva, which will be displayed in the museum just feet from his beloved Dighton Rock.

Geigis recalled meeting the persistent da Silva in 2004, shortly after she was appointed to her position, when he insisted on showing her the inscriptions on Dighton Rock, now kept in the museum at the scenic location. While alternative explanations for the markings have pointed towards the Native Americans and the Vikings, Geigis said it was easy to tell which theory da Silva supported.

“He shined his light on the rock to point out the etchings and in the end he had that smile,” Geigis recalled. “He said, ‘Which version do you think is right?’ It was quite clear which one he thought I should choose.”

Unwavering in his belief about the rock, da Silva made about 500 lectures about Dighton Rock starting in 1961 at the Boston Public Library before his final presentation at a church in Dighton last year.

The plaque shows the feisty da Silva wearing his signature black beret, with the river in the background. Da Silva was originally from Cavião, a rural town in northern Portugal, where was raised doing farm work, before immigrating to New York in 1946 to study biology at New York University before becoming a physician.

“When he came to Ellis Island, immigration authorities told him he was ‘mentally deficient’ because he could not yet speak English well,” said Taunton’s Candido Almeida, who was friends with da Silva. “That motivated him so much. He went from mentally deficient to medical doctor. That’s what he said. He was an encyclopedia.”

Luciano traveled to Massachusetts in search of Dighton Rock, after hearing about it from his high school history teacher in Portugal. Friends said his dad told him to search for the rock. He first saw it on Aug. 14, 1948, asking locals for help, until he found it under the tidal water in the river. Da Silva, who eventually settled in Bristol, R.I., convinced government officials to help fund and found the Dighton Rock Museum in Dighton Rock State Park, before it was eventually opened in 1978. He also wrote the books “Portuguese Pilgrims and Dighton Rock” (1971) and the controversial “Christopher Columbus Was Portuguese!”

The idea that Portuguese explorer Miguel Corte-Real, along with his shipmates, were the ones to mark up Dighton Rock was first made famous by Brown University professor Edmund B. Delabarre. The argument is that Corte-Real left Lisbon in 1502 and was never seen again, but that Dighton Rock has the number 1511 etched in it along with the coat of arms of Portugal.

Da Silva, who has called for a Massachusetts Governor to visit the park, loved Dighton Rock so much that he often playfully referred to the boulder as “my mistress.”

Geigis commended da Silva for his passion and his energy for educating people. She added that Dighton Rock State Park “is a jewel in the crown of the state park system,” and said it goes along with other state parks that have rocks, like Plymouth Rock and Puddingstone.

Nancy Possinger, of the Friends of Dighton Rock (formed in 2010 to take over where Da Silva left off), said da Silva was an incredible man who lived a lifetime of dedication.

“We really do miss him,” Possinger said.

Possinger read from a letter da Silva wrote, about leaving the museum in care of the Friends of Dighton Rock group.

“The museum is all yours,” DaSilva said in the 2010 letter. “Love it as we have for decades.”

Contact Marc Larocque at mlarocque@tauntongazette.com.

Manuel Luciano da Silva: A life devoted to Dighton Rock

Sept. 5, 1926: Manuel Luciano da Silva is born in the village of Cavião, Portugal.

1946: Da Silva immigrates to the United States to study biology at New York University before becoming a medical doctor.

Aug. 14, 1948: Da Silva first sees the rock under tidal water in Taunton River in present-day Berkley.

1951: He incorporates the nonprofit Miguel Corte-Real Society with Portuguese friends

1954: Land for Dighton Rock State Park is taken by the state through eminent domain.

1963: Dighton Rock removed from Taunton River and put on a nearby coffer dam

1971: Da Silva publishes his book “Portuguese Pilgrims and Dighton Rock.”

1973: Da Silva founds the friends of Dighton Rock Museum

1974: State lawmakers pass a bill to create the museum

1978: Dighton Rock Museum opens

October 21, 2012: Da Silva dies at age 86 at hospital near his home in Bristol, R.I.