From 1888 to 1889, this information may refer to the family of the notable Antonio Alves Cavalheiro, who was head of the Guaipuá Station (one of the early names of the region where the settlement emerged, which would later become the city of Engenheiro Coelho). He was also responsible for the first classroom and served as a teacher at the Rural Mixed School of that settlement. In 1960, he was chosen as the patron of one of the most prominent educational institutions in Engenheiro Coelho, now known as the “State School Antonio Alves Cavalheiro”.

These records also include many surnames common to the first families involved in the formation of the settlement, such as Camargo, Carvalho, Ferreira, Franco, Leme, Miranda, and Morais, all considered natives of Mogi Mirim. Other names identified as early residents include Cardoso, Castelar, Ferraz, Ferreira, Oliveira, and Olivério, among others.

According to oral accounts from the oldest residents, the region was settled by Portuguese immigrant families and “caboclos” who, over time, intermarried among themselves and with the local indigenous people (“bugres”), thus forming new families. Among the earliest names are Joaquim and Júlio Cardoso de Moraes, Alfredo and Lázaro Francisco Guimarães, Alfredo and his brother Eloi Nabarrete, Antonio and his son Lázaro Franco de Oliveira, Amaro Franco de Oliveira, and João Egídio Moraes.

The New Immigrants

In 1887, immigrants settled in the region, including Germans, Belgians, Swiss, Swedes, Hungarians, Austrians, Poles, and others. The earliest residents report that the Hereman, Haeck, and Firz families were the pioneers, followed later by Krebsky, Hornhardt, Nimptz, and Müller.

According to a report by Robert Hereman, grandson of Theophile Hereman, Joannes Franciscus Hereman (Jan Frans) was born on October 17, 1838, in Aalst, Belgium, on the banks of the Dender River in East Flanders, about 24 km northwest of Brussels. Around 1860, he moved to Eksaarde. He married Anna Catarina Megroet and later Mathilde de Mol, having a total of 23 children.

In 1887, dissatisfied with the demands of the local religious leader, he emigrated to Brazil with all his children (except one daughter named Mina). One child died during the journey, and Jan Frans arrived in Santos with his wife and 21 children. According to family accounts, his small fortune—consisting of a few gold pieces—was stolen at the port of Santos, leaving him without resources upon arrival.

By coincidence, a young girl named Emma van de Velde from Moerbeke, who traveled on the same ship, later became the wife of his son Theophile (Teófilo) Hereman, brother of Petrus (Pedro).