Manuel Zora (1895-1979) was a colorful, cocky, dramatic man whose life story reflects his personality.
Manuel Zora was born on October 4, 1895 in Olhao, Portugal. He left Portugal when very young, sailing on schooner, "Cabo Verde," as a cabin boy. The ship smuggled men out of Portugal to avoid army service. He settled in Providence, Rhode Island and married Judith "Judy" Greene Tobey (1907-1969), daughter of Laura Pyne Clark and Berkeley Greene Tobey. Judy seems to have come from a distinguished New England family. Her mother, Laura, graduated from Mount Holyoke College and become a teacher, her father, Berkeley, was the financial secretary of the Boy Scouts of America. His second wife was Esther McCoy, noted architectural historian and critic. Judy's stepfather, Effingham Cock "Top" Murray, also a descendant of the Pilgrims, graduated from Haverford College in 1905. Judy acted in a summer stock theater company in Providence in 1925 and she married fisherman Manuel Zora. Their daughter, Mary Ellen (1926-1991) was born on March 10, 1926 in Provincetown.
Manny became Captain Manuel Zora and was a successful fisherman on his 38-foot fishing boat, "Mary Ellen." And, during Prohibition, 1919-1933, Manuel Zora became one of the most storied rum runners on the East Coast. Zora means "fox" in Portuguese. The Coast Guard nicknamed the elusive Manny, "The Sea Fox."
“Zora - Manuel Zora (1895-1979),” Southwest Harbor Public Library, accessed November 21, 2024, https://demo.digitalarchive.us/items/show/8438.Item 3051
