Genealogy Research in Portugal & Brazil

Climbing Your Family Tree Around the World

Ana Ghia-Pereira

Ottawa Stake Family History CenterMay 26, 2007

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Vital Records in Portugal

Council of Trent (1564) mandates that priests keep a records of all baptisms, marriages and deaths in the parish

Until 1911 records are kept by the Church

After 1911 all records become the responsibility of Civil registration Offices

Records are not indexed

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Vital Records in Portugal (cont.)

Access– Access to Portuguese vital records is not restricted.– Current records can be obtained, by anyone, for a fee.– Can be requested online

Where from?– Civil Registry Offices

• Records from 1912 until today

– National Archives and District Archives• Records prior to 1911

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Information contained in VitalRecords

Baptism:– Name, date and parish of birth and baptism, names of parents,

grandparents and godparents and where they’re from

Marriage:– Name, date and parish of marriage, names and ages of bride and

groom, names of parents and godparents and where they’re from.

Death:– Name, date and parish where death occurred, name and age of

deceased, status, name of husband/wife if known, cause of death.

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Requesting vital records

Archives– Books with last record at least 90 years old

– You can check the records yourself

– About 80% available in microfilm

– It is faster if parish is known

– Photocopies provided at very low cost

Civil Registry Offices– Records from 1912 to today

– You have to request a certificate

– Expensive: about $25 per certificate

– You must know the parish and the year

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Requests Online

Certidões Online– http://www.portaldocidadao.pt/PORTAL/pt/certidoes_online/– Need to provide:

Name Date or at least year of birth, marriage, death Parish where it happened Parents names, if known

– Cost Eu$16.65 (about $25)– Very fast turnaround– Make sure you ask for a “cópia integral” (full copy) and in the comments

ask for a photocopy of the record, otherwise the transcription will not include all data

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Birth certificate (recent)

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Birth record (from microfilm)

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Research Online - Portugal

Gene Web Roglo– http://geneweb.inria.fr/roglo?lang=en

A database of 2 million persons. Contains trees from all over Europe. Many well known Portuguese genealogists contributed info.

Braga District Archive– http://www.adb.uminho.pt/index.htm

Searchable database on the contents of 37,800 records of seminarians. Dates: 1620-1910. Name of person, parentage; where from and references to other processes.

Porto District Archive– http://www.adporto.org/

In collaboration with the Genealogical society of Utah, making available online images of parish records.

NEPS (University of Minho, Portugal)– http://www.neps.ics.uminho.pt/index.html

Several databases from various parishes in the north of Portugal. Not intuitive to use. Uses rolo software but leading pages are in Portuguese.

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Useful Links - Portugal

Portuguese National Archives (Torre do Tombo) http://www.iantt.pt/index.html

– All records pertaining to Portuguese royal house, title grants, inquisition, etc. Records date from the creation of Portugal, around 1128.

Genea Portugal http://genealogia.netopia.pt/home/

– Portuguese genealogy site. Includes published trees, photos, and a forum. Cost: $30 per year

Cindy’s List http://www.cyndislist.com/portugal.htm

– 148 links to excellent sites, mostly in English

Portuguese Genealogist Masterlist http://www.dholmes.com/master-l.html

– People put their contact information and the names they are researching to find others doing the same

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Useful Links - Portugal

Associação Online de Autores de Genealogia em Portugês– http://pwp.netcabo.pt/0437301501/gene/links.htm

Excellent page of links for sites of genealogical importance for the Portuguese genealogist. Includes English sites.

Portuguese Mailing Lists on Rootsweb– http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/PRT/

Portugal, Madeira Exiles (Portuguese Presbyterian exiles from Madeira who emigrated to Trinidad and Illinois), Azores, Azores-DNA, Portuguese-Nobility, and PRT-Madeira

LusaWeb– http://www.lusaweb.com/

Very useful site, dedicated to Americans from Portuguese descent. Cost: US$25 per year. Cannot do much unless a member

Short Portuguese Lessons– http://alfarrabio.di.uminho.pt/spl/

From the University of Minho

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Vital Records in Brazil

Vital record kept by the Church, start in 1616

Civil Registration starts in big cities around 1863

After 1888 all records officially become the responsibility of Civil registration Offices (Ofício do Registro Civil das Pessoas

Naturais) Records are not indexed

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Vital Records in Brazil (cont.)

Access– Access to Brazilian vital records is not restricted.– Current records can be obtained, by anyone, for a

fee.– Can be requested online

Where from?– Family Search

• http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp

– Available for purchase online• http://www.cartoriobrasileiro.com.br/

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Information contained in VitalRecords

Baptism:– Name, date and parish of birth and baptism, names of parents,

grandparents and godparents and where they’re from

Marriage:– Name, date and parish of marriage, names and ages of bride and

groom, names of parents and godparents and where they’re from.

Death:– Name, date and parish where death occurred, name and age of

deceased, status, name of husband/wife if known, cause of death.

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Where in Brazil?

Church records from 1616 to 1940’s Civil registration from 1863 to 2005

Mostly in eastern states Not many records from the states in the

interior (Amazonia, Acre, Mato Grosso, etc.)

Available in microfilm from Family History Library

– Births until about 1950’s– Marriages until about 1960’s– Deaths until 2005

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Birth record (from microfilm)

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Death certificate

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Research online - Brazil

Surname Navigator – Brazil– http://www.kuijsten.de/navigator/brazil/

Excellent link. Searches all of LDS databases from Brazil, Geneanet, Genforum Brazil, Rootsweb, and the Brazilian White pages

Projeto Imigrantes– http://www.projetoimigrantes.com.br/

Database with almost 3 million names of immigrants arrived since 1737. Expensive! R50. (about $27) for a listing of surname researched

Cartório Brasileiro– http://www.cartoriobrasileiro.com.br/

Online service for the request of birth, marriage, and death certificates. It uses electronic translation services. Costs vary depending on where is the certificate from. Between $30 and $40 per certificate.

Payment via international money order.

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Useful Links - Brasil

Genealogias.org– http://www.genealogias.org/

Lots of useful info. Contains several databases and articles by Brazilian genealogists. Links to genealogical societies in Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná

Brazil Genweb– http://www.rootsweb.com/~brawgw

Lbase with almost 3 million names of immigrants arrived since 1737

Brazil Research Outline– http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/rg/frameset_rg.asp?Dest=G1&Guide=Brazil.asp

From the Family History Library, a 37-page downloadable PDF document

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The Future

Immigrant Ancestors Project– http://immigrants.byu.edu/

– Sponsored by the Center for Family History and Genealogy at Brigham Young University

– Uses emigration registers to locate information about the birthplaces of immigrants, usually not found in port registers and naturalization documents.

– Data transcribed by volunteers across the globe, available on the web

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The Future (cont.)

Scanstone Project– Conversion of microfilm images into digital

images. Fully indexed.– Depending on the laws of the country of origin,

some images might be available on the web.– Presently doing US, Canada, British Isles and

Wales.

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The Future (cont.)

University of Porto– In collaboration with the Genealogical Society of Utah,

bringing into the web the images of parish records. Fully indexed.

– Expect to scan and make available on the web all the parish records in the Porto District (416 parishes)

– Already in progress. No completion date given.

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The Future (cont.)

University of Coimbra– Project to scan and make available on the web more than a million

records of births or marriages, among others documents from 1459 until now.

13,000 parish books of births, marriages, and deaths 21,000 land and property documents, wills and probate records

– Project will cost 30,000 euros and is funded by the Portuguese Ministry of Science and Technology.

– Expected completion by mid-2008.

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Questions?