Portugal, Bragança, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This is a collection of church records from parishes in the Diocese of Bragança which includes the districts of Bragança, Portalegre and Vila Real for the years 1541-1911 it includes baptisms, marriages, and deaths or burials. These parish records have been preserved relatively well. Some of the older registers may have some physical damage due to natural causes; therefore, some data may be difficult to read or some even may be lost. However, in general, they are in good condition for extracting genealogical information.

The original parish records were kept in the parish archive under the custody of the priest and a duplicate register was regularly sent to the diocesan archive where the records were centralized and kept at a higher state of preservation. These records are written in Portuguese. Earlier records were handwritten in narrative style, but newer records were handwritten in formatted registers.

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. The Portugal, Bragança, Catholic Church Records collection is available to the Family History Library, FamilySearch Centers, and to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The images can be viewed at a FamilySearch Center near you.

Reading These Records
These records are in Portuguese. For help reading these records see the following guides:


 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List
 * Portuguese Letter-writing Guide
 * Learning Center Resources:

Collection Content
Baptism records may contain the following information:


 * Date and place of baptism
 * Child's name and gender
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Parents' names and their occupation
 * Names of paternal grandparents
 * Names of maternal grandparents
 * Names of godparents

Marriage records may contain the following information:


 * Date and place of the marriage
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Groom's age, birth date and place of birth
 * Groom's civil status (widowed, single, or divorced)
 * Names of groom's parents
 * Bride's age, birth date and place of birth
 * Bride's civil status (widowed, single, or divorced)
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Names of witnesses, their civil status and residence

Death records may contain the following information:


 * Name and gender of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Civil status of deceased person
 * Spouse's name if married
 * Parents' names, their occupation and residence
 * Cause of death
 * Burial information

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select District
 * 2) Select Municipality
 * 3) Select Civil Parish
 * 4) Select Parish
 * 5) Select Record Type and Years to view the images.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. In addition local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records
 * Search the records of nearby localities (or military unties, counties, parishes, etc.)
 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Portugal.
 * Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation: "Portugal, Braganca, Catholic Church Records, 1541-1985." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Arquivo Distrital de Bragança (Bragança District Archives, Bragança).

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