Mértola, Beja, Portugal Genealogy

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the municipality of Mértola.

History

 * Mértola is a municipality in southeastern Portuguese Alentejo near the Spanish border.
 * The seat of the municipality is the town of Mértola.
 * Mértola was inhabited by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians and finally the Romans who called it Myrtilis luila.
 * In the 1st and 2nd century, Myrtilis was part of the larger Pacensis region, under the capital Beja/Pax Julia and was permitted to mint its own coin.
 * In the times of Emperor Augustus the town was raised to status of Municipium and was connected to important Roman cities through a road system.
 * Mértola was invaded by Gremanic tribes of the Sueves and Visigoths, during the Migration Period.
 * In 711 Hispania was invaded by the Moors from Maghreb, causing a great influence of Islamic culture that lasted 500 years.
 * In 1041, Mértola became and independent taifa state until it was conquered by the taifa of Seville in 1044-1045.
 * Between 1144-1145 the town was again independent.
 * In 1238, the Portuguese King, Sancho II put and end of centuries of Islamic domination.
 * The seat of the Order was established in 1316.
 * King Manuel I granted a new foral to the town in 1512.
 * In the 1980's archaeological surveys brought to light various remnants of past periods of Mértola, and once again the town became important to cultural tourists.
 * The population of Mértola is roughly 7,300 people.

Online Records
After 100 years, all civil registration records are sent to the municipality's district office.

To view online civil registration records, visit Beja Civil Registration.

Contact a Civil Registration Office
The following is a list of civil registration offices within the municipality.

Conservatória do Registo Civil de [MUNICIPALITY NAME] address phone number [mailto:email email address]

Conservatória do Registo Civil de [MUNICIPALITY NAME] address phone number [mailto:email email address]

Communicate your request in Portuguese whenever possible. For writing a letter or email in Portuguese, use the translated questions and phrases in this Portuguese Letter-writing Guide.

Online Records
In 1910, the Portuguese government transferred all birth, marriage, and death records from all the country's parishes to the district offices. These records are now in either District or National archives. Many of these records have been digitized and can be viewed at the District Archive's website or on FamilySearch.

To view online records, visit Beja Church Records.

Contact a Parish
If you are seeking church records created more recently than 1910, it is possible to obtain them by writing to the parish where the record was created. Writing to a parish is not always a reliable way to obtain information, because officials may or may not respond.

Conferência Episcopal Portuguesa lists websites for the 20 Dioceses of Portugal. Once on the Diocesan website, use the listing of parishes (paróquias) to locate contact information for the parish in question.

Communicate your request in Portuguese whenever possible. For writing a letter or email in Portuguese, use the translated questions and phrases in this Portuguese Letter-writing Guide.

Cemeteries
Cemeteries did not become popular in Portugal until the late nineteenth century. Prior to this, individuals were buried their parish church, and their bones were later removed to an unmarked burial place. The following list may be helpful in twentieth-century research.

Name of Cemetery Website Address Phone number [mailto:email email address]

Name of Cemetery Website Address Phone number [mailto:email email address]

Family History Centers
Name of nearest center Website/page on FS wiki Address Phone number [mailto:email email address]