Freixo de Espada à Cinta, Bragança, Portugal Genealogy

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the municipality of Freixo de Espada à Cinta.

History
Freixo de Espada à Cinta', sometimes erroneously referred to as Freixo de Espada Cinta, is a municipality in Bragança, the northeastern region of Portugal, near the border with Spain, along the Douro River Valley.
 * Some historians say that the Narbasi, a proto-Roman Iberian clan, gathered in this region.
 * One legend says that Freixo was established by a nobleman named Feijão, who died in 977.
 * Another legend suggests the name was derived from a nobleman named Espadacinta after a battle with Arabs along the Douro River.
 * This perpetuated the name for the settlement, which soon became known as Freixo de Espadacinta.
 * In 1236, during the reign of King Sancho II, Freixe was encircled by Castilian forces but the citizens were able to defend against the Castilians. The Portuguese monarch conceded the vila (town) in 1240.
 * On 27 March 1248, King Afonso conferred a foral (charter) on Freixo, renewing the diploma on 20 January 1273.
 * Freixo petitioned King Afonso IV to conclude the walling of the town, and the Matriz Church was completed during the regin of King John IV.
 * Many of the infrastructures within the village were maintained by King Afonso V, but he donated all the other royal rights to Vasco Fernandes Sampaio, the regions first donatorio.
 * King Manuel authorized a new foral for Freixo on 1 October 1512.
 * Freixo for many years suffered during the Frontier Wars, as pillaging and destruction of settlements along the border continued.
 * On 10 September 1673, brothers of the Order of the Oratory arrived in Freixo, and began building the Convent of São Filipe Nery.
 * A decline in local agriculture led Juíz de Fora in 1786 to promote the three pillars of the economy; olives, cherry orchards and silk production.
 * By 1792, the Douro River becomes a navigable waterway.
 * During the Liberal turmoils of the 19th century, the settlements in Lagoaça, Fornos and Mazouco are visited daily by rebel forces who escaped into Spain. By 1832, Freixo was squarely on the side of Miguelist forces.
 * Between 1854-55, the region is infected by a cholera outbreak; Lagoaça was very affected, and would become a civil parish in 1867.
 * During the Janeirinha of 1868, the municipal council hall was burned down.
 * In 1896 the municipality of Freixo de Espada à Cinta is abolished and its lands given to the municipality of Torre de Moncorvo. The residents were able to re-establish the municipality on 13 January 1898 through issuance of a municipal foral.
 * The population of Freixo de Espada à Cinta is roughly 3,700 people in 2011.

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

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

Contact a Civil Registration Office
There are no known civil registration offices within the municipality of Freixo de Espada à Cinta. Contact a civil registration office in a nearby municipality to find out if they have the records for Freixo de Espada à Cinta.

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 Bragança 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 in their parish church cemetery, and their bones were later removed to an unmarked burial place.

FamilySearch Centers
Viseu Portugal Family History Center Rua Cândido dos Reis 81 VISEU 3510-056 PORTUGAL Phone: +351 351-32425559 Email: [mailto:PT_Viseu@familyhistorymail.org PT_Viseu@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Viseu Portugal Family History Center