Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Miscellaneous Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection contains slave records, notarial records, and copies of some of the state's civil registration from the Arquivo Público do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul for the years 1748-1998.

Generally, the registration of civil records was created in books sequentially numbered and preceded by a letter, according to the type of registry: “A” for births, “B” for Marriages and “B-Aux” for religious marriages with civil effect, “C” for death, and “E” for other type of registry. The civil records of birth, marriage, and deaths are usually listed in chronological order by the date of registration. The older registry books were handwritten in narrative style, but the newer and current registries are handwritten in formatted records. These civil records include a vast of reliable information for doing family history research after 1888.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Portuguese. For help reading them see:
 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List
 * Brazil Language and Languages

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The information in these records usually include the following:

Birth
 * Name of child
 * Child's birth date and place
 * Gender and race
 * Parents' names
 * Paternal grandparents' names
 * Maternal grandparents' names
 * Name of informant
 * Names of witnesses

Declarations and marriage
 * Date and place of event
 * Names of bride and groom
 * Groom's date of birth
 * Groom's civil status, origin, and occupation
 * Parents' names and birth dates

Death
 * Date and place of registration
 * Name of informant
 * Date, time, and place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Name, sex, age, and race of the deceased
 * Name, residence, and occupation of parents
 * Burial place

Slave records
 * Name, origin, age and race of the slave
 * Name of the slave owner

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * Approximate date of the event

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 Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records Brazil Census
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * The name of a marriage officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Use the marital status to identify previous marriages
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents

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

 * A boundary change could have occurred and the record of you ancestor is now in a neighboring. Search the records and indexes of neighboring cities, provinces, and regions
 * Brazil Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records records are also a good substitute when birth, marriage, and death records can’t be found or are unavailable
 * Your ancestor might have immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas Brazil Emigration and Immigration cannot be found or are unavailable
 * Check for variants of given names, surnames, and place names. Transcription errors could occur in any handwritten record; also, it was not uncommon for an individual be listed under a nickname or an abbreviation of their name

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

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * Brazil, Rio de Janeiro National Archives, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

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.