Moimenta da Beira, Viseu, Portugal Genealogy

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the municipality of Moimenta da Beira.

History

 * All 16 civil parishes that now exist were already part of the Moimenta administration, although Leomil (Couto) and Caria (Honra) had their own magistrate until 1258.
 * In the 14th century, the lands of the municipality of Moimenta da Beira, had three ecclesiastical parishes: Santa Maria de Caria, Santa Maria de Lobozaim and São Tiago de Leomil.
 * Sever and Alvite were part of the Couto de São João de Tarouca, That was amilitary administration, created in 1140.
 * Vilar was part of the Honra de Fonte Arcada Which was an honorific title bestowed to nobility.
 * After the 14th century, as the management of rural territories necessitated an administrative authority, There were eight municipalities established in the region, this extended into the 19th century.
 * Paçô; Nagosa e Castelo; Sever e Alvite; Pêra e Peravelha; Ariz e Peva; and Moimenta, then known as Moimenta de São João Baptista de Leomil, were formed at the expense of Leomil. Meanwhile, the parishes of Paradinha, Cabaços e Baldos, were deannexed from Leomil.
 * This resulted in this municipality only retaining the parishes of Sarzedo and Paraduça).
 * Finally, the municipality of Caria, already a municipal seat with pillory in the Vila da Rua, included the small parishes of Arcozelos, Aldeia de Nacomba, Faia, Penso, Carregal, Lamosa, Quintela da Lapa and Segões.
 * The administrative reform of 1834 initiated a concentration of municipal authority in fewer administrative units: the small municipalities of Peravelha, Castelo, Nagosa and Arcos were extinguished and incorporated into the municipality of Moimenta da Beira.
 * Caria municipality received the parishes of Arcozelos, Aldeia de Nacomba and Segões; and Leomil grew to include the municipalities of Paçô and Sever.
 * In 1855 the municipality of Leomil became extinct and all its assets redistributed to Moimenta da Beira.
 * Moimenta da Beira which received the parish of Vilar from the extinguished municipality of Sernancelhe.
 * On 21 May 1896, Caria and Rua were transferred from Sernancelhe to Moimenta da Beira and in a short span of 21 years, the small municipality of Moimenta, which included only Moimenta, Paradinha, Cabaços and Baldos, in 1834, grew to 19 by 1855.
 * The population of Moimenta da Beira is roughly 2,011 people.
 * Moimenta da Beira now contains 16 civil parshes and the area is 219.97 km (84.93 square miles).

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

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

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

Conservatória do Registo Civil e Predial Pcta. Fernão Mergulhão Moimenta Beira 3620-325 Moimenta da Beira PORTUGAL Phone: 254582230 Email: [mailto:crcpcom.moimenta-beira@dgrn.mj.pt crcpcom.moimenta-beira@dgrn.mj.pt]

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 Viseu 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