Portugal, Setúbal, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection of baptisms, marriages, and deaths for Catholic Church parish records from parishes in Setubal covers the period of 1555-1911.

Parish priests recorded the baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials; they administered the baptisms, witnessed the marriages and gave nuptial blessings, and administered the other holy sacraments in the jurisdiction of their assigned parish or parishes. All the original parish records were kept in the parish archive under the custody of the priest. However, a duplicate of these registers was regularly sent to the diocesan archive where the records were centralized and kept at a higher state of preservation. It is unknown whether this collection is from the parish record or from the diocesan transcript.

These records have been preserved relatively well. Some of the older registers appear to have some physical damage. Some data may be difficult to read or even may be lost.

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, ultimate rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. The Portugal, Setúbal, Catholic Church Records collection is available to the Family History Library, FamilySearch Centers, and to members of the supporting organization(s). The images can be viewed at a FamilySearch Center near you.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Portuguese; also see the section For Help Reading These Records for translation helps.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Birth Records
 * Date and place of baptism
 * Child's name and gender
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Parents' names and residence
 * Father's occupation
 * Names of paternal and maternal grandparents
 * Names of the godparents, their civil status, occupation, and residence

Marriage Records
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names and ages of the bride and groom
 * Groom's birth date and place of birth
 * Groom's civil status, occupation, and residence
 * Names of groom's parents
 * Bride's birth date and place of birth
 * Bride's civil status and residence
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Names of the witnesses, their occupation, civil status and residence

Death Records
 * Date and place of death
 * Name, age, and gender of deceased
 * Occupation, civil status, residence, and origin of deceased
 * Spouse's name, if married
 * Parents' names if deceased is a minor
 * Burial information

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before using this collection it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * Identifying information such as residence
 * Estimated marriage or birth year

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the 


 * 1) Select the appropriate District.
 * 2) Select the appropriate Municipality.
 * 3) Select the appropriate Civil Parish.
 * 4) Select the appropriate Parish.
 * 5) Select the appropriate Record Type and Years to go to the images.

For Help Reading These Records
For help reading these Portuguese records, see the following resources:


 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List
 * Portuguese Letter-writing Guide
 * Learning Center Resources:
 * Portuguese Handwriting Lesson 1
 * Portuguese Handwriting Lesson 2
 * Portuguese Handwriting Lesson 3

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?

 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have moved or lived nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * Compile information for every person who has the same surname as your ancestor; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.

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

 * New information is constantly being indexed, microfilmed or updated. Periodically check back and see if your ancestor’s records have been added.  You can see if the area you’ve been looking in has been recently updated by going to Historical Records Collections and notice the asterisk for recently added or updated records.
 * 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.).

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, Setubal, Catholic Church Records, 1555-1911." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2017. Citing District Archive of Setúbal.

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