Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Genealogy

Guide to Municipality of Petrópolis ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, church records, parish registers, and civil registration.

History
On March 16, 1843, the Emperor, who was eighteen years old and newly married to D. Teresa Cristina, signed Imperial Decree nº 155 which leased the lands of the Córrego Seco farm to Major Köeler for the foundation of the “Povoação- Petrópolis Palace”

Cemeteries
Petrópolis Municipal Cemetery Rua Coronel Fabrício Mattos, s/n Valparaíso Petrópolis - RJ 25685-170 Brazil Telephone: (24) 2246-8480

Localities
THE SESMARIAS AND FORMER FARMS IN THE REGION

The first sesmarias distributed in the “backlands above Inhomirim” by the Portuguese government date back to 1686 to some people who, at the time, stood out in the political life and security of the Colony. But due to the presence of the Coroados Indians and the difficulties of climbing the mountain, only with the Caminho Novo and the concession of new plots of land to sesmeiros, economic activity developed in the region. When Petrópolis was founded 130 years later, there were already a large number of farms and some industrial activity between Guanabara Bay and Vila Rica, as described by Baron de Langsdorff in the first volume of his diaries. Therefore, the traffic on Caminho Novo was very high. In the region where Petrópolis would be founded, the most important farms were:

Fazenda do Rio da Cidade, on Estrada do Contorno. Father Correia's farm, in Corrêas. Fazenda do Córrego Seco, whose headquarters were where Ed. Pio XII is today (Rua Marechal Deodoro, in the Historic Center). Farms Quitandinha, Samambaia, Retiro de São Tomás and São Luiz, Itamaraty, Secretaria, which later gave their names to the city's neighborhoods and districts. Fazenda da Engenhoca, where the Corrêas Transshipment Station is today. Fazenda Mangalarga and Fazenda das Arcas, in Itaipava. Fazenda Sumidouro, in Pedro do Rio. Fazenda Santo Antônio, on the Philúvio Cerqueira road (Petrópolis – Teresópolis). Fazenda das Pedras, in Serra das Araras. THE FARM OF Fr. CORREIA and D. PEDRO I

Antônio Tomás de Aquino Correia, son of Manuel Correia da Silva, was born in Rio da Cidade in 1759, studied at the University of Coimbra and was ordained in 1783, becoming known as Padre Correia. He transformed his property into the most progressive farm on the Variante do Caminho Novo, mentioned by all foreign travelers who passed through there when Brazil opened its ports to international trade. In 1829, English traveler Robert Walsh mentions in his diaries that he had excellent peach juice there. It also refers to coffee plantations, thus showing the importance of the farm. The big farm house was huge, with a front porch and very beautiful. There was a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Divine Love, whose image is currently in the church of Corrêas.

Father Correia raised cattle more for beef than for milk. As the climate was favorable, carnations, figs, jabuticabas, grapes, peaches, quinces, corn and apples and other fruits of European origin were cultivated. But Father Correia's main activity was growing corn and making horseshoes to meet the enormous demand required by the dozens of daily troops who spent the night at the Farm. There were also many slaves there. Father Correia was one of the great landowners in the Petropolitan region. D. Pedro I was at the farm in March 1822 and returned several times, having great admiration for that place. Father Correia died in 1824, at the age of 65, of a sudden death, probably heart problems, and D. Arcângela Joaquina da Silva, his sister, inherited the farm. The founding of the city of Petrópolis is closely linked to Emperor D. Pedro I and Father Correia. Since the Emperor spent the night on the priest's farm, passing through the Gold Path that would take him to Minas Gerais, he was enchanted by the exuberance and mildness of the climate. It was his desire then to acquire the property for his use and, in particular, for the treatment of his daughter, Princess Dona Paula Mariana, aged five, who was always very ill and who recovered well when she was there. THE CÓRREGO SECO FARM AND THE PETRÓPOLIS FOUNDATION

Dom Pedro I felt the need to build a palace outside of Rio de Janeiro, as he received many visitors from Europe who were not accustomed to the tropical heat. Building a palace on Padre Correia's farm would be very opportune given the region's excellent climate, which would please foreign visitors. Consciously or unconsciously, he also bothered the Emperor, residences much more luxurious than his palaces, all of them very simple. A summer palace up in the mountains might be more qualified for its imperial status. Furthermore, his daughter, Princess Da. Paula, who had serious health problems and died prematurely at the age of ten, spent a summer at Fazenda do Padre Correia and felt very well, repeating her stay many times. In 1828, D. Pedro I, now with his second wife D. Amélia, he continued to frequent the farm with Da Paula. The imperial entourage never had less than fifty people and D. Amélia felt that such large visits were causing a lot of problems for D. Arcângela, the priest's sister and heir. She then asked Dom Pedro to buy the farm. The Emperor was enthusiastic about the idea, but D. Arcângela, citing family inheritance issues, did not agree to the sale. She herself, perhaps wanting to get rid of the uncomfortable and frequent royal visits, suggested to Dom Pedro I a neighboring farm that was for sale, Córrego Seco, belonging to Sergeant-Major José Vieira Afonso. So D. Pedro bought Córrego Seco for twenty contos de réis (5, vol 2, p88), a price considered too high for the real value of the farm. The purchase deed was signed in 1830. The imperial entourage never had less than fifty people and D. Amélia felt that such large visits were causing a lot of problems for D. Arcângela, the priest's sister and heir. She then asked Dom Pedro to buy the farm. The Emperor was enthusiastic about the idea, but D. Arcângela, citing family inheritance issues, did not agree to the sale. She herself, perhaps wanting to get rid of the uncomfortable and frequent royal visits, suggested to Dom Pedro I a neighboring farm that was for sale, Córrego Seco, belonging to Sergeant-Major José Vieira Afonso. So D. Pedro bought Córrego Seco for twenty contos de réis (5, vol 2, p88), a price considered too high for the real value of the farm. The purchase deed was signed in 1830. The imperial entourage never had less than fifty people and D. Amélia felt that such large visits were causing a lot of problems for D. Arcângela, the priest's sister and heir. She then asked Dom Pedro to buy the farm. The Emperor was enthusiastic about the idea, but D. Arcângela, citing family inheritance issues, did not agree to the sale. She herself, perhaps wanting to get rid of the uncomfortable and frequent royal visits, suggested to Dom Pedro I a neighboring farm that was for sale, Córrego Seco, belonging to Sergeant-Major José Vieira Afonso. So D. Pedro bought Córrego Seco for twenty contos de réis (5, vol 2, p88), a price considered too high for the real value of the farm. The purchase deed was signed in 1830. Amélia felt that such large visits were causing many problems for D. Arcângela, the priest's sister and heir. She then asked Dom Pedro to buy the farm. The Emperor was enthusiastic about the idea, but D. Arcângela, citing family inheritance issues, did not agree to the sale. She herself, perhaps wanting to get rid of the uncomfortable and frequent royal visits, suggested to Dom Pedro I a neighboring farm that was for sale, Córrego Seco, belonging to Sergeant-Major José Vieira Afonso. So D. Pedro bought Córrego Seco for twenty contos de réis (5, vol 2, p88), a price considered too high for the real value of the farm. The purchase deed was signed in 1830. Amélia felt that such large visits were causing many problems for D. Arcângela, the priest's sister and heir. She then asked Dom Pedro to buy the farm. The Emperor was enthusiastic about the idea, but D. Arcângela, citing family inheritance issues, did not agree to the sale. She herself, perhaps wanting to get rid of the uncomfortable and frequent royal visits, suggested to Dom Pedro I a neighboring farm that was for sale, Córrego Seco, belonging to Sergeant-Major José Vieira Afonso. So D. Pedro bought Córrego Seco for twenty contos de réis (5, vol 2, p88), a price considered too high for the real value of the farm. The purchase deed was signed in 1830. citing family inheritance issues, he did not agree to the sale. She herself, perhaps wanting to get rid of the uncomfortable and frequent royal visits, suggested to Dom Pedro I a neighboring farm that was for sale, Córrego Seco, belonging to Sergeant-Major José Vieira Afonso. So D. Pedro bought Córrego Seco for twenty contos de réis (5, vol 2, p88), a price considered too high for the real value of the farm. The purchase deed was signed in 1830. citing family inheritance issues, he did not agree to the sale. She herself, perhaps wanting to get rid of the uncomfortable and frequent royal visits, suggested to Dom Pedro I a neighboring farm that was for sale, Córrego Seco, belonging to Sergeant-Major José Vieira Afonso. So D. Pedro bought Córrego Seco for twenty contos de réis (5, vol 2, p88), a price considered too high for the real value of the farm. The purchase deed was signed in 1830. price considered too high for the real value of the farm. The purchase deed was signed in 1830. price considered too high for the real value of the farm. The purchase deed was signed in 1830.

D. Pedro I also acquired other properties in the surrounding area, in Alto da Serra, Quitandinha and Retiro, expanding the area of ​​his farm. He could finally fulfill his dream of 1822, building a Summer Palace. As he faced political difficulties in the capital, wanting peace to reign between the Nation and the Throne, he started calling his Córrego Seco Fazenda da Concordia, where he intended to build a palace. He commissioned the royal architect Pedro José Pezerat and the French engineer Pierre Taulois with a project that he called Palácio da Concordia, symbolizing the harmony between the Nation and the Brazilian branch of the House of Bragança that he so desired. But the work was not carried out, as on April 7, 1831, the Emperor was forced to abdicate to return to Portugal. The palace project and the work budget are contained in the archives of the Imperial Museum, unfortunately no reference as to the location of the work. (6, p.8)

2.2 DOM PEDRO II AND THE FOUNDATION DECREE

With the abdication and death of his father in 1834, D. Pedro II inherits these lands, which go through several leases until Paulo Barbosa da Silva, Butler of the Imperial House, had the initiative to resume Pedro I's plans, to build a summer palace at the top of Serra da Estrela. It was a huge undertaking that would consume considerable public and private investments in the following years, but the Empire, in the 1840s -50s, was in good financial condition, with the removal of the English from our economy, with the ban on slave traffic that freed up capital to invest and, mainly, with the coffee boom. The Butler had already ordered the German engineer Júlio Frederico Köeler to build the Serra da Estrela Normal Road to make it possible for carriages to access the Córrego Seco Farm, PETRÓPOLIS CITY Like every colonial settlement, the city was born from a curate in 1845, subordinate to São José do Rio Preto and a year later, the Parish of São Pedro de Alcântara was created, linked to Vila da Estrela. In 1857, eleven years later, it was elevated to municipality and city, without becoming a town, which was, at the time, unprecedented.

But the Emperor did not want this change of status for his Petrópolis, as he knew that in this condition there would be a municipal administration interfering in his relations with the city. Colonel Amaro Emílio da Veiga, deputy in the Provincial Assembly, after two unsuccessful attempts due to interference from the Emperor himself, managed to approve his project “...elevating the town of Petrópolis to the category of city, repealing laws to the contrary .” D. Pedro II was enraged and retaliated, determining that Cel. Veiga returned to the Army, preventing him from assuming the presidency of the Legislative Assembly of Petrópolis, for which he had been the candidate with the most votes in the first municipal elections. Disgusted, Cel. Veiga called for reform of the Army, moving away from public life, but he continued to live in Petrópolis until he died a few years later. Today, he gives his name to an important street in the city.

Surrounding Municipalities

 * Areal
 * Duque de Caxias
 * Guapimirim
 * Magé
 * Miguel Pereira
 * Paraíba do Sul
 * Paty do Alferes
 * São José do Vale do Rio Preto
 * Teresópolis

Other Institutions
Casa Da Família Voigt Avenida Koeler, 324 Petrópolis - RJ 25685-060 Brazil

Instituto Histórico De Petrópolis - Casa de Cláudio de Souza Praça da Liberdade, 247 Petrópolis - RJ 25685-050 Brazil