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 may have been lost.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Portuguese. For help reading these records, see Portuguese Genealogical Word List and Portuguese Letter-writing Guide.

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

Baptisms
 * 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

Marriages
 * 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

Deaths 
 * 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 searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * Identifying information such as residence
 * Estimated marriage or birth year

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
 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference
 * Use the information to find more. For instance, use the age listed in the record to estimate a year of birth, if that is yet undetermined
 * 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?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names
 * Portugal’s emigration rate is one of the highest in the world. Check Portugal Emigration and Immigration for more information
 * 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 units, counties, parishes, etc.)
 * 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

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

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

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.

Portugal, Diocese de Setúbal Registros da Igreja Católica (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)