Brazil, Maranhão, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Brasil, Maranhão, Registros da Igreja Católica

Record Description
This collection will include baptism, marriage, and death records created by various Catholic parishes and diocese in the state of Maranhão from the years 1673-1962.

Additional images will be published as they become available.

The records are in Portuguese; see the section "For Help Reading these Records" for access to translation helps.

For additional details about these records and help using them see the wiki article: Brazil Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Record Content
Baptism Records may include the following information:
 * Date of Baptism
 * Place of Baptism
 * Name
 * Birth Date
 * Place of Birth
 * Legitimacy
 * Parents' Names
 * Godparents' Names

Marriage Records may include the following:
 * Date of Marriage
 * Place of Marriage
 * Names of Groom and Bride
 * Groom's Place of Birth
 * Groom's Age, Baptism Date, and Residence
 * Groom's Legitimacy
 * Groom's Parents' Names
 * Bride’s Place of Birth
 * Bride's Age, Baptism Date, and Residence
 * Bride’s Legitimacy
 * Bride's Parents' Names
 * Witnesses' Names

Death Records usually include:
 * Date and Place of Registration
 * Registrant's Name
 * Date, Place, and Time of Death
 * Name and Age of Deceased
 * Deceased's Marital Status/Name of Spouse
 * Deceased's Origin and Residence
 * Legitimacy
 * Cause of Death
 * Names of Deceased's Parents
 * Residence of Parents
 * Names of Witnesses
 * Burial Place

How to Use the Record
To begin your search you should know the following:
 * The person’s name.
 * The approximate location of an event.
 * An approximate time frame of an event.
 * Some record sets have indexes; these indexes were created at the end of the year. Copy errors could have been made in the index, so you want to find the actual record to verify the information is correct. Using the index is a helpful way to find the actual record.

Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * The information in records is usually reliable, but depends upon the knowledge of the informant.
 * Regarding marriage and death records, name changes, shortened names, or nicknames may have been used by your ancestors, so pay attention to other relationships (parents, spouse, siblings, children, etc.) that can confirm whether you have the right person/record.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Search the Collection
To Browse the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the appropriate "Municipality" ⇒Select the appropriate "Parish" ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type and Years", which takes you to the images.

Look at the image and compare the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

Using the Information

 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group record 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.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * 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.
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * Use the marital status/marriage number (how many times a person was married) to identify previous marriages.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Witnesses often were relatives of the parents.
 * Continue to search the indexes and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have lived in the same area or a nearby area.

For Help Reading these Records
These records are in Portuguese. For help reading the records see the following guides:
 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List
 * Brazil Language and Languages

Unable to Find your Ancestor?
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.

Civil Registration records are also a good substitute when birth, marriage, and death records can’t be found or are unavailable.
 * Brazil Civil Registration- Vital Records
 * Brazil Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Or your ancestor immigrated to another country. Search the records of nearby areas or immigration/emigration records:

Brazil Emigration and Immigration

Related Websites

 * Brazil Research Outline
 * Brazil Research Help

Related Wiki Articles

 * Brazil Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Brazil Church Records
 * Brazil Civil Registration- Vital Records
 * Brazil Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Brazil Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Brazil Deaths (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Brazil

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: Brazil, Maranhão, Catholic Church Records, 1673-1962

When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found it. This will help you or others to find the same record again.

Keep track of records where you did not find information about your ancestor so you and others will not waste time looking through these records in the future.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.