Várzea, Paraíba, Brazil Genealogy

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

History
With the arrival of the first settlers from the hinterlands of Bahia, led by Teodósio de Oliveira Ledo, who arrived there with the aim of conquering the Sabugi Valley region, facing the fierce indigenous nations concentrated in the surroundings, resisting tenaciously, the occupation began of the Sabugi territory. The interior of Paraíba was inhabited by Cariris and Tarairus Indians, divided into tribes, Icós and Coremas (Rio do Peixe and Piranhas); Pegas, Paiacus, Jandús, Canindés, Panatis, Arius, Sucurus (Espinaras, Seridó and Sabugi), and Bultrinos, Fagundes and Carnoiós (Borborema).

When the pioneers arrived in the region, the main causes of the exploration of the region were the adventurous spirit of the Portuguese, the ease in obtaining sesmarias (Small territories where the colonizers settled and constituted a community) and the raising of cattle, being therefore, the first men to inhabit our region. On the threshold of the 17th century, several tribes had encamped in the vast triangle formed by the basins of the Piancó, Peixe and Baixo – Piranhas rivers, the last stronghold where they were preparing for the great battle with the Bandeirantes guerrillas of the time, among which Teodósio de Oliveira Ledo, the main hero of the conquest and settlement of Sertão Paraibano. In that place, the Tapuia confederation, composed of the Sucurús, Icós, Pegas, Payacús, Goiacús, Panatus, Arius and Coremas, threatening the prestige of the warrior sertanist, influenced the arrival of Captain Luiz Soares from Pernambuco, with the credentials of successor to Henrique Dias, in command of the battalion “dos pretos”, strengthening the ranks of Theodosius' army. The Gentiles were beaten and dominated, with the exception of the heroic and dashing of Coremas, who did not give in to the violence of the bandeirante artillery, making the diplomatic arrangement of an alliance carried out by the thoughtful and experienced warrior Manuel de Araújo, sent by the Governor Dr. John Lencastro. But the occupation of the territory, which today comprises the municipalities of Santa Luzia, Várzea, São Mamede, São José do Sabugi and Junco do Seridó, was carried out by pioneers without massacres and struggles against Amerindians, as happened in other regions of Paraíba. Being Sergeant Major Matias Vidal de Negreiros, Ensign Marcos Rodrigues Cabral and Manuel Monteiro, the first civilizers to settle in the Sabugi region and surrounding areas, where they maintained slight skirmishes with the Pegas gentiles, constituting a proper tribe and were easily tamed by the sertanejos, although under the sights of their conquerors.

In conquering the Sabugi's territory, it is necessary to highlight a significant factor, which was the religiosity of a people. In 1773, Geraldo Ferreira Neves Sobrinho built the Chapel of Santa Luzia, whose first spiritual advisor was Father Texeira (a virtuous priest with an exotic temperament and violent language). Mr. Geraldo was the man of courage who arrived in the town of Santa Luzia and who had the glory of having been the founder of the urban nucleus, thus starting the construction of the Chapel in the City. The Sabugi region developed slowly in cultural terms. The population, however, he lived around large estates and small landowners, whose economic base was commerce, cattle raising and cotton plantations. However, from 1850 to 1855, the colonization of the territory of the Municipality of Várzea took place, by the Portuguese Manoel Tavares da Costa and his wife Josefa Rodrigues da Silva, who settled definitively in this region. It is not known precisely the paths traced by them to reach the municipality, it is known, only that in the year 1850 they abandoned their residence in the Albino farm (today Municipality of Santa Luzia) and settled permanently in that locality. According to historians (we can highlight among historians the example of the great Antônio Anibal de Araújo – Antônio Tomás, for his effort in talking and transmitting the whole story). Around 1853, Sítio Várzea was the landmark of the colonization that would later become the municipality of the same name. The first inhabitant to be located in Várzea was Mr. Manoel Tavares, owner of the aforementioned site, in the mid-18th century. The first houses built on the site were owned by the lords, Antônio de Almeida, Justo Ugulino da Costa, Francisco Severiano de Figueiredo and Manoel Dantas de Medeiros.

In 1939 to 1943, it appeared as a district of Santa Luzia, with the toponym of Sabugirana. The district's progress was rapid and steady, leading its leaders to clamor for its administrative emancipation. Its political autonomy on December 22, 1961, taking place its official installation on January 11, 1962, separated from Santa Luzia.

Local Offices
Cartório do Registro Civil de Pessoas Naturais Rua Izabel Leopoldina, 50 Centro Várzea Paraíba 58620-000 Telelphone: (83) 3469-1083 E-mail: medeirosizabel2004@ig.com.br

Online Resources

 * Brazil, Paraíba, Catholic Church Records, 1731-2013 no Registros Históricos do FamilySearch

Local Churches
Paróquia de São Francisco de Assis Praça Francisco Pergentino de Araújo, s/n Centro Várzea Paraíba 58620-000 E-mail: igrejasaofrancisco.varzea@gmail.com