Portalegre, Portalegre, Portugal Genealogy

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the municipality of Portalegre.

History

 * Portalegre is a municipality in Portugal.
 * In 1259 Portalegre was founded in the reign of Afonso III and was to be given to his son Afonso Sanchez.
 * 18 November 1299, during the reign of Denis I, a foral was issued. It was determined that it would be donated to the king and later to his first born heir.
 * 23 May 1550 Portalegre was elevated to the status of a city by John III.
 * Over the years Portalegre endured many invasions by foreign troops. In 1801 during the War of the Oranges, it surrendered to the Spanish Army, in an attempt to counter the French dominion.
 * Spanish General Concha occupied it in 1847.
 * In 1859 Portalegre would come to be recognized when it became the capital of the Portalege District.
 * Portalegre has 7 parishes.
 * The population of Portalegre is roughly 24,900 people.

Online Records
After 100 years, all civil registration records are sent to the municipality's district office.

To view online civil registration records, visit Portalegre Civil Registration.

Contact a Civil Registration Office
The following is a list of civil registration offices within the municipality.

Conservatória do Registo Civil de Portalegre

Av. Liberdade Bl. 4 – R/C 7300-065 Portalegre PORTUGAL Phone: 245203204 Fax: 245204610 Email: [mailto:crcportalegre@dgrn.mj.pt crcportalegre@dgrn.mj.pt]

Communicate your request in Portuguese whenever possible. For writing a letter or email in Portuguese, use the translated questions and phrases in this Portuguese Letter-writing Guide.

Online Records
In 1910, the Portuguese government transferred all birth, marriage, and death records from all the country's parishes to the district offices. These records are now in either District or National archives. Many of these records have been digitized and can be viewed at the District Archive's website or on FamilySearch.

To view online records, visit Portalegre Church Records.

Contact a Parish
If you are seeking church records created more recently than 1910, it is possible to obtain them by writing to the parish where the record was created. Writing to a parish is not always a reliable way to obtain information, because officials may or may not respond.

Conferência Episcopal Portuguesa lists websites for the 20 Dioceses of Portugal. Once on the Diocesan website, use the listing of parishes (paróquias) to locate contact information for the parish in question.

Communicate your request in Portuguese whenever possible. For writing a letter or email in Portuguese, use the translated questions and phrases in this Portuguese Letter-writing Guide.

Cemeteries
Cemeteries did not become popular in Portugal until the late nineteenth century. Prior to this, individuals were buried in their parish church cemetery, and their bones were later removed to an unmarked burial place.

FamilySearch Centers
Castelo Branco Portugal Family History Center Rua Senhora da Piedade Lote 2, Res-do-Chão Esquerdo CASTELO BRANCO 6000-279 PORTUGAL Phone: +351 272 326 891 Email: [mailto:PT_CasteloBranco@familyhistorymail.org PT_CasteloBranco@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Castelo Branco Portugal Family History Center