Pombal, Paraíba, Brazil Genealogy

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

History
In 1650, 150 years after the discovery of Brazil, the hinterland of Piranhas was inhabited by Indians, joining the Cariris and Tarairiús tribes: Icós and Curemas, Panatys, Ariús, Pegas, Janduís and Tapuias, all brave and fierce. In February 1665, the Count of Óbidos, Governor General, based in Bahia, granted land donations in the name of the Oliveira Ledo family, for the settlement of the Paraiba backlands. They the applicants were: Antônio de Oliveira Ledo, Custodio de Oliveira Ledo, Constantino de Oliveira Ledo, Luiz Albernaz, Francisco de Oliveira, Maria Barbosa Barradas and Ensign Sebastião Barbosa de Almeida. On November 3, 1694, Teodósio de Oliveira Ledo was appointed to the post of Captain-General of Piranhas, Cariris and Piancós, replacing his brother, Constantino de Oliveira Ledo, who had died that year. The naming patent was signed by the governor, Dom João de Lencastro. In 1696, Captain-Mor Teodósio de Oliveira Ledo, is in the backlands of Piranhas, fighting with the indigenous people, in an attempt to found an Arraial and develop local agriculture. The following year, he traveled from the hinterland of Piranhas to the capital of the Province of Paraíba to ask the Governor for weapons, ammunition, soldiers and supplies, in order to contain and expel the Indians from the region, for the foundation of an Arraial. After being answered, Teodósio returned to the village in the first days of January 1698, having arrived there in July of the same year. On July 27, 1698, in the hinterland of Piranhas, in the place called the village of Piancó, Teodósio de Oliveira Ledo founded the Arraial de Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso do Piancó, which would later become a village and then the City of Pombal. On August 6, Captain-Mor Oliveira Ledo wrote to Governor Manoel Soares de Albergaria, reporting the "good success" he had in entering the Piranhas hinterland and facing indigenous hostilities. The royal charter of January 13, 1701 authorized the construction of the first Church in the Arraial de Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso do Piancó. Unfortunately, this primitive church, made of mud and covered with straw, did not stand the test of time and was completely demolished. In 1711, the King authorizes the Governor, João da Maia Gama, to create the Judiciary of Piancó (Pombal), the first landmark of judicial organization in the hinterland of Paraíba, thus, Colonel Manoel Araújo de Carvalho was appointed Ordinary Judge, in addition to of Registrar and Notary. With the creation of the Court, many measures were taken for the benefit of the population, including the obligation to collect vagrants to work, the punishment of delinquents was promoted, etc. On January 24, 1721, the construction of the second church began in Arraial, with the name of Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso, which later came to be called Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário. In April 1732, Captain-Mor Teodósio died, already old and blind. In 1776, Vila Nova de Pombal receives this name in honor of the city of Pombal in Portugal. In 1784, Catolé do Rocha was already a village and terminus of Vila de Pombal, when an Auto de Vereação of the Senate of the Chamber was drawn up (which resembled the current Municipal Chambers, but "Senado da Câmara" was the designation used only in the cities most important), under the presidency of Pedro Soares Barbosa, ordinary judge. In 1788, an order from the Queen of Portugal orders that the goods he owned there and that had been taken from him by Father Antônio be returned to the captain-major of Vila Nova de Pombal, in the District of Parahyba do Norte, Francisco de Arruda Câmara. Luis Pereira. The Queen of Portugal, in a provision of October 8th and December 11th, 1792, recognized as a doctor, the wise Manoel de Arruda Câmara, trained at the University of Montpelier in France, one of the oldest in the world, founded in 1220. His brother Francisco Arruda Câmara, namesake of his father, were the first people from Pombal to receive a doctorate. In 1817, Father José Ferreira Nobre, vicar of the parish of Pombal, an activist of libertarian ideals, was arrested with 10 other revolutionaries from Pombal, who were sent to prisons in Pernambuco and Bahia, making the journey on foot or mounted on donkeys and some chained. On July 15, 1829, the Correios Público agency was created, regulated through the General Directorate of Correios do Império. In 1831, Pombal was the seat of the third District of the three existing in the State, comprising Patos, Piancó, Sousa and others. In 1847, the construction of Cadeia Velha began, which until today maintains its original architecture, being considered after its completion, the largest and safest in the interior of Paraíba. In 1860, the construction of the Public Cemetery began, at the expense of private resources, today called Nossa Senhora do Carmo Cemetery. In 1872, the construction of the third Church of Pombal begins, which is completed in 1897, with the name of Mother of Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso, changing the old Church of 1721 to the denomination of Nossa Senhora do Rosário Church. On July 19, 1895, Colonel João Leite Ferreira Primo, the first politician who received the title of Municipal Mayor of Pombal, was appointed mayor. On the first Sunday of October, the first Feast of the Rosary of Pombal took place, in a simple solemnity. In 1908, the first telegraph line arrived in Paraíba, coming from Ceará, via Cajazeiras, São João do Rio do Peixe e Sousa, and the Post Office started operating with a Morse code device. On February 6, 1914, the Diocese of Cajazeiras was created, which became part of the parish of Pombal. In 1919 the construction of the Public Market began, in the center of the city, which was only completed in 1942. Only in 1927 the Estação da Luz, generated by diesel fuel, was inaugurated. The arrival of electricity was highly celebrated, despite the fact that the operation was restricted from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. In 1932, the first educational building in the city was completed, called Grupo Escolar João da Matta, located near Cadeia Velha. That same year the railroad was completed and the train arrived in Pombal, later connecting the city to Fortaleza, João Pessoa, Natal and Recife. In 1938, Mayor Sá Cavalcanti began building the following constructions: Açougue Público, Praça Getúlio Vargas, Coluna da Hora, Bandstand and Praça do Bar Centenário; completed in 1940. In 1939 the construction work on the Ponte do Areal, over the Piranhas River, came to an end. In 1972, the widening of that bridge was completed, making it possible for two vehicles to pass at the same time. Elevated to the category of town by Royal Charter of July 22, 1766. Elevated to the status of city and municipal seat with the name of Pombal, on July 21, 1862.

Local Offices
Serviço Distrital Guiomar Tavares Formiga Rua Coronel João Leite, 395 Centro Pombal PB 58840-000 Telephone: (83) 3431-2705 E-mail: cartoriopombal_pb@hotmail.com Cartório Distrital de Várzea Comprida Rua João Pessoa, 68 Centro Pombal PB 58840-000 Telephone: (83) 3431-3235 E-mail: cidaformiga@bol.com.br

Online Resources

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

Local Churches
Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso Praça Getúlio Vargas, s/n Centro Pombal PB 58840-000 Telephone: (83) 3431-2211 / 3431-1290 Paróquia São Pedro Apóstolo Rua Herculano José de Sousa, s/n Centro Pombal PB 58840-000 Telephone: (83) 3431-1487