Vidigueira, Beja, Portugal Genealogy

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

History

 * Vidigueira is a town and a municipality in the District of Beja in Portugal.
 * The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama was made count of Vidigueira by King D. Manuel I.
 * Vidigueira is the birthplace of the humanist poet and commentator Achilles Statius.
 * In the 17th century a Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza's father lived in Vidigueira, before he escaped the Portuguese Inquisition and returned to the Dutch Republic.
 * No other significant information is available.
 * The population of Vidigueira is roughly 6,000 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 Beja Civil Registration.

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

Conservatória do Registo Civil e Predial da Vidigueira Lg. José Afonso Vidigueira 7960-000 Vila de Frades PORTUGAL Phone: 284436119 Email: [mailto:crcpcom.vidigueira@dgrn.mj.pt crcpcom.vidigueira@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 Beja 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
Beja Portugal Family History Center Rua D Manuel I Nº9 BEJA ALGARVE 7800-306 PORTUGAL Email: [mailto:PT_Beja@familyhistorymail.orgL PT_Beja@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Beja Portugal Family History Center