Portugal, Setúbal, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, ultimate rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. The Portugal, Setúbal, Catholic Church Records collection is available to the Family History Library, FamilySearch Centers, and to members of the supporting organization(s). The images can be viewed at a FamilySearch Center near you.

What is in the Collection?
This collection of baptisms, marriages, and deaths for Catholic Church parish records from parishes in Setubal covers the period of 1555-1911.

These parish records have been preserved relatively well. Some of the older registers appear to have some physical damage; therefore, some data may be difficult to read or some even may be lost. However, in general, they are in good condition for extracting genealogical information. These records are written in Portuguese.

Parish priests recorded the baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials; they administered the baptisms, witnessed the marriages and gave nuptial blessings, and administered the other holy sacraments in the jurisdiction of their assigned parish or parishes. All the original parish records were kept in the parish archive under the custody of the pastor. However, a duplicate of these registers was regularly sent to the diocesan archive where the records were centralized and kept at a higher state of preservation. It is unknown whether this collection is from the parish record or from the diocesan transcript.

These Catholic Church parish registers were created to record the church sacraments of baptism and matrimony and to record the deaths and burials. Other actions taken by the authorized priest in his area of jurisdiction, such as dedication of a church, may also be recorded.

Catholic Church parish records are a reliable source for doing genealogical research in Setubal, Portugal, before 1911 when the civil registration was implemented. For records after 1911, it is suggested that you research both the civil registry and the church records to verify information.

Collection Contents
Baptism records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of baptism
 * Child's name and gender
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Parents' names and residence
 * Father's occupation
 * Names of paternal and maternal grandparents
 * Names of the godparents, their civil status, occupation, and residence

Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names and ages of the bride and groom
 * Groom's birth date and place of birth
 * Groom's civil status, occupation, and residence
 * Names of groom's parents
 * Bride's birth date and place of birth
 * Bride's civil status and residence
 * Names of bride's parents
 * Names of the witnesses, their occupation, civil status and residence

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of death
 * Name, age, and gender of deceased
 * Occupation, civil status, residence, and origin of deceased
 * Spouse's name, if married
 * Parents' names if deceased is a minor
 * Burial information

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before beginning a search in these records, it is best to know the following information:
 * Full name of the individual in question
 * General location of the event
 * Date range for the record

When put into the search box on the collection page, these pieces of information are the most likely to find the correct person, though other information may be used if the name, location, and date are not all known.

Search the Index to the Collection
To search the collection for an individual using information which is already known, follow these steps: 1. Visit the collection landing page. 2. Enter the requested information into the search box to search the index to the collection. Searching in this way will return a list of possible matches. 3. Compare the individuals on the list with what is already known to find the correct person. This step may require examining multiple records before a match is located.

View Images of the Records
If granted the rights to view the digitized records in this collection (see Image Visibility above), follow these steps to get to the images: 1. Visit the collection browse page. 2. Select the appropriate District. 3. Select the appropriate Municipality. 4. Select the appropriate Civil Parish. 5. Select the appropriate Parish. 6. Select the appropriate Record Type and Years to go to the images. 7. Compare the information found on the images with what is already known determine if a particular record relates to the correct person. This process may require examining multiple records before the correct person is located.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Portuguese. For help reading the records, see the following resources:


 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List
 * Portuguese Letter-writing Guide
 * Learning Center Resources:
 * Portuguese Handwriting Lesson 1
 * Portuguese Handwriting Lesson 2
 * Portuguese Handwriting Lesson 3

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.
 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date.

What if I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. In addition local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the records of nearby localities (or military unties, counties, parishes, etc.).

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation:

Top of Page