Monforte, Portalegre, Portugal Genealogy

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

History

 * Monforte is a municipality in the District of Portalegre in Portugal.
 * In the neolithic period human occupation began in this territory.
 * The Roman civilization had an important influence in these lands.
 * In 1257 the first letter of charter was granted by, D. Afonso III to the Villa of Monforte.
 * July 1, 1512 a new letter of charter would be given by, D. Manuel I.
 * In 1281, D. Dinis offered it to his daughter D. Isabel, as gift of marriage.
 * In 1455, the Villa of Montforte entered in the ownership of the territorial domain of Bragança's House, through the donation done by D Afonso V to the count of Arraiolos.
 * Monforte has 4 civil parishes.
 * The population of Monforte is roughly 3,400 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 Monforte R. Mariano M C Pinto 3 7450-137 Monforte PORTUGAL Phone: 245573652 Email: [mailto:crcpncom.monforte@dgrn.mj.pt crcpncom.monforte@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.

Family History Centers
Badajoz Spain Family History Center C/ Botánico Vicente Cervantes, Edificio Eurodom BADAJOZ BADAJOZ 06011 PORTUGAL Phone: 34 924-245-517 Email: [mailto:ES_Badajoz@familyhistorymail.org ES_Badajoz@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Badajoz Spain Family History Center